Police Searches

• Police can search people and places while they are investigating crimes.
• There are rules about when and how police can search.
• There must be a reason to think that you are connected to a crime before the police can search.

Searching a Person

Police can search you in some situations if they believe you are connected to a crime.

The police may question you about a crime if they have reason to believe you are involved. They can do what is called a pat-down if they have reasonable safety concerns. A pat-down is to look for weapons. It is not a full search and it cannot be used to look for evidence of a crime.

The police can do a full search of you if:

• you give them permission
• you are under arrest (if you are unsure whether you are under arrest, ask)
• they find you in a place they are searching for drugs and believe you have drugs on you
• they believe that you are carrying a weapon and that it might be removed or destroyed if they take the time to get a warrant

Searching a Car

The police can search your car only if it is connected with a crime.

If the police stop your car they can search it if:

• you give them permission
• they have a search warrant
• you are arrested
• they have reasonable grounds to believe you have committed a criminal offence
• they have reasonable grounds to believe there is evidence of a crime in your car and it would be removed or destroyed if they took the time to get a search warrant

Searching a Home

In some situations the police may search your home to look for evidence of a crime. They may also search your home to ensure the safety of the people in the home.

The police can search your home if:

• you or someone else who has authority over your home understand what they want to do and give them permission
• they have a search warrant
• they arrest you or someone else in your home
• they have reasonable grounds to believe there is evidence of a crime in your home and it would be removed or destroyed if they took the time to get a search warrant
• they have reasonable grounds to believe  that they need to enter your home to keep  someone safe from  harm and there is no time to get a warrant

Wiretaps

The law in Canada protects people from having their private conversations listened to and recorded by the police. There are only certain situations where the police can do this. Generally it can only be done to investigate a specific crime that the police have reason to believe the person is involved in. The police cannot intercept and record conversations just because they think the person might be doing something illegal.