Can the Police Detain Someone When That Person Has Not Yet Committed a Crime?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 110 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code, it is stipulated that in one of the following urgent cases, a person may be detained:

- There is sufficient ground to determine that the person is preparing to commit a very serious crime or an especially serious crime;

- A co-offender, the victim, or a person present at the crime scene directly saw and confirmed it was the person who committed the crime and it is deemed necessary to immediately prevent that person from escaping;

- There are traces of the crime on the person, at the residence, workplace, or in the vehicle of the person suspected of committing the crime, and it is deemed necessary to immediately prevent that person from escaping or destroying evidence.

Pursuant to Clause 3, Clause 4, Article 9 of the 2015 Criminal Code:

- A very serious crime is a crime that has a very high level of danger to society, with the highest penalty frame provided by this Code for that crime being from over 7 years up to 15 years imprisonment;

- An especially serious crime is a crime that has an exceptionally high level of danger to society, with the highest penalty frame provided by this Code for that crime being from over 15 years up to 20 years imprisonment, life imprisonment, or the death penalty.

Therefore, although you have not committed a specific act, they have sufficient grounds to determine that you are preparing to commit a very serious or especially serious crime; the police have the right to detain you.

Sincerely!