It has a dull title – the Crimes Amendment Act 2026 – but one aspect of its provisions has had plenty of publicity: the expanded right to make “citizen’s arrests”.

Aimed primarily at giving retail staff greater powers to combat petty crime, and security guards more power to hold people, the amendments raise an important question: what are the risks if people misunderstand or misuse these new powers?

In fact, “citizens” do not really have powers of arrest – unless they are asked by a police officer to help arrest someone committing (or suspected of having committed) an imprisonable offence or disturbing the peace.

This is covered under section 315 of the Crimes Act 1961. What has changed is the defence available to someone detaining or using force against someone else, which might otherwise be a criminal offence in its own right.

The main change is to section 35 of the Crimes Act. Previously, it provided a defence in limited circumstances: at night (defined as between 9pm and 6am) if someone was committing an offence against the Crimes Act; and during the day only if the offence carried three years’ imprisonment or more.

In reality, most people don’t know which offences committed during the day would qualify – and offences such as low-value theft and common assault would not.

The new wording provides a defence whatever the time of day and whatever the maximum sentence for the........

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