If you think you may have committed a crime and are concerned that there could be a potential warrant out for you, the most important thing you should know is what exactly a warrant is.
In Canada, the court issues various types of warrants for the purpose of arrest. These warrants include arrest warrants, bench warrants, bench warrants to hold, and telewarrants.
Arrest Warrant
The first type of warrant you could potentially encounter is an arrest warrant. This is an endorsed document issued by the court, authorizing the police to apprehend an accused individual and bring them before the court. It contains essential details such as the accused’s name, and alleged offence committed, as well as serves as legal authorization for their arrest.
Before an arrest warrant is issued, a peace officer must swear an Information document, which formally charges the individual with a crime, and present it to a justice or judge. The warrant is granted when the justice or judge reasonably believes that the individual has committed a crime and that their arrest is in the best interest of public safety.
There are numerous factors that can justify a warrant being served, a few examples being; if the individual will not voluntarily appear in court without a warrant, the arrest is necessary to secure evidence related to the offence, the arrest is required to prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the arrest is necessary to prevent the individual from committing a new offence.
Once an arrest warrant is issued, the police within the jurisdiction of the court that issued the warrant is authorized to locate and take the individual into custody if found.
Bench Warrants
Another type of arrest warrant is a bench warrant, which is issued by a justice or judge when an individual fails to appear in court for their criminal matter when it was required. Bench warrants are commonly issued when someone disregards a summons, promise to appear, undertaking, or recognizance. Similar to an arrest warrant, a bench warrant empowers the police within the jurisdiction to arrest the individual and hold them in custody until they can be brought before the court.
In some cases, if an individual fails to appear for their court date, the court may choose not to immediately order their arrest. Instead, they may issue a bench warrant to hold, which means that if the individual shows up for their next court appearance, the arrest warrant will be cancelled, and they will not be taken into custody. If you have been issued a bench warrant it is very important to show up to your next court date to avoid an arrest warrant.
Telewarrant
Under specific circumstances, a telewarrant can be obtained by the police without the officer personally appearing before a justice of the peace or judge. A telewarrant is granted when a police officer communicates with a justice or judge through telecommunication and provides reasonable grounds to believe that the individual has committed a serious offence.
However, the police must also demonstrate that it would be impractical for them to appear in person, for example, due to the unavailability of a justice of the peace or judge in their town at the required time and waiting to obtain the warrant would risk losing the accused or crucial evidence, a telewarrant can be sought.
If you have any questions or concerns about warrants, or need legal representation after recieving a warrant, do no hesitate to contact our offices, we are happy to help.