A security guard working at a retail store observes a known shoplifter, who has previously been trespassed from the property, conceal merchandise and attempt to leave without paying. The guard intercepts the individual outside the store. Under what specific condition can the security guard, as a private citizen, lawfully arrest this individual?

Question: A security guard working at a retail store observes a known shoplifter, who has previously been trespassed from the property, conceal merchandise and attempt to leave without paying. The guard intercepts the individual outside the store. Under what specific condition can the security guard, as a private citizen, lawfully arrest this individual?

Answer options: ✅ Only if the individual commits an indictable offence on the property and is escaping from and freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest them.

• When they have reasonable grounds to believe the individual has committed a summary conviction offence on the property.
• If the offence committed is punishable by more than five years imprisonment.
• In cases where the individual has previously been issued a formal trespass notice for the property.

Correct answer: Only if the individual commits an indictable offence on the property and is escaping from and freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest them.

Explanation: Section 494(1)(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada allows a private citizen to arrest a person whom they find committing an indictable offence, or a person who, on reasonable grounds, they believe has committed a criminal offence and is escaping from and freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest that person. Simply being on the property after a trespass notice is not, in itself, grounds for a private citizen's arrest for an indictable offence unless they are caught in the act of committing one.