Difference between revisions of "Criminal Law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1:IX)"

At common law, upon a lawful arrest, an officer acquires an attendant right to search the arrestee for officer safety and evidence (see ''[https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/1991/1991canlii3958/1991canlii3958.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAMciB2IGtsaW1jaHVrAAAAAAE&resultIndex=1 R v Klimchuk]'', [1991] 67 CCC (3d) 385 (BCCA)). Such a search requires a lawful arrest and is subject to a challenge if the arrest was not lawful (see '''Section E''' on Lawful Arrest, above).

Where no arrest has taken place, a peace officer may also acquire a more limited right to search for officer safety. If an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual has a specific connection to a crime and detains that individual for further investigation, then incidental to this investigative detention, the officer may engage in a limited pat-down search confined in scope to locate weapons (see [https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2004/2004scc52/2004scc52.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAIciB2IG1hbm4AAAAAAQ&resultIndex=1 R v Mann], [2004] 3 SCR 59).