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Ontario|Criminal LawBeing Charged and Arrested 747 Do the police need a warrant to arrest you? The police are not required to have a warrant before arresting someone and are given a broad power under the law to arrest people without a warrant. However, in some circumstances, an arrest warrant may be issued by a Justice of the Peace in order to assist the police in carrying out the arrest.
- Being arrested without a warrant
The police can arrest you without a warrant if you have committed a serious offence, if you are in the middle of committing a serious offence, if the police believe you are about to commit a serious offence, or if the police believe that there is a warrant out for your arrest. Even if the offence is considered relatively minor and not serious, the police can still arrest you without a warrant if you refuse to identify yourself, or if the police believe that you might repeat the offence or destroy evidence.
- Being arrested with an arrest warrant
However, if the police are aware of an individual who they believe has committed a particular offence, they can ask a judge to issue an arrest warrant. An arrest warrant is a piece of paper signed by a judge that permits the police to arrest the person named in the warrant. The judge must have a reasonable belief that a criminal offence has been committed by that person before signing the warrant.
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