Arrest of a young person is governed by the Criminal Code of Canada and the Charter of Rights. Interrogation at the police station usually follows an arrest.

 

A young person who is caught shoplifting at a store may not be arrested at all but rather given an Appearance Notice to attend Youth Court on a particular day and to attend a police detachment for photos and fingerprints on another day. If you receive such an Appearance Notice you must attend Youth Court and the police detachment on those dates or face criminal consequences for failure to appear.

 

Another possibility is that the young person will receive a Summons from the Youth Court requiring Youth Court attendance. A Summons is usually served personally by a police officer attending at your front door.

 

A young person who is arrested by police may be taken by the police to the police detachment, questioned, and then released on a Promise to Appear. The Promise to Appear will require attendance at Youth Court on a particular date and attendance for fingerprinting and photos on another date. If you receive such a Promise to Appear, you must attend Youth Court and the police detachment on the dates shown in the Promise to Appear or face criminal consequences for failure to appear.

 

When released you may be required to sign an Undertaking or a Recognizance. If so you will be promising to obey certain conditions of release in addition to promising to attend the police detachment for photos and fingerprints and Youth Criminal Justice Court. The conditions of release might include a curfew, a promise not to associate with specific friends, a promise not to attend a particular street, or a promise not to be in contact with a particular alleged victim. Be sure to discuss your conditions of release with your lawyer in case some of them need to be changed before a Justice of the Peace.

 

A young person who is arrested may be held overnight for a bail hearing the next morning at Youth Criminal Justice Court. If a young person is held he or she should try to arrange for sureties to attend Court at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. Prospective sureties (e.g. parents) should attend the Court House duty counsel office by 8:30 a.m. and bring with them proof of employment and proof of house ownership if at all possible.

 

 

 

Excerpts from Criminal Code of Canada:

Issue of appearance notice by peace officer

496. Where, by virtue of subsection 495(2), a peace officer does not arrest a person, he may issue an appearance notice to the person if the offence is

• (a) an indictable offence mentioned in section 553;

• (b) an offence for which the person may be prosecuted by indictment or for which he is punishable on summary conviction; or

• (c) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

 

• R.S., c. C-34, s. 451;

•  R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.

 

Marginal note:Release from custody by peace officer

• 497. (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), if a peace officer arrests a person without warrant for an offence described in paragraph 496(a), (b) or (c), the peace officer shall, as soon as practicable,

  • (a) release the person from custody with the intention of compelling their appearance by way of summons; or

  • (b) issue an appearance notice to the person and then release them.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (1.1) A peace officer shall not release a person under subsection (1) if the peace officer believes, on reasonable grounds,

  • (a) that it is necessary in the public interest that the person be detained in custody or that the matter of their release from custody be dealt with under another provision of this Part, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to

    • (i) establish the identity of the person,

    • (ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence,

    • (iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence, or

    • (iv) ensure the safety and security of any victim of or witness to the offence; or

  • (b) that if the person is released from custody, the person will fail to attend court in order to be dealt with according to law.

• Marginal note:Where subsection (1) does not apply

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer for an offence described in subsection 503(3).

• Marginal note:Consequences of non-release

  (3) A peace officer who has arrested a person without warrant for an offence described in subsection (1) and who does not release the person from custody as soon as practicable in the manner described in that subsection shall be deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of the peace officer’s duty for the purposes of

  • (a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; and

  • (b) any other proceedings, unless in any such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the peace officer did not comply with the requirements of subsection (1).

 

• R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 497;

•  1999, c. 25, s. 3(Preamble).

 

Release from custody by officer in charge

• 498. (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), if a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer is taken into custody, or if a person who has been arrested without warrant and delivered to a peace officer under subsection 494(3) or placed in the custody of a peace officer under subsection 163.5(3) of the Customs Act is detained in custody under subsection 503(1) for an offence described in paragraph 496(a), (b) or (c), or any other offence that is punishable by imprisonment for five years or less, and has not been taken before a justice or released from custody under any other provision of this Part, the officer in charge or another peace officer shall, as soon as practicable,

  • (a) release the person with the intention of compelling their appearance by way of summons;

  • (b) release the person on their giving a promise to appear;

