NCJ Number
204775
Date Published
2002
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This annual report presents 2002 data concerning the use of arrest without warrant in Canada, pursuant to anti-terrorism amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code.
Abstract
The terrorist attacks of September 2001 spurred Canadian officials to develop a comprehensive Anti-Terrorism Plan, which involved the introduction of the Anti-terrorism Act in October 2001. The Act added amendments to the Criminal Code that enhanced law enforcement arrest and investigatory powers in the name of preventing terrorist incidents from taking place. A subsection in the Criminal Code requires the Solicitor General of Canada to produce an annual report to Parliament on the use of arrest without warrant. This report contains information about the number of arrests made without warrants during 2002 in Canada, the period of detention resulting from these arrests, and the number of cases in which the arrestee was released either by a peace officer or by a judge. Section 1 offers information about the emergence of the Anti-terrorism Act and the requirements of the annual report. Section 2 focuses on the key procedural requirements of the arrest without warrant provision. The Criminal Code allows an officer to make an arrest without a warrant under exceptional circumstances when the officer reasonably believes a terrorist act is imminent and it is impractical to obtain a warrant. The enhancement of police arrest powers is based on the philosophy that prevention is the most effective anti-terrorism approach. Section 3 contains the required arrest without warrant data as provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Department of Justice. From the period of December 24, 2001, through December 24, 2002, no arrests without warrant were made and thus there are no data to report. Section 4 offers a general assessment of the data, which indicate that the absence of arrests without warrant illustrates that the enhanced power is not taken lightly by officers and that the Anti-terrorism Act is meeting its original intent of protecting Canadian citizens while at the same time respecting their values of fairness and human rights.