Citizen's arrest could be easier under new bill

Some downtown Toronto business owners thanked a federal MP for introducing a private member's bill that would make it easier to apprehend shoplifters.

"My bill represents an initiative and a potential solution," Liberal MP Joe Volpe said.

On Friday, Volpe outlined his idea to shopkeepers and toured some stores in the heart of Chinatown,including the Lucky Moose on Dundas Street West owned by David Chen.

Chen thanked Volpe for his support. The proposed bill stems from Chen's legal woes in May 2009 when he caught a man that he suspected of stealing plants from his store.

Chen, 35, and two employees tied up the alleged thief, but when police arrived, they arrested Chen and charged him with kidnapping, carrying a dangerous weapon, assault and forcible confinement.

Crown prosecutors later dropped charges of kidnapping and possession of a dangerous weapon, a box cutter, but said they would proceed with thecharges of forcible confinement and assault.

But not everyone is supportive of the proposed legislation. Lawyer Pat Band, who spent 12 years both prosecuting and defending accused criminals, worried that giving citizens more leeway to arrest others may lead to problems.

"A citizen's arrest isn't bounded by the Charter of Rights [and Freedoms] and so how's that person accountable for any abuses theymight make if they were to effect a citizen's arrest, or do so in a violent way, or detain someone for too lengthy a period?"

The proposed legislation may have an uphill battle. Volpe wants the bill to get the support of the Conservative government, but it has been noncommittal and talk of a potential election in the fall could derail the bill.