  • (c) release the person on the person’s entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge or another peace officer without sureties in an amount not exceeding $500 that the officer directs, but without deposit of money or other valuable security; or

  • (d) if the person is not ordinarily resident in the province in which the person is in custody or does not ordinarily reside within 200 kilometres of the place in which the person is in custody, release the person on the person’s entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge or another peace officer without sureties in an amount not exceeding $500 that the officer directs and, if the officer so directs, on depositing with the officer a sum of money or other valuable security not exceeding in amount or value $500, that the officer directs.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (1.1) The officer in charge or the peace officer shall not release a person under subsection (1) if the officer in charge or peace officer believes, on reasonable grounds,

  • (a) that it is necessary in the public interest that the person be detained in custody or that the matter of their release from custody be dealt with under another provision of this Part, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to

    • (i) establish the identity of the person,

    • (ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence,

    • (iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence, or

    • (iv) ensure the safety and security of any victim of or witness to the offence; or

  • (b) that, if the person is released from custody, the person will fail to attend court in order to be dealt with according to law.

• Marginal note:Where subsection (1) does not apply

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer for an offence described in subsection 503(3).

• Marginal note:Consequences of non-release

  (3) An officer in charge or another peace officer who has the custody of a person taken into or detained in custody for an offence described in subsection (1) and who does not release the person from custody as soon as practicable in the manner described in that subsection shall be deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of the officer’s duty for the purposes of

  • (a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; or

  • (b) any other proceedings, unless in any such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the officer in charge or other peace officer did not comply with the requirements of subsection (1).

 

• R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 498;

•  R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 186;

•  1997, c. 18, s. 52;

•  1998, c. 7, s. 2;

•  1999, c. 25, ss. 4, 30(Preamble).

 

Release from custody by officer in charge where arrest made with warrant

• 499. (1) Where a person who has been arrested with a warrant by a peace officer is taken into custody for an offence other than one mentioned in section 522, the officer in charge may, if the warrant has been endorsed by a justice under subsection 507(6),

  • (a) release the person on the person’s giving a promise to appear;

  • (b) release the person on the person’s entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge without sureties in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars that the officer in charge directs, but without deposit of money or other valuable security; or

  • (c) if the person is not ordinarily resident in the province in which the person is in custody or does not ordinarily reside within two hundred kilometres of the place in which the person is in custody, release the person on the person’s entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge without sureties in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars that the officer in charge directs and, if the officer in charge so directs, on depositing with the officer in charge such sum of money or other valuable security not exceeding in amount or value five hundred dollars, as the officer in charge directs.

• Marginal note:Additional conditions

  (2) In addition to the conditions for release set out in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c), the officer in charge may also require the person to enter into an undertaking in Form 11.1 in which the person, in order to be released, undertakes to do one or more of the following things:

  • (a) to remain within a territorial jurisdiction specified in the undertaking;

  • (b) to notify a peace officer or another person mentioned in the undertaking of any change in his or her address, employment or occupation;

  • (c) to abstain from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the undertaking, or from going to a place specified in the undertaking, except in accordance with the conditions specified in the undertaking;

  • (d) to deposit the person’s passport with the peace officer or other person mentioned in the undertaking;

  • (e) to abstain from possessing a firearm and to surrender any firearm in the possession of the person and any authorization, licence or registration certificate or other document enabling that person to acquire or possess a firearm;

  • (f) to report at the times specified in the undertaking to a peace officer or other person designated in the undertaking;

  • (g) to abstain from

    • (i) the consumption of alcohol or other intoxicating substances, or

    • (ii) the consumption of drugs except in accordance with a medical prescription; and

  • (h) to comply with any other condition specified in the undertaking that the officer in charge considers necessary to ensure the safety and security of any victim of or witness to the offence.

• Marginal note:Application to justice

  (3) A person who has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2) may, at any time before or at his or her appearance pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(1) to replace his or her undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.

• Marginal note:Application by prosecutor

  (4) Where a person has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2), the prosecutor may

  • (a) at any time before the appearance of the person pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, after three days notice has been given to that person, or

  • (b) at the appearance,

  apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(2) to replace the undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.

 

• R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 499;

•  R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 186;

•  1994, c. 44, s. 40;

•  1997, c. 18, s. 53;

•  1999, c. 25, s. 5(Preamble).

