What is the difference between detention and arrest in Florida?
Whitney S. Boan Protecting Your Right
Video Transcript
A detention is when you are being I guess investigated by a law enforcement officer or they are just investigating something else where they then are detaining you. Either way, what it means is you are not free to leave. The police maybe have not formally arrested you, but you’re not going to be allowed to walk away, and you’re not going to be able to do whatever you want. The police have some authority to keep you where they have you at that point in time.
An arrest, on the other hand, is when you’re formally arrested, you’re put in handcuffs. It can have various meanings under the law, but the traditional meaning that anyone else would think of is you’ve been put in handcuffs, and you’re being taken to the jail.