3. Ask if there are urgent circumstances
Question & Answer
Police want to enter my home or business. What are my rights?There are some situations where the police are allowed to enter your home without permission and without a .
To arrest or detain a person
In urgent situations the police are allowed to enter your home or business without permission and without a warrant to or detain someone.
For example, the police can enter your home or business if:
- they need to help with a life-threatening emergency, or give emergency aid to someone inside your home or business
- there is in your home or business that relates to a serious , and the evidence may be lost or destroyed if it’s not found right away
- they’ve been chasing someone they have the power to arrest and that person is in your home or business
When the police chase someone from the scene of a crime it is called a hot pursuit. If during a hot pursuit the police see the suspect enter your home or business, they have the power to enter your home or business.
To help children
Child protection laws give the police the power to enter your home or business without a warrant if they need to take a child away from an unsafe place.
The police can take a child away from a home or business if they have to believe:
- the child is neglected or abused, and in need of protection
- the child is a runaway under the age of 16 who was in the care of a children’s aid society, and whose health or safety could be at risk if the police wait for a warrant
- the child is under 12 years old and has done something that would be a criminal offence if the child was older
Other urgent circumstances
The police also have the power to enter your home or business to:
- investigate a 911 telephone call
- help someone who reported a safely remove their belongings
- help animals in immediate distress because of injury, illness, abuse, or neglect