What the Cops can, can't do - what we can, can't do

Hey, I've realized that I myself and countless others are unaware of what the Officers of the GTA are allowed to do and what they aren't - and also, what we the drivers can do and what we shouldn't.

Truth be told, if I were pulled over - I would have no idea what to do, I don't know my rights. And I realize that after a few obvious modifications here and there on my car, its going to be sending up a few signals...like a matador to a bull o_O.

What are they allowed to search? Does the US 'Field of View' apply in Canada?

It'd be nice to know these things so I don't end up being a deer in the headlights and I'm sure many others could benefit from this

Any contribution would be appreciated,

This topic is not to rip on Cops or anything, just for learning purposes

they can pretty much do anything they want , they can always just make shit up as to why they did it and say you did this or that , but it is good to know your rights , tho if you try to flex your rights it could just piss them off

Yea I'd imagine it would piss them off. Is it illegal to record the conversation with the officer? what if you take upon the right to remain silent?

I figured like.... if you get the siren and lights, it'd be best to pull over near a gas station or any other area under surveillance.

What if they start inspecting the car, or aftermarket add-ons?

Sucks that they can lie, use probable cause and all that crap

good thread. somethign that everyone can benefit from.

A Toronto Police Officer:

- will provide his or her name and badge number upon request.
- who is not in uniform will present proper identification; you may ask to examine the badge and photo identification so that you are satisfied the person is a police officer.
- will tell you why you are being stopped.
- will only use the force allowed by law (for example, to stop an offence, effect the arrest of a suspect or maintain custody of a prisoner).
- will generally arrest a person for a crime committed in the officer's presence, or when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person has already committed or is about to commit a crime.



Offences Fall Into Two Categories:

- Moving Violations: Include improper lane changes, failure to stop at a red light or stop sign, driving in excess of the posted speed limit, etc.
- Non-Moving Violations: Include occupants not wearing seat belts, children not restrained properly, a tail light or brake light not working correctly, or failure to possess a licence, registration, or insurance.

Other Reasons Individuals May Be Stopped While Driving

- Criminal driving infractions, especially impaired driving but also dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and others.
- Criminal investigations often involve officers looking for a suspect, a witness, or a suspect vehicle. You or your vehicle and/or its occupants may match the description the officer is looking for.
- Courtesy or safety concerns, such as when your trunk is open, something is hanging from your vehicle, or something is on top of your vehicle, may also lead to stops.
- The R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) Program.
- A warrant exists for the arrest of an occupant of the vehicle.



Something I hate is:

- Avoid getting in an argument. If you wish to contest the ticket, you will have an opportunity to address the matter in court.
- If you receive a ticket, accept it calmly. Accepting the ticket is not an admission of guilt.

Who want's to go through all that? No one wants to waste time in court,

First off sorry for being MIA for the past little while guys...
Been super busy with school, I barely have time to eat =(
With that being said I study law and some of this is covered under unlawful search and seizure.

Just a tip for all you guys:
Be careful with the wording the cops use.
Ex. "Does your trunk open?"
and most people will say yes to that, and if your hiding something in there your screwed lol

They take that as a verbal invitation to open your trunk even though they didn't actually ask you...

Or the most common one:
"Did you realize you were speeding?"
you answer No...
They take it as yes you were speeding and you didn't know that and BAM theres a ticket.

Just be careful when conversing with them, they are tricky people lol

oh to be a cop and abuse the powers you get lol

to elaborate a little more on the statement about the trunk and searching.... i'm currently in police foundations and we are actually covering that type of stuff now. KEEP IN MIND I AM STILL LEARNING AND AM IN NO WAY IMPLYING THAT I KNOW EVERYTHING, BECAUSE I HAVE A TONNE TO LEARN STILL. this is what i've gathered thus far from speaking with my professors.

every canadian citizen has the right against unlawful search and siezure. therefore when they pull you over and you ask why, if they tell you that it was a traffic violation such as speeding, or not signalling ect, they DO NOT have the right to search your vehicle. so basically for them to stop you for speeding and end up seaching your vehicle, it is an violation of your right to privacy. During a routine traffic stop, an officer has the right to search a vehicle if she has a probable cause of illegal activity, such as the smell of marijuana or the sight of a possible half-hidden weapon. The officer can ask the occupants to step out of the vehicle in order to conduct a search. If there is no evidence of a probable cause, the officer cannot demand to search the vehicle.

