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There are different ways Toronto Police officers may interact with you. These include informal interactions, investigative detention, and arrest. There may also be other situations that could lead to interaction with the police.
An officer may attempt to initiate an informal interaction with you at any given time. This is a voluntary participation process. You have the choice to converse with the officer or opt to leave the situation whenever you please.
Carding, also known as street checks, refers to a police practice where officers randomly stop individuals to gather their personal information. As of January 1st, 2017, a new Ontario regulation was introduced that bans carding. This regulation sets strict parameters that the Toronto Police must follow when engaging with the public during informal interactions.
Under this regulation, race cannot be a factor when an officer decides to ask for an individual's identifying information. Police officers are required to inform the individual about their right to decline the conversation and the act of walking away or not cooperating can't be used as reasons to force the provision of information.
Furthermore, the police officer must explain why they are asking for your information. Additional rules state that police must provide a written record of any public interactions, including their name and badge number, along with information on how to contact the independent police review director. This collected identifying information must be submitted for review by the local chief of police within a 30-day period.
During investigative police detention, an officer is permitted to detain you if there's reasonable suspicion of your involvement in specific criminal conduct. In such instances, you're not free to leave. The officer in charge is obligated to disclose the reason for the detention.
Furthermore, you're provided with your right to counsel, including access to Legal Aid under the Charter of Rights. It's important to know that you're not obligated to speak. However, if you opt to express yourself, be aware that your words may be used as evidence.
If the officer has concerns about their safety or the safety of others around, they may conduct a pat-down search, but its main purpose is to check for weapons. Once the investigation concludes, the officer reserves the right to either release you or place you under arrest.
When an arrest takes place, the officer is mandated to inform you that you are under arrest and to elucidate the reason for it. When under arrest, you are not at liberty to leave. The officer must make you aware of your right to counsel, including the option to access Legal Aid under the Charter.
It's worth noting that you are under no obligation to say anything, but if you do choose to speak, your words might be used as evidence. The officer has the authority to conduct a search for the purposes of ensuring safety, searching for evidence, or preventing means of escape.
In the event of your arrest, the police have the right to search you and your immediate surroundings. Such a search can result in an arrest, provided that the police believe it is necessary for ensuring safety, protecting evidence from being destroyed, or finding evidence that could be related to your guilt or innocence.
Upon being arrested or detained, you are entitled to communicate with a lawyer. This could be from a range of defence lawyers in Toronto, or any lawyer of your preference. The police have the responsibility to inform you of this right as promptly as possible. They should also enlighten you about Legal Aid and your entitlement to freely accessible legal services.
If you choose to call a lawyer, the police are required to provide you with a telephone. Additionally, they should allow you to make more than one call if needed to reach your attorney. The police are required to halt any further questioning until you have had the chance to connect with your lawyer. Once you've had a private conversation with your lawyer, the police are permitted to continue with their questioning. However, you are not required to respond to these questions.
There could be various other situations that necessitate interaction with the police. These scenarios often arise under laws like the Trespass Property Act and The Highway Traffic Act. If you're ever uncertain whether you are obliged to answer a police officer's queries or if you are free to leave, you have the right to ask the officer directly. They are mandated to provide you with a clear response.
Under the Trespass to Property Act, various property owners, like the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), certain Toronto Community Housing complexes, some community centres, shopping malls, and parks, have agreements with the Toronto Police Service. This agreement enables the police service to act as agents of the landlord.
This agreement gives police officers the right to ask you questions on the property owner or landlord's behalf to verify your right to be on the property. If you choose not to answer these questions, the police officers have the authority to ask you to leave the premises. If you refuse to comply, the officer may remove you physically and/or place you under arrest.
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Under the Highway Traffic Act, if you are being investigated, you are required to identify yourself. After speaking with your lawyer, however, you should know that the police may continue to ask you questions. Remember, you don't have to comply with these questions.
The law allows police officers to stop cars at any time. This may be for several reasons such as determining whether or not a driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, checking if a car is mechanically sound, verifying if a driver has a valid license, or just making sure a driver is insured. They can also pull you over if they suspect you've committed a driving offence.
If asked by the police, it's compulsory for you to show your driver’s license, car registration, and insurance. It is a good idea to inform the officer if you need to reach into the glove compartment to retrieve any of these documents.
The police also have the ability to conduct a roadside breath test or physical sobriety test if they suspect you've consumed alcohol. However, you don't have the right to speak to a lawyer before this roadside test takes place. If the police suspect you have an illegal amount of alcohol in your blood, they may take you to a police station to conduct a breath test. Prior to this test at the station, you do have the right to speak to a lawyer.
If your car has been stopped solely for the purpose of checking your sobriety, the mechanical condition of the vehicle, or your license, registration, or insurance, the police are not allowed to search your car. However, they are allowed to look into the windows of your car. In the case that they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe illegal drugs, alcohol or evidence connected to a crime is present in your car, the police can search your car. They just have to believe that the evidence, drugs or alcohol would be removed or destroyed if they attempted to obtain a search warrant.
