When do the police have the right to search you?

Question

When do the police have the right to search you or your bags etc in Canada.

Answer 1

When they have enough probable cause.

Answer 2

If they think there is something illegal in there or if they have some sort of search warrant :) .

Answer 3

Whenever THEY feel they have probable cause which is such a gray area.  There is no black and white answer.  I get searched all the time because of my record from 5 years ago even if I am doing nothing and taking kids to doc!!!

Answer 4

during a legitimate stop the police can inform you he is going to pat you down. that is completely different from a search. It is during the pat down, that you have to relay refusal of search. If "any" hard object is found, then the police have full authority to search you due to probable cause and for his own safety. (the object may be a weapon) Which, is why the police usually ask you to empty your pockets. (Most police are often found to ask if you have drugs on you. if you do don't lie, it makes the charges much worse, don't fight. But the search is much safer to be done with only the informing of you that you are about to be searched, due to the self-incrimination regulations. Sometimes it becomes tricky in court and a dealer or drug charge may slide.) Thus, they are neither making contact, nor are they searching you. You do have the right to refuse. Which is when the police do have the right to pat you down. In court, if found that the police did not pat you down they can be cited with failure to follow procedure.

Personally, when I make stops we talk to the perp, inform them why they are stopped, if the perp is showing suspicious signs or smells of drugs, alcohol, or was stopped because of an actually relayed report of a theft, or an incident. Most people are non-resistive, it's the ones who aren't familiar with the procedures who usually resist I found or those who are wanted for something. If you didn't do anything wrong, allow the search. but know the procedures, but don't inform them you know the procedures. I got stopped in LA and even though I contract with Law Enforcement training companies and do security work even I get harassed, Yes allot of us know there are a few problem areas in our own system. But, most of us actually try to fix those problems. And try to learn from the mistakes of other regions and districts. Thus know about jurisdictions. If you are stopped by a cop at a state sponsored event, or by a highway patrol officer during a traffic stop. Legally, if you violated traffic the patrol officer can't search the car unless you admit or an illegal item is observed. But if you are walking down the street you can not be searched without a pat down first, {unless you are on probation - most parolee can be searched anytime and even have the home searched without warrant in some cases.] A parolee is still legally under the supervision of the state, they are just not in a cell. If you are acting suspicious in a store or market, or public event you can be searched. In most cases, a bag can not be searched unless it is in the guidelines of a property. Like a government building, an overly large bag in an outlet store. Bags from other stores, in a market or outlet store. Mostly, they'll just watch you on cam, but if you are stuffing things in them of course they'll search. I would, or I'd relay for crew on the grounds of the visual confirmation of an act, and have him detain you. I usually don't do searches without a partner present, or without relaying to a supervisor and getting confirmation to do a search. [not all depts. have that policy, but it keeps us safe, and also our locals feel it makes them feel more respected and not mistreated.] I wish the guys in florida took that field training course, cause they searched me and my friends just because we were out late.

I hope this helped, searches are done to make sure you dont have a weapon. Once we confirm that we don't need as much initial force and we can talk to you more openly. We just have to confirm our position before proceeding. Which is why I state dont resist the search. if you didn't do anything or have a weapon on you then things will go smoother. while in other cases, a search may be part of a building policy, or even alot of schools, police have to ensure the safety of the group in a public place, thus the search at entry points. We are not out to get you. Also, I have found Toronto cops searches to be more invading then the ones I had in Quebec. While searches at the border really sucked. I had my bags nicely packed, and they  basically made a mess and made me clean it up and hassled me to be quicker cause the others were waiting to be searched. I've had my bags searched at bus terminals but that's probably cause my equipment may have set off sensors. But if you carry items which need a permit, make sure you keep those on YOU not in the bag. And inform them of anything and offer them to view your permits. These days it gets scary even for fellow law enforcement. They don't ask for a badge, and when we travel I don't carry one cause I don't have jurisdiction outside my state.Once I am off the clock and not in my precinct I am just another citizen. So are all the rest.