the way they can get around that is if you were weaving, or generally driving like you were intoxicated. then they have probably cause and an actual reason to search the vehicle for drugs or alcohol. another way to get around it is if they claim your vehicle was involved in a crime, or is in the commision of doing said crime. then they have probable cause and lawfully can search the vehicle.

for him/her to search the vehicle without having probable cause will require a warrant.

keep in mind that if you try to argue with the officer it will probably make your life a little harder, but you need to know your rights. and if it gets really bad, you dont have to say a word. every canadian citizen has the right against self-incrimination, which means that you have the right to remain silent, and you DO NOT have to give testimony at your own trial.

things to remember:
you have the right against any unlawful search and siezure.
you have the right against self-incrimination.
you have the right to ask what the charges are, and why you are being stopped/detained.
and if it goes to court, you have the right to full disclosure...meaning that when you tell them you are fighting the ticket make sure to physically go to the courthouse to tell them this and ask for a request of disclosure form. by law the crown prosecutor must provide the defendant/defence with all evidence they have against you in order to form your defence case.

another common misperception people have is that you have a "right to a speedy trial". this is FALSE. there is no such thing as a "speedy trial". you have the right to be tried within a REASONABLE TIME. i dont know about toronto but in barrie the normal wait for a ticket to go to trial it almost a year.


in the trail, you do not have to prove your innocents, YOU JUST HAVE TO PROVIDE THE JUDGE WITH A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT YOU DID WHAT THEY SAY YOU DID.

Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters

It's for the US, but I see it as all the same. I wish this was part of Driver's Ed.

- ROBLAZA. So say I got pulled over for speeding and the cop wants to search my car, you say I have the right to say no because I was only speeding but if I fight with the cop about that they dont care and they will just arrest me for not going along with them, also I would have no proof at all what my converstation with the cop was and that he/she was in the wrong. So I still think we have no rights when it comes to certain cops like that . Some cops are nice and some that just think they can do whatever they want. It was good that you posted that though I was curious about stuff like that

Yes, if he gets u for speeding, you have the right to refuse his request to search. you can always be safe and whip out ur phone and do a voice memo...just dont let him see it. lol

ask for permission before recording. If you make him aware that you are about to record because you feel your rights were being violated. It's the same with marketing calls, they have to tell you that you may be recorded..

What about the whole calling a K9 to smell around the car while he's "running your information"? never had it happen but seems to happen on TV all the time...

Lexikon wrote:
Or the most common one:
"Did you realize you were speeding?"
you answer No...
They take it as yes you were speeding and you didn't know that and BAM theres a ticket.

Just be careful when conversing with them, they are tricky people lol

pretty sure thats not true, from what ive heard they have to get a reading twice (only takes seconds) in order to nail you with a speeding ticket.

Personal Experience::

Driving home one night, stretching the legs on my car, reallyyyy stretching them. Chopper flew past going the opposite way, saw me flying past on their FLIR and decided to turn around and follow. They werent able to get an accurate reading due to there not being the T marks on the road, but estimated my speed at 160 (they were wrong lol), they radio ahead to set up a speed trap to catch me with radar. before they get it setup, I pull in to a McDonalds to talk to a friend, chopper circles above until a cruiser shows up. They ask who's car, if im an idiot, how fast I was going, showed me the screen in the car with the "vehicle doing approx 160km" on it, told them yeah I was speeding, but i wasnt doing that speed, blah blah blah, ran my info, no warrants, told me the video would be summitted for future incidents (dont know if that was true or B.S. but whatever) and left with me getting a warning for doing what they estimated as 80km over the speed limit...


So there's an example of one time, I admitted to speeding, and didnt get a ticket, THANKFULLY, totally regret the incident, havent misbehaved like that since, besides the night my mom died trying to get to the hospital in time, but anyways,

THE END

BUMP....this was taken right from my Canadian Criminal Justice System textbook...

"The Supreme Court of Canada has established that a warrantless search of a vehicle may be reasonable IF grounds exist for believing that the vehicle contains drugs or other contraband. HOWEVER, the power to search a vehicle without a warrant must be found in statute or in common law (e.g., a search can be conducted incident to a valid arrest).
The legality of searching motor vehicles has been a difficult issue for the police. Can a police officer search the interior of the vehicle? Or a locked suitcase, or a closed briefcase? In R. Mellenthin case (1992), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the accused's rights had been violated when, at a police check stop (R.I.D.E), the accused was questioned about the contents of a bag. The suspect handed over the bag, which was found to contain narcotics. However, the officer had not suspected that the accused was in the possession of illegal drugs when he asked to search the bag. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the purpose of a police check stop is to detect impaired drivers or dangerous vehicles, not to conduct unreasonable searches. In Mellenthin's case, there was no informed consent."

