I recently had a conversation about legal stuff, and I’m a bit confused about the terms “detained” and “arrested.” I once found myself in a situation where I was held by the police for a short while but wasn’t sure if it counted as an arrest or just being detained. Can someone explain the difference in simple terms? I’m just trying to understand how these terms are used in real-life situations.
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Detention is when a police officer temporarily stops and holds someone because they suspect the person might be involved in a crime.
An arrest on the other hand happens when the police take someone into custody because they believe the person is involved in a crime according to federal or local law.
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Being arrested means the police take you into custody because they think you committed a crime, and you have certain rights under the law. Being detained means the police are holding you, but they can’t keep you for too long without charging you with a crime or letting you go.
Detention is when police briefly stop and hold someone due to suspicion of involvement in a crime. An arrest happens when police take someone into custody because they have enough evidence or belief that the person has committed a crime.