Legal Powers, Arrest, Detention and Use of Force
What the exam tests
This is the highest-risk domain for both marks and real life. It tests whether you know that a security operative has no powers beyond any other citizen, how a citizen's arrest works under section 4 of the Criminal Law Act 1997, what amounts to unlawful detention, and when force is justified.
The rules
- Section 4 of the Criminal Law Act 1997 allows any person, without warrant, to arrest someone who is committing, is about to commit, or has committed an arrestable offence. An arrestable offence is one punishable by five years' imprisonment or more.
- On arrest you must tell the person, in ordinary language, that they are being arrested and why. You must hand the person to An Garda Síochána as soon as practicable. There is no power to detain for questioning or to wait for an admission.
- Force must be necessary, reasonable and proportionate, and must stop when resistance ends. Force is lawful in self-defence, defence of property, prevention of crime and effecting a lawful arrest.
- There is no general power to search a person. Searches require consent or specific statutory authority.
Worked example
A shopper conceals goods and passes the tills without paying. Reasoning: theft is an arrestable offence, so a section 4 arrest is available. The operative identifies themselves, states that the person is arrested for theft, uses no more force than needed, recovers only the goods, and calls Gardaí to hand over promptly. Refusing a bag search is not itself an offence; the goods can be recovered without a search of the person.
Mark-losing traps
- Detaining someone in a back room for an hour to obtain an admission - this is false imprisonment.
- Searching pockets or handbags without consent.
- Using handcuffs as routine rather than as a justified response to violence or escape risk.