An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Norman in origin and is related to the French word arrêt, meaning "stop".
Procedure
United States
For serious crimes, the police typically take suspects to a police station or a jail where they will be incarcerated pending a judicial bail determination or an arraignment. In other instances, the police may issue a notice to appear specifying where a suspect is to appear for his arraignment.
United Kingdom
In English law, whether a person has been arrested does not depend on the legal authority of the person enforcing the arrest, rather it depends upon whether he has been deprived of his liberty to go where he pleasesLewis v Chief Constable of the South Wales Constabulary [1] 1 All ER 206. Whether an arrest is lawful depends on whether the police officer or civilian exercising the arrest is acting within the scope of his powers.Upon arrest a pers