Foreword

• Author: Steve Coughlan/Glen Luther
• Profession: Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University/Associate Professor, College of Law, Saskatchewan
• Pages: 11-12

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FOR E WOR D

The publication of this book is opportune for the Canadian legal sys-

tem. Arrest and detention are important police powers that tell us much

about the relationship between citizens and police in a democratic soci-

ety. Exploring the balance between legitimate law enforcement and the

freedom of citizens to be left alone has led to some controversy about

when a detention or arrest is justif‌ied. Interactions between the police

and citizens are increasingly under scrutiny for a number of reasons:

there is uncertainty about the police force’s power to assert authority in

certain situations; there have been allegations of police using excessive

force; and there is the constant question of whether racial prof‌iling has

factored into the decision to detain — and sometimes all of these issues

surface at once.

Contributing to the legal uncertainty, the Supreme Court of Can-

ada recognized a common law investigative detention power in R. v.

Mann (2004), 21 C.R. (6th) 1. Unfortunately, that decision made it even

less clear when a detention for Charter purposes had occurred. In R. v.

Grant (2009), 66 C.R. (6th) 1, the Supreme Court of Canada has just

recently ref‌ined the test for when a detention for Charter purposes has

occurred and, for the f‌irst time, def‌ined when such a detention is arbi-

trary contrary to section 9 of the Charter. Thus, the time is ripe for a

comprehensive work on detention and arrest.

Steve Coughla n and Gle n Luther h ave met t hat need w ith th is book .

Alt hough the b ook do es no t ana lyze ever y sit uati on in w hich an ind ivi d-

ual might be detained or arrested, it does address the major powers of

arrest and detention, whether at common law or by statute. The authors