Arrest without Warrant

Introduction

A probation officer or a member of the police may arrest without a warrant offenders released on parole, home detention (HD), post-detention conditions and extended supervision orders only.

For offenders sentenced to community work (CW), community detention (CD), supervision, intensive supervision and release on conditions, a WTA is necessary. Only the police can execute this warrant.

Legal authority

A probation officer or member of the police has the power to arrest an offender without a warrant when the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the offender has breached any of their release conditions, HD or post-detention conditions.

Legislative references: Section 80V Sentencing Act 2002, and section 73(2) Parole Act 2002.

Police to make arrest

Making an arrest is a technical process. In all cases the police should be contacted to arrest an offender without warrant.

When asking the police to make an arrest, quote relevant sections of the Acts outlined above as the sections which provide the legal authority for them to do so.

Important: While probation officers have the powers of arrest, these powers should not be exercised.

There are number of reasons why probation officers should not attempt to make an arrest, including:

• probation officers have no training in the legal requirements when making an arrest
• probation officers have no powers to detain an offender following an arrest, and
• CPPS have no health and safety policies to cover probation officers arresting offenders.

Arrest without warrant following breach

Arrest without warrant can be a process used by the probation officer to have offenders held in custody in situations where the safety of the offender or the community may be at risk.

In these cases the probation officer should contact the senior sergeant, watch house sergeant or the senior sergeant in charge of police intelligence at the local police station and request that they arrest the offender without warrant.

As noted above, when requesting police assistance in this process it is important to quote the relevant legislative sections and, if necessary, be prepared to fax a copy of these to the police.

Before making request for an arrest

Before requesting an arrest, ensure the following apply:

• There are reasonable grounds to believe that the offender has breached a condition of release without a reasonable excuse.
• The immediate arrest of the offender is necessary to prevent the continuation of a situation that puts the offender, or anyone else, at risk of serious injury.
• The same result cannot be obtained by other, less intrusive, means.
• IOMS casenotes and conviction history have been assessed in terms of:
  • violence propensity, and
  • history of absconding or escaping.

After making an arrest

The following table outlines the steps to take after making an arrest.