Can an arrest be made without a warrant in a different state?

August 18, 2017 6:23 PM

If a person commits a felony in State A, but a warrant was never issued and they were never charged with anything, can law enforcement officers arrest him in State B without a warrant for the same crime? And does it change things it it is just a misdemeanor? Neither state would be Florida.
posted by jihaan to Law & Government (4 answers total)

How would the police know about the crime if there is no record of it?
posted by jbenben at 6:26 PM on August 18, 2017

Response by poster: Well there is a video of it, so if the police see the video. The police in State A saw the video and never took action.
posted by jihaan at 6:28 PM on August 18, 2017

Best answer: Police in their own jurisdiction can arrest someone whenever they have probable cause to believe a crime occurred. It doesn't matter if the crime occurred within their jurisdiction or not.

The power of police to arrest outside of their own jurisdiction is typically limited by statute to crimes they witness.
posted by lockestockbarrel at 6:32 PM on August 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: It depends on the crime and who would press charges as well.

For something like vandalism of city property the jurisdiction it happened in would be the one to choose to persue it.

But, something like an assault is a little different because there is another person involved.

Ultimately, many police actions depend on current demand for services, difficulty of task (this would be complicated), and likiness of success (questionable without more detail).

So in a tiny town with a sheriff that has nothing to do? More likely than in Chicago where things are crazy busy.

Arrests can happen for all kinds of reasons. If that will lead to charges is another matter.
posted by AlexiaSky at 2:30 AM on August 19, 2017 [1 favorite]