The Ancillary Powers of Police in the Context of Entering a Home Without a Warrant
The s. 8 Charter right to be secure against unreasonable searches protects a person’s expectation of privacy from state intrusion. Nowhere is that expectation of privacy higher than in one’s home. To enter a home, police ordinarily need previous authorization: a warrant. Warrantless entries of a home are presumed to be unreasonable and in breach of s. 8. See R. v. Silveira , [1995] 2 S.C.R. 297, at para. 162. But exceptions exist, both by statute and at common law. Criminal Code Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement Under s. 529.3 of the Criminal Code , the police may enter a home without a warrant to arrest or apprehend a person if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but “exigent circumstances” – that is, urgent or pressing circumstances – make it impractical to obtain one. The Code includes among exigent circumstances those where the police have reasonable grounds to suspect entry into the home is necessary to protect a person’s imminent harm or death...