 

Failure to appear

502. Where an accused who is required by an appearance notice or promise to appear or by a recognizance entered into before an officer in charge or another peace officer to appear at a time and place stated therein for the purposes of theIdentification of Criminals Act does not appear at that time and place, a justice may, where the appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance has been confirmed by a justice under section 508, issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused for the offence with which the accused is charged.

 

• R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 502;

•  1992, c. 47, s. 70;

•  1996, c. 7, s. 38;

•  1997, c. 18, s. 54.

 

In what cases justice may receive information

504. Any one who, on reasonable grounds, believes that a person has committed an indictable offence may lay an information in writing and under oath before a justice, and the justice shall receive the information, where it is alleged

• (a) that the person has committed, anywhere, an indictable offence that may be tried in the province in which the justice resides, and that the person

  • (i) is or is believed to be, or

  • (ii) resides or is believed to reside,

  within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice;

• (b) that the person, wherever he may be, has committed an indictable offence within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice;

• (c) that the person has, anywhere, unlawfully received property that was unlawfully obtained within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice; or

• (d) that the person has in his possession stolen property within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice.

 

• R.S., c. C-34, s. 455;

•  R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.

Marginal note:Time within which information to be laid in certain cases

505. Where

• (a) an appearance notice has been issued to an accused under section 496, or

• (b) an accused has been released from custody under section 497 or 498,

an information relating to the offence alleged to have been committed by the accused or relating to an included or other offence alleged to have been committed by him shall be laid before a justice as soon as practicable thereafter and in any event before the time stated in the appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance issued to or given or entered into by the accused for his attendance in court.

 

• R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.

Marginal note:Form

506. An information laid under section 504 or 505 may be in Form 2.

 

• R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.

Marginal note:Justice to hear informant and witnesses — public prosecutions

• 507. (1) Subject to subsection 523(1.1), a justice who receives an information laid under section 504 by a peace officer, a public officer, the Attorney General or the Attorney General’s agent, other than an information laid before the justice under section 505, shall, except if an accused has already been arrested with or without a warrant,

  • (a) hear and consider, ex parte,

    • (i) the allegations of the informant, and

    • (ii) the evidence of witnesses, where he considers it desirable or necessary to do so; and

  • (b) where he considers that a case for so doing is made out, issue, in accordance with this section, either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused to compel the accused to attend before him or some other justice for the same territorial division to answer to a charge of an offence.

• Marginal note:Process compulsory

  (2) No justice shall refuse to issue a summons or warrant by reason only that the alleged offence is one for which a person may be arrested without warrant.

• Marginal note:Procedure when witnesses attend

  (3) A justice who hears the evidence of a witness pursuant to subsection (1) shall

  • (a) take the evidence on oath; and

  • (b) cause the evidence to be taken in accordance with section 540 in so far as that section is capable of being applied.

• Marginal note:Summons to be issued except in certain cases

  (4) Where a justice considers that a case is made out for compelling an accused to attend before him to answer to a charge of an offence, he shall issue a summons to the accused unless the allegations of the informant or the evidence of any witness or witnesses taken in accordance with subsection (3) discloses reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary in the public interest to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused.

• Marginal note:No process in blank

  (5) A justice shall not sign a summons or warrant in blank.

• Marginal note:Endorsement of warrant by justice

  (6) A justice who issues a warrant under this section or section 508 or 512 may, unless the offence is one mentioned in section 522, authorize the release of the accused pursuant to section 499 by making an endorsement on the warrant in Form 29.

• Marginal note:Promise to appear or recognizance deemed to have been confirmed

  (7) Where, pursuant to subsection (6), a justice authorizes the release of an accused pursuant to section 499, a promise to appear given by the accused or a recognizance entered into by the accused pursuant to that section shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection 145(5), to have been confirmed by a justice under section 508.

• Marginal note:Issue of summons or warrant

  (8) Where, on an appeal from or review of any decision or matter of jurisdiction, a new trial or hearing or a continuance or renewal of a trial or hearing is ordered, a justice may issue either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused in order to compel the accused to attend at the new or continued or renewed trial or hearing.

 

• R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 507;

•  R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 78;

•  1994, c. 44, s. 43;

•  2002, c. 13, s. 21.