hope that clears it up....

ok the thing is if you get pulled over it dosen't matter who's right or wrong the cop is always right .just smile n nod & take your ticket .if you say no to search .next thing you will see is like cop car by cop car pulling up and just sitting around your car 4 nothing (just to make you look really bad & dumb to ppl seeing it happen-because you were being a smart ass for saying no) so take your ticket do your search and you will have to to go thru court to prove anything .which is B.S for like just cruising down the road normaly.yes it sucks but this is how it is.
i know this sounds hate full. but i know this from my own run in's with police all in diffrent areas(hamilton/durham/halton hills/barrie) thru my 15yrs of driving.
some times you will luck out and get a nice officer .but chances are if he pulls you over your dinner
like in barrie i got pulled over in my gtr for speeding passed crappy tire on bayfield
i pulled over and asked what for
he said speeding
i said how fast you think i was going
he says 95km/h
i laughed & told him when i was passing him i just turned off a side road he was in gas station i just shifted into from 1st to 2nd at 2,300rpm and stoped at red light. so that is impossible to be going 95km/h at that rpm in 1st gear + i was sitting at red light ?
so can go on for ever about this officer so ill stop now.......i went to court waste my time and dropped ticket was at the end
& police look in every spot of my car when thay pull me over always & find nothing wrong always but muffler

good feed back xD

By the way, how do the Ontario Tint laws go?

How dark can I go? because All i can find when it comes to Ontario Tint laws are:

For the driver’s compartment, right and left, no film can be installed that would substantially obscure visibility from the exterior. Behind the driver’s compartment, any film can be installed.

"Substantially obscure" = what %?

^^ all depends on the cop and his mood

A shop my buddy went to, they said 30% is the "legal limit", and I was talking to my dad and he said he heard on the news that they were going (or were thinking about it) to actually put a set % on tint now... but as for now, Infamous is right it all depends on the cop and their mood

i thought the tint was (as long as you can be seen thru the front side windows & the back can be dark as you want ) but im not to shure about it .

Yes. You can go full limo black on the rear, and rear windows.
Would I say to do it.. No. They can't see you from behind the car, and they will be more cautious because they can't see you until they are at your window.

As for the front windows, 30% is about what they are calling "obscured" enough.

winshield is illegal to tint **other than the strip along the top that comes factory**


I have 30 up front, 20 in the rears, and at night, it's black all around.


I've heard rumors about the mirrored stuff.. Anyone who does this as a business should be able to keep you from getting in trouble..

Just wondering - whats the law on License plate lights? is it okay if i went red on them?

keep all red lights off your car but break lights period , dont run the chance of getting a ticket , dont give a reason to get pulled over

Zero wrote:Just wondering - whats the law on License plate lights? is it okay if i went red on them?

Highway Traffic Act, Section 62(19)...
Rear lamps to illuminate number plate- The lamp on the rear of a motor vehicle or trailer shall be of at least three candela and shall be so placed that it will, at any time from one-half hour before sunset to one-half hour before sunrise and at any other time when, due to insufficeint light or unfavorurable atmospheric conditions, persons and vehicles on the highway are not clearly discernable at a distance of 150 meters or less, illuminate the numbers on the number plate, or, if provision is made on the number plate or on any attachment furnished or required by the Ministry for affixing the lamp, it shall be affixed in the position or space provided, and the lamp shall face to the rear and reflect on the number plate A WHITE LIGHT ONLY.

Zero wrote:good feed back xD

By the way, how do the Ontario Tint laws go?

How dark can I go? because All i can find when it comes to Ontario Tint laws are:

For the driver’s compartment, right and left, no film can be installed that would substantially obscure visibility from the exterior. Behind the driver’s compartment, any film can be installed.

"Substantially obscure" = what %?

HTA, Sec. 73 (2-3)...
(2) Colour coating obstructing view prohibited- No person shall drive a motor vehicle upon a highway where the surface of the windshield or of any window of the vehicle has been coated with any colour spray or other colour coating in such a manner as to obstruct the driver's view of the highway or any intersecting highway.
(3) Colour coating obstructing interior- No person shall drive on a highway a motor vehicle on which the surface of the WINDSHIELD OR OF ANY WINDOW TO THE DIRECT LEFT OR RIGHT OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT has been coated with any coloured spray or other colour or reflective material that substantially obscures the interior of the motor vehicle when viewed from outside the motor vehicle.