Appendix II: Reasonable Suspicion

• Author: Steve Coughlan; Glen Luther
• Pages: 369-378

369

APPEN DIX I I

REASONABLE

SUSPICION1

Reasonable Suspicion Standard Met

R v Mann, [2004] 3 SCR 59: Shortly before midnight the police received

a dispatch call describing a break and enter in progre ss in downtown

Winnipeg. The suspect was described as a twenty-one-year-old Aborig-

inal male, approximately 5’6”, weighing 165 pounds, wearing a black

jacket with white sleeves, and believed to be “Zachar y Parisienne.” A

short while later the police observed the accused walking away from

the site of the offence. The Court found that the reasonable-suspicion

standard was met because the accused closely matched the description

and was only two or three blocks f rom the crime scene a short time

after the offence. It also stated that the high-crime nature of a neigh-

bourhood is not itself a basis to det ain someone, and is relevant only if

it shows the connection of an accused to a particular crime.

R v Chehil, 2013 SCC 49: Reasonable suspicion that the accused was i n

possession of narcotics established. The police checked the passenger

manifest for a WestJet f‌light arriving in H alifax looking for part icular

characterist ics, based upon which they selected the accu sed’s bags to

be subject to a sniffer dog search. The Court noted that many of the

characterist ics that were relied upon were individually capable of in-

nocent explanation, but that nonetheless, taken together, were capable

1 This appendi x deals only with reas onable suspicion in the context of inve stiga-

tive detentions. There i s also caselaw usi ng the reasonable suspicion st andard

in other context s, such as customs stops or approved-s creening-device dema nds.