In some circumstances the person can be detained. He can be put on a psych hold (called a 5150 in California) for up to 72 hours. If the person has brandished a weapon or otherwise violated the peace he could be arrested. In most cases, though, unless actual harm has occurred or appears certain to occur, police rarely intervene.
Supplemental Information: Many states (most?/all?) have statutes covering Involuntary Emergency Commitments for Mental Observation. They are known by various names and Acts in various jurisdictions. Their use is limited only to certain classes of specifically authorized laypersons (e.g.: law enforcement/paramedics/etc) to involuntarily commit persons PERSONALLY observed by them who clearly appear to be an imminent threat to themselves or others due to apparent mental deficiency. These commitments are made to a hospital or mental facility where the involuntarily committed person is observed by medical professionals for a statute-limited period of time before rendering a medical/psychiatric opinion as to the mental condition of the admittee. Every one of these involuntary commitments must be accompanied by a signed affidavit of the admitting official setting forth the facts of the situation and what THEY observed. When done by law enforcement officers, these are NOT considered "arrests."
Yes, if someone poses an imminent threat to themselves or others, the police generally have lawful authority to detain the person. This is done to protect the safety and well-being of everyone involved and prevent harm.
No. As a private citizen, you have no actual authority to detain anyone. If they get up and run away, you have no authority to pursue them. Detaining someone after they've put you in a situation which justified the use of lethal force can be a bit iffy. But pulling a firearm on someone for simple trespassing is going to put you in a bad way.
They only detain mentally ill people when they pose an immediate threat to themselves or to others.
for example: 'i will have to detain you for further questioning' it means to stop someone..to keep someone from their future activities. a policeman might say this to the person he has arrested.
No, "detain" is not a prefix. It is a verb that means to keep someone in official custody, typically for questioning or investigation.
Legally, exactally 0 minutes and 0 seconds. The moment a shoplifter is detected the police have to be notified and THEY will notify the parents. A shopkeeper has no legal authority to detain anyone for any reason, they can kick a customer out of the store and they can call the police if the customer is commiting a crime but the police and only the police are legally authorized to detain someone. *my roomate tells me that security guards also have the legal right to detain a customer but I can't verify that.
Absolute and Unqualified
Of course, you may have to detain someone.
To put away. An example is putting someone in jail is detaining them
Illegal detention refers to the act of holding someone against their will without legal justification or authority. This can involve detaining someone without proper legal procedures, exceeding the scope of lawful detention, or holding someone beyond the allowed duration without valid reasons.
No, you cannot detain someone before arresting him and taking him to a court of law.
They have to have a warrant, or in some cases they need to suspect that someone is in imminent danger. Or they can conduct a search for weapons when they detain (note -- not arrest) you. They can also conduct an incidental search if they have Probable Cause to believe a crime is being committed.
I will detain your bike. Police can not detain my car.