When Police Are Called To A House
18 Pa.C.S. 2711 — arrest without a warrant as in a felony, but only with recent injury or other corroborating evidence
Without a warrant. A police officer has the same right to arrest without a warrant as in a felony on probable cause that the listed offenses, including simple assault, certain aggravated assaults, recklessly endangering, terroristic threats, stalking and strangulation, were committed against a family or household member, though not in the officer's presence.
The limit. An officer may not arrest under the section without first observing recent physical injury to the victim or other corroborative evidence.
Weapons, and the arraignment. The officer seizes all weapons used in the alleged offense, and the defendant is taken for a preliminary arraignment without unnecessary delay rather than released by the officer.
Bail. If the issuing authority finds the defendant poses a threat to the victim, it requires as a condition of bail that the defendant stay out of the victim's residence and workplace, a condition that ends at the preliminary hearing or on the entry or denial of a protection from abuse order, whichever comes first.
The offenses themselves, protective orders, and release conditions are set out in other sections that are not on this page. What happens in a particular case is a question for a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- 18 Pa.C.S. 2711 — Probable cause arrests in domestic violence cases
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.