Every time police arrest or detain a person they have to be released or go before a judge or justice to speak to release.
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The manner they are dealt with depends on many factors specific to their arrest and them as an individual.
Police have the authority to release individuals, which is the lowest level of release. A person may have been arrested and released unconditionally. This means they have no conditions to their release. Often for a less serious crime or the type of crime, this would allow for a person to be released on conditions by an officer.
Typically, something like shoplifting would get a person released with conditions to stay away from the place they allegedly stole something from and to attend court. They may also be compelled to provide fingerprints and photos under the Identification of Criminals Act.
Police officers are only authorized to put lesser restrictive conditions on a person if we release them. If we can provide rationale as to why more stringent conditions would be required, we then take them before a judge or
justice.
Any conditions placed on an individual must be related to their alleged crime or their criminal history. The more serious the offence and the longer their criminal history is, the more stringent the conditions, to the point they are held in custody as they face allegations.
If they were consuming alcohol or drugs while they committed their alleged crime, then abstention conditions would be appropriate.
If they weren’t drinking or had taken drugs, that condition wouldn’t typically be added to their release conditions. If they possessed a knife in the commission of their crime they may end up with a condition only allowing them possession of a knife for food preparation or maybe something like a box cutter if their employer required it.
Conditions are placed on a person to lessen the chance they will reoffend in the same way.
A nighttime curfew could be imposed if they are on conditions due to something they did at night. If a crime was committed during the day, it would be difficult to justify a nighttime curfew.
Conditions that a person not be within a county, town or city can also be put on people. Driving restrictions and conditions that a person not be in the company of other specific people can also be added. Generally, when a person is on conditions not to be in the presence of, or be in contact with, other specific people, it is usually because the others were also involved in the alleged crime.
Judges and justices can be very creative with their conditions, providing more wraparound conditions than police officers. But remember, each condition must speak directly to the crime they have been accused of.
With people accused of committing offenses, the law puts a priority on less conditions rather than more or holding them in custody saving that for more serious allegations.
– Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbown, is the NCO in charge of the Lloydminster RCMP detachment’s General Investigation Section. Stay tuned for future articles from the Lloydminster RCMP.
This column was originally published in the Feb. 20, 2025, edition of the Meridian Source.
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