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| Patrick Ducharme |
The police do not have the power to arrest an accused for a summary conviction offence by virtue of subsection 495(2) unless the arrest is necessary to establish the person’s identity. A police officer requests that the person he finds committing such an offence identify himself. This request is within the execution of his duty. The accused’s refusal to accede to the request may constitute an offence of obstructing police under section 129.
The other reasons provided in this subsection that permit an officer to arrest, although the offence is a summary conviction offence, are:
1. secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence;
2. prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence; or,
3. belief on reasonable grounds that if the person is not arrested he will fail to attend court when required to do so according to law.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme's book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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