Description: "Police enforce the law, but they must also obey it. Statutes circumscribe how law enforcement officers conduct their work. At the same time, Canadian courts have handed police many powers to stop, search, and otherwise investigate people in the pursuit of public safety and crime prevention. Ancillary Police Powers in Canada explains what these common-law police powers are, how they came to be, and, crucially, what the potential dangers are in their expanding scope. Why are Mr. Big sting operations used in this country? What is the difference between police duty and lawful authority? Should the Supreme Court rescind powers when the police tactics they enable become controversial? This nuanced book surveys the evolution, application, and future of judge-made police powers. The authors, experts in their fields, bring historical perspective, critical legal theory, and empirical analysis to an issue that is fundamental to constitutional protection from state interference with individual liberty."--
Brief description: John W. Burchill is an instructor at the University of Manitoba, chief of staff with the Winnipeg Police Service, and president of the Winnipeg Police Museum and Historical Society. He is the author of Volumes 1 and 2 of Pioneer Policemen: The History of the Manitoba Provincial Police.
Review Quotes: "I know of no single work that attempts to do what this book does so well: bring together into a single account the history of policing, its relation to the common law, the emergence of the doctrine of Ancillary Police Powers, its practical effects, and its theoretical shortcomings. This book is unusually diverse and substantive - and it is immensely valuable."-- "Robert Diab, coauthor of Search and Seizure"