- Police officers making arrests in Canada are subject to procedural regulations.o' canada image by Kathryn Palmer from Fotolia.com
In Canada, police powers of arrest are regulated by law to protect innocent people from unlawful harassment. The police can only arrest people under specific circumstances, such as following the issue of an arrest warrant by a judge. The police are allowed to arrest a person they suspect is about to commit a serious crime; following arrest, the police have specific responsibilities with regard to the arrested person. - If the police believe that a person has committed an offense, a police officer can appear before a judge and state the details of the alleged offense. This is known as a complaint. If the judge believes that there is a case to answer, the judge can issue either a summons or an arrest warrant. If the judge issues a summons, this means that the person who is alleged to have committed the offense is called to appear before the court to answer the charges made in the police complaint. The summons is then delivered in person by a police officer. The summons includes the details of the complaint, and the date and time that the person must appear in court. The summons may instruct the person to go to a police station for fingerprinting. A judge can issue an arrest warrant if a person who has been summoned fails to show up for fingerprinting or at the court, as instructed.
- If a judge has issued an arrest warrant for a person, the police may arrest that person at any time. The police do not need to have any other reason to make a lawful arrest. If a police officer has reason to believe that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a person, the police officer may arrest that person, pending confirmation that a warrant for the arrest of the person has actually been issued. A police officer may arrest anyone caught in the act of committing an indictable offense, such as rape, assault and robbery. A police officer can even arrest a person if he or she merely believes the person is about to commit an indictable offense. Police are able to intercept and arrest a person who appears to be fleeing from the scene of a crime, and may arrest a person fleeing pursuit after committing a crime. The poice may not arrest a person merely to get that person to help with the investigation of a crime that the person did not commit.
- Once a person has been arrested, the police are allowed to search the person. Reasons for searching a person include the need to check for concealed weapons and to find evidence of the offence that the person may have committed. For example, if police officers have reason to believe that a person is selling illegal drugs and they then arrest that person, they have the right to search for evidence of any illegal drugs that the person may be carrying. Following an arrest, the arresting officers are obliged to tell the arrested person the reason for the arrest, and must inform the person of his or her right to talk to a lawyer. If a person has been arrested for an indictable offense, the police can photograph the person and take the person's fingerprints.
