Law enforcement officers have jurisdiction generally only in the area they are employed, such as city officer have jurisdiction in the city they work in and state patrol officers have jurisdiction around the state. North Carolina statute 15A-402 sets out the rules of jurisdiction for officers.
Police officers who work for a county have the authority to arrest someone anywhere within the county they work in and someone outside of the county who is on county owned property. A county officer may also arrest someone outside the county if that person committed a crime within that county and the arrest is made during that person’s immediate and continuous flight from that county. If the offense is a felony, a county officer may arrest that person anywhere within North Carolina.
Police officers who work for the city have authority to arrest anyone in the city, within one mile of the corporate limits of the city, and on city-owned property that is located outside of the city. Additionally a city officer may arrest someone outside city limits if a person committed a crime within the city and the arrest occurs during that person’s immediate and continuous flight from the city.
However, if the crime committed is a DWI or police are investigating a vehicle accident that occurred within their territory they police have broader jurisdiction. If any of these situations are present police may investigate and seek evidence of a driver’s impairment anywhere in-state or out of state and they may make an arrest anywhere within the state. Thus if someone is driving intoxicated a police officer may arrest that person anywhere in the state, even if it is outside his/her jurisdiction.
If you have been charged with DWI, contact one of our attorneys at Robert J. Reeves, P.C. directly by calling 704-499-9000 or toll free 877-374-5999