My understanding of a citizens arrest is its when a person detains another person who is caught committing a crime until police arrive. If the person tries to leave how much force can the arrester use? How certain must they be that the person did in fact commit a crime?

Recently their have been a number of sting operations by the Creep Catcher group, where they pretend to be young girls on dating websites and meet with an older male. They confront the person, film it, and make a citizens arrest. These stings have been [increasingly violent][1].

One thing I don't get is technically no crime has been committed yet, as there never was a young girl, so how can an arrest be made? Also in many situations they change the age after they agree to meet, so would this be entrapment?

In [this question][2] it says consent must be given for *any* physical contact. Is an exception made for citizens arrest?

Make no mistake, I'm against pedophiles etc. but I do think the tactics Creep Catchers use are unjust. I mean, what would people think if they saw police officers doing the same thing as Creep Catchers.


  [1]: http://globalnews.ca/news/3384957/surrey-creep-catcher-uses-physical-force-in-another-sting/
  [2]: https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/14679/when-in-consent-necessary-for-touching-someone