“Citizenship Intervention”; Violation of the Rights of the Accused by Handing Over the Sovereign Powers of the Police to the People

 For the first time, the Iranian legislator has granted citizens extensive powers in the field of arresting suspects and preserving the crime scene in Note 1 of Article 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This research aims to identify the scope of this delegated authority and the necessity and strategies for public education of citizens on the subject of granted authorities. The present research attempts to clarify, using a descriptive-analytical method and using library tools, firstly, what is the scope of authority and the conditions prescribed for it in the form of the term citizen-police officer? And secondly, what are the necessities and strategies for public education of citizen intervention? Unlike police officers, who have received extensive training to perform their duties, both before starting their official activities and during their in-service periods, citizens have not received any general or specific training despite the delegation of this volume of authority. This is while the delegation of these extensive authorities necessarily requires comprehensive education of citizens regarding the extent and quality of the granted authorities. Failure to provide this training will cause many problems and challenges, both in terms of the rights of the accused and in terms of order and security in society, and will lead to tension. Given the generality of the audience for the granted powers, this training must necessarily be
provided through public institutions such as education, especially the capacity of the primary school “social studies” curriculum, and mass media through the preparation and presentation of educational packages and programs, and inclusion in the curriculum of the citizenship rights program.