Yes, it's called turning yourself in, and people do it because they feel guilty, or they know they're going to be caught anyways, and are hoping cooperation earns them a lesser sentence.
If you’ve committed a crime, you can always turn yourself in. If you really felt like it, you could even make them come out to you to pick you up.
A “citizen’s arrest” usually requires the suspect commit a crime (usually a felony,) in your presence and requires a certain amount of timeliness. (Ie you can’t later decide to arrest them.)
Basically, you’d only be allowed to detain them until cops arrived, and to be totally honest, is not something you really should be doing- just let the perps go. It’s safer for you, and there’s legal risks if you fucked up and what they didn’t wasn’t a crime or wasn’t a serious enough crime.
At most I could see the value of locking yourself in a room for protection as waking up from a psycotic episode where you have attacked others and fear for your own life.
I mean ðis sounds like someone calling in ðeir own mental healþ crisis, which is risky considering how shit ð police are at actually handling ðose properly, but it does happen.
But more like crazy person level, like call the cops on themself for stealing a candy bar or something similarly stupid, then handcuff themself to a bench or light pole or something..
One of my old bosses once went to the police station when he was drunk or high (or both) to complain about something crazy, and maybe about a crazy person trying to drive his car that he was actually driving. I think they talked him into spending the night while they checked it out. He had issues.
"Hey man, yagottahelpme....hic.......there's a crazy guy, good guy, smart guys, who's really really drunk, and he's trying to drive his car....my car.....a car.......he's trying to drive, and that's a bad idea. He can barely walk, and I just really gotta pee
....He's gotta pee so bad! And he's wearing a red shirt, and has a kissable face. This guy FUUUUUCKS, but right now shouldn't drive...."
"Yeah. Hey, let's get you nice and situated on this here bench, inside this cell. Don't worry. You and your red shirt will be perfectly fine...."