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Canada court allows police to search phones after arrest

12 December 2014 01:30 (UTC +04:00)

On Thursday, Canada's divided Supreme Court approved the increased police powers by four votes against three.

The ruling demands that the search must be directly related to the circumstances of the arrest.

"In my view, we can achieve that balance with a rule that permits searches of cell phones incident to arrest, provided that the search - both what is searched and how it is searched - is strictly incidental to the arrest and that the police keep detailed notes of what has been searched and why," Justice Thomas Cromwell wrote in the opinion.

The three judges, who opposed the decision, said warrants should be sought in all but rare cases.

"Police officers will not be justified in searching a cell phone or similar device incidental to every arrest," Cromwell wrote, adding that allowing a narrow search "does not give the police a license to rummage around in the device at will."

"In practice... only recently sent or drafted emails, texts, photos and the call log may be examined as in most cases only those sorts of items will have the necessary link to the purposes for which prompt examination of the device is permitted," he continued.

There are fears that the new police powers breach the public's right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures.

The judges in the minority also said the existing law "already provides flexibility where there are exigent circumstances" for a warrantless search and should be restricted to cases which threaten the safety of the public.

"The intensely personal and uniquely pervasive sphere of privacy in our personal computers requires protection that is clear, practical and effective," Judge Andromache Karakatsanis wrote for the minority.