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Criminal Code Act 1983
441Arrest without warrant
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441 Arrest without warrant
(1) A person shall not be arrested without warrant except in
accordance with this Code or an Act expressly giving power to
arrest without warrant.
(2) A person, not being a member of the Police Force, may without
warrant arrest a person (the offender) where the person:
(a) finds the offender committing an offence or doing an act or
behaving or conducting himself, or in such circumstances, that
the person believes on reasonable grounds that the offender
has committed an offence and that the arrest of the offender is
necessary:
(i) to ensure the appearance of the offender before a court
of competent jurisdiction; or
(ii) to preserve public order; or
(iii) to prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or
the commission of a further offence; or
(iv) for the safety or welfare of members of the public or of
the offender; or
(b) is instructed to do so by a member of the Police Force having
power under an Act to apprehend the offender; or
(c) believes on reasonable grounds that the offender is escaping
from legal custody or aiding or abetting another person to
escape from legal custody or avoiding apprehension by some
person having authority to apprehend the offender in the
circumstances of the case.
(2A) A reference in subsection (2) to a member of the Police Force does
not include a person who has not taken an oath under section 26 of
the Police Administration Act 1978.
Criminal Code Act 1983 323
(3) A person who is arrested under subsection (2) and in custody shall
not be questioned in relation to an offence other than by a member
of the Police Force in accordance with the Police Administration
Act 1978.
(4) As soon as practicable after a person is arrested under
subsection (2), the person shall be delivered to a member of the
Police Force, and the Police Administration Act 1978 shall apply to
and in relation to the person and the member as if the arrest had
been made under that Act.
(5) A person who is arrested under subsection (2)(a) shall be held in
custody only while the reason for the person's arrest, as referred to
in that paragraph, continues.
(6) A person who is arrested under subsection (2)(a) shall be released
immediately from custody where it becomes apparent that the
person did not commit the offence for which the person was
arrested.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), offence does not include a
contravention of or failure to comply with an instrument of a
legislative or administrative character.