Legal Issues In Policing

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Manitoba Court of Appeal decision R. v. Pietz , 2025 MBCA 5 where police arrested a man in relation to the presumed death of another. After unsuccessfully trying to obtain a confession from the man, police took him for a lengthy drive in an effort to locate the victim’s body. During the ride, police...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses R. v. Grassing , 2025 SKCA 1 where police where asked by a probation officer to do a curfew check and possibly search the residence of a man on a Conditional Sentence Order (CSO). The CSO had two search conditions, both requiring a reasonable suspicion the man was breaching a condition of his CSO before...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses R. v. Alexander , 2025 ONSC 57 where police tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic related reason. The driver — along with the vehicle’s passenger — fled from the attempted stop and then ran from the vehicle only to be apprehended nearby after a foot chase. The police searched the car and later — using a...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the case law classic R. v. Pearson , 2017 ONCA 389 where a police officer, after stopping a motorist, arrested him for drug impaired driving. Police opened the trunk and searched a knapsack found in it, discovering two shotgun shells, which the officer seized. As it turned out, the driver was later char...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the case law classic R. v. Stonefish , 2019 ONCA 914 where a police officer, after stopping a motorist for an equipment violation, smelled the odour of burnt marihauana and saw a green leafy substance in the car’s console. The motorist was then arrested for possessing a controlled substance and police o...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses 'Christmas carding', a crime prevention tactic initiated several years ago. Listen how the project — dubbed OPERATION RESOLUTION — was started and how the media portrayed it. All the best to LIIP listeners this holiday season. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Homicide trends in Canada, 20...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Supreme Court of Canada decision R. v. Campbell , 2024 SCC 42 where police arrested a known drug dealer and lawfully seized his cellphone. After the arrest, four text messages lit up the locked cellphone screen and appeared to offer a sale of drugs, possibly laced with fentanyl. Without a warrant, t...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the New Brunswick Court of Appeal decision R. v. Gallant , 2024 NBCA 135 where a police officer applied for and received a warrant to seize and analyze blood samples taken by hospital staff for medical purposes. The affiant’s ITO referenced police reports from two other officers as a basis for their rea...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision R. v. Kusi , 2024 ONSC 6248 where an officer searched a vehicle before towing it as being “apparently abandoned” under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act . After removing the cover of what turned out to be the vehicle’s electrical fuse box, the officer discovere...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Justice decision R. v. Hoggar , 2024 ONCJ 546 where an officer found drugs, a loaded handgun and extended magazines after arresting a man for PPT, towing his vehicle to a private garage and searching more than an hour later, all while using a K9 to sniff it and dismantling its door...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Supreme Court of Canada decision R. v. Sabiston , 2024 SCC 33 where police arrested a known gang member for possessing stolen property. He was seen walking in a high gang crime area while wearing a bullet-proof vest that looked just like the type worn by police. After searching the man, a sawed-off...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Court of Quebec decision R. v. Hennigar , 2024 QCCQ 4849 where police entered an apartment on the invite of a co-habitant to recover a loaded pistol she had found while cleaning a closet. Could the co-resident validly consent to the police entry in the accused's absence? Could the police conduc...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Buffong , 2024 ONCA 660 where police received a tip from a confidential informer that an individual would be at a Thunder Bay bus station — with money and a handgun — intending on travelling to Toronto. When police went to the bus station, they saw a man matchi...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Manitoba Court of Appeal decision R. v. McKenzie , 2022 MBCA 3 where a man was seen running while clenching the left side of his body with his elbow. When the officer called out to the man, the officer recognized him as a gang member. The man reacted by picking up his pace, leading the officer to su...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Khandakar , 2024 ONCA 620 where the driver of a vehicle changed their mind and wanted to provide an ASD breath sample after being arrested for refusing to do so. Just when does an unequivocal refusal to provide an ASD sample constitute the actus reus for a refu...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses Statistics Canada's most recent crime data and highlights the increase of assaults against peace officers. Links Statistics Canada Data by Policing District/Zone Police Reported Crime in Canada, 2023 (CSI) infographic Understanding and Using the Crime Severity Index  Police-reported Information Hub...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Attard , 2024 ONCA 616 where police — investigating a serious motor vehicle collision — seized the accused’s car, removed its event data recorder (EDR) and extracted the data, all without judicial authorization or consent. Was this warrantless conduct lawful? C...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results: BUILDING TRUST IN A COMPLEX POLICY ENVIRONMENT OECD . The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) asked people in 30 countries about how much they trusted 11 public institutions, including the courts and jud...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Cameron , 2024 ONCA 231 where police — responding to a home invasion style robbery — detained a man leaving the scene in a vehicle. Was taking his keys to prevent his flight reasonable as an incident to investigative detention? Was telling him the police were “...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Brown , 2024 ONCA 453 where police executed a Feeney warrant to arrest a man as part of the multi-jurisdictional investigation of a gang suspected of criminal activity, including trafficking in drugs and firearms. The warrant did not authorize a no-knock entry...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Supreme Court's 2023 Year in Review . How do last year's stats stack up against previous years? What does it mean for a decision to be unanimous? And how often does the court disagree on the outcome of a case?   Thanks for listening! Feedback welcome at legalissuesinpolicing@gmail.com

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Williams , 2024 ONCA 508 where an officer searched a vehicle after arresting its passenger on an outstanding warrant, finding drugs under his seat — including cocaine and fentanyl. The officer testified the search was a “search incident to arrest”, but no furth...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. Williams , 2024 ONCA 69 where police — relying on CPIC — arrested a man for breaching a no-contact condition of his undertaking and, following a search of his vehicle, found a loaded handgun. It turned out an exception to the no-contact condition was in play (i...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike discusses the BC Court of Appeal decision R. v. Donovan , 2024 BCCA 213 , where an officer claimed a search — resulting in the discovery of GHB and methamphetamine — was to inventory an impounded vehicle’s contents. Defence argued the evidence found during the inventory — a search related to concerns extraneous t...

Provide your feedback here. Anonymously send me a text message. In this episode, Mike shares his response to the criticism levelled against a police officer who, after arresting the driver of a vehicle for PPT, had the vehicle towed to the police station and searched it without a warrant. Did the distance and delay of the search — from the place and time of arrest — render a search of the vehicle...