Dwelling House
S. 2 CC – whole or any part of building/structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent/temporary residence and includes
- Building within curtilage of dwelling house that is connected by doorway
- A unit designed to be mobile and used as residence
When a person opens the door, they are still within the confines of their dwelling house
Implied Licence to Knock - not authorized
- knocking on the door for the purpose of “sniffing” or “seeing” what is inside
- following someone into their garage or carport
- attending to door to make observations to gather evidene
Two Types of Entry Warrants
- Arrest warrant with authorization to enter a dwelling house
- Entry warrant
Arrest Warrant with Authority to Enter
- allows justice to include in a warrant the power for police to enter a dwelling house for the purpose of affecting the arrest or apprehension
- entry is condition on the officer having, immediately before entering, reasonable grounds to believe that the person is in the dwelling house
Entry Warrant
- designed to cover those situations in which authority to arrest a person already exists and there is no need to obtain an arrest warrant
- The section requires reasonable grounds to believe the person will be in the residence AND:
a) That there is a valid warrant in Canada for the arrest of the person,
b) Grounds exist to arrest the person without warrant under the Criminal Code, or
c) Grounds exist to arrest or apprehend without warrant under an authority other than the Code.
Authorization to enter for purpose of arresting, only need the permission to entry
Ex. We have RGs to arrest Suzie and we know she’s home, we can apply for just entry warrant
Authority to Enter Without a Warrant
May enter a dwelling house without a warrant to arrest or apprehend if
- reasonable grounds exist indicating that the
- person is present in the dwelling house
AND
- a warrant is not practical due to exigent circumstances
Omitting Announcement Before Entry
- judge or justice may authorize police to enter without prior announcement if there are reasonable grounds to believe that prior announcement would
- expose police/other person to imminent
bodily harm or death OR - result in imminent loss or imminent
destruction of evidence
- expose police/other person to imminent
Fresh/ Hot Pursuit
- R v Macooh - continuous pursuit conducted with reasonable diligence, so that pursuit and capture, along with the commission of the offence, may be considered part of a single transaction
- R v Haglof – some courts have held that peace officer may be in hot pursuit of a person even though the officer did not witness the crime but investigates it “shortly after” its commission
