R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-17: Arrest of escapees and parole violators without warrant.

The director of the department of corrections, the warden of the adult correctional institutions, any superintendent or employees connected with any institution under the management and control of the department of corrections, or any police officer or town constable, may arrest, without a warrant, any person who has escaped from any institution, or who, being absent from the institution on parole, has violated the conditions of the parole, for the purpose of returning the person to the institution from which the escape was made or from which the parole was granted.