If you are facing failing to stop for police charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto to look at your case as soon as possible.
Failing to stop for police is one of several criminal driving charges that can be filed against drivers in Toronto. It is when a police officer signals for a driver to stop their vehicle, and the driver deliberately continues driving or attempts to evade the police.
Failing to stop for police can often be accompanied by other criminal driving charges, such as impaired driving or dangerous driving.
Failing to stop for police is different from charges under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario (e.g. careless driving and other traffic and bylaw offences) because with a criminal driving charge, the Toronto police will take your photograph and fingerprints and you will have a police file. A conviction for failing to stop for police may result in a criminal record, whereas convictions under the Highway Traffic Act will only appear on your Driver’s Abstract.
This is a hybrid offence, which means the Crown prosecutor can choose to treat it as either a summary or indictable offence depending on the circumstances and severity of the incident. If you’re unsure how the Crown proceeds, learn more about the court process in Toronto.
For a first offence of failing to stop for police, when prosecuted summarily, the punishment can include a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to two years. If prosecuted by indictment, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to five years.
Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Toronto, with over 500 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of failing to stop for police beat the charge.
The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact a Toronto lawyer today by calling (647) 986-8077.
Key Takeaways
- When a driver doesn’t stop for police, they are breaking the law.
- The law says you have to pull over if the police use lights, sirens, hand signals, or other clear signs.
- This is a hybrid crime with no mandatory minimum jail sentence. The maximum time someone can spend in jail is two years (for a summary offence) or five years (for an indictable offence).
- If someone gets hurt or killed while trying to get away from the police, the penalties increase dramatically.
- Most bail conditions say you can’t drive, you have to give up your driver’s licence, and you have to check in with the police on a regular basis.
- You can win these charges if you have a good legal defence, especially if you didn’t know the police were signalling you, had a good reason, or if the police broke your Charter rights.
How can a failing to stop for police lawyer in Toronto help?
In order to convict you of failing to stop for police, the Crown must prove the following elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You were operating a motor vehicle, seagoing vessel, aircraft or railway equipment;
- You were pursued by law enforcement;
- You knew you were being pursued; and
- You did not stop your vehicle as soon as was reasonably possible.
Our lawyers can help address each relevant piece of what must be proven for this offence.
Our team can also help you communicate to police and write down your side of the story before any charges are filed. This is very important if you had a good reason not to stop right away.
It’s very important to collect evidence for your defence. Your Strategic Criminal Defence lawyer will get police dash cam videos, radio communications, and witness statements that could show you weren’t driving dangerously or that there was some confusion about whether the police were signalling you specifically.
Failing to Stop for Police Charges in the Criminal Code of Canada
According to section 320.17 of the Criminal Code:
Flight from peace officer
Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance while being pursued by a peace officer operating a vehicle or vessel and who fails, without reasonable excuse, to stop the conveyance as soon as is reasonable in the circumstances.
Examples of Failing to Stop for Police Charges
- The driver sees the police lights but doesn’t stop for a few kilometres, they could be found guilty of failing to stop for police.
- The police try to pull over a driver whose taillight is broken, but the driver is scared because their licence is suspended. They don’t stop, instead, they drive home at a normal speed with police cars with lights and sirens behind them.
- A police car with flashing lights follows a driver who runs a red light. They don’t stop, instead, they speed up quickly, weave through traffic, and run more red lights to try to get away.
Consequences of a Failing to Stop for Police Charge
Punishments for a conviction for failing to stop for police depend on a range of factors, and can include both criminal penalties imposed by the Toronto court system as well as a driving suspension. For an overview of how this works, see criminal sentencing in Toronto.
Failing to stop for police is treated as a hybrid offence in Canada. This means that the Crown can choose to prosecute you summarily or by way of indictment. This decision will depend on the facts of your case, and your punishment will vary based on how the Crown chooses to proceed. Indictment is the more serious of the two.
For a failure to stop for police conviction, you can expect:
- Summary offence: Maximum of two years’ less a day imprisonment;
- Indictment: Maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment (learn more about what a jail sentence can mean in Toronto).
Some aggravating factors that will increase the likelihood of a harsher punishment are:
- Causing bodily harm or death;
- Racing;
- Having a passenger under the age of 16 in the vehicle;
- Being paid for operating the vehicle;
- Being impaired while operating the vehicle;
- Operating a large vehicle; and
You were not permitted to be operating the vehicle.
In addition to the immediate penalties resulting from a conviction for failing to stop for police, it can have wide-ranging negative consequences on your future. You may have difficulties securing employment in the area of your choice, especially in roles that require driving. Furthermore, your insurance rates will almost certainly increase (contact your insurance agency for specifics). One of the most serious long-term consequences is the lifelong criminal record that results from a conviction, which can hinder immigration and travel.
Failing to Stop for Police Charge Defences
There are some good defences you can use to fight these serious charges, even though every case is different.
You may be able to fight charges of not stopping for the police in these ways:
- Not Seeing Police Signals: You are guilty if you know the police are trying to pull you over and you don’t stop. A lot of things could keep a driver from seeing the police lights. You might not have heard the sirens because you were listening to loud music, paying attention to heavy traffic or bad road conditions, or you might have thought the police were signalling a nearby driver. To succeed, the Crown must prove that you knew that you were being pursued by law enforcement.
- The law understands that there are times when drivers are very anxious about where and when to stop. This could be a good reason if you kept driving but went at a reasonable speed, used your hazard lights to show that you were going to pull over, and stopped in the first public or well-lit place.
- Reasonable excuse: If you had good reason for evading police, such as a medical emergency, this can help combat a failing to stop for police charge.
Failing to Stop for Police Charge Investigation
A failing to stop for police investigation is usually initiated by the peace officer involved. The police will pursue you until they can safely stop you, or they will arrest you at the scene of an accident (including potential hit and run situations) should one ensue.
Because many peace officers are vested with powers authorizing arrest, a charge can flow directly from the alleged failure to stop and may rely solely on the statement of the officer. In their investigation, however, the police will likely also consult surveillance camera footage as well as written statements from any witnesses. This evidence will be used in the Crown’s case against you.
If you are arrested, police will take you to a Police District Office for processing. If you are not present at the scene, police will track you down or issue a warrant for your arrest.
After you have been charged, police will provide a package with all the evidence they collected, known as the “disclosure package,” to the Crown Prosecutor. You will have the right to access this disclosure package to see the evidence against you. Once you retain one of our lawyers, we will assist you in obtaining the disclosure package, and we will review it with you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Crown’s case, as well as any legal defences that may be available to you.
Bail Conditions for Failing to Stop for Police Charges
If you are released on bail, you’ll be given conditions you have to follow.
- Courts usually won’t let you drive at all while you’re facing these charges because the crime has to do with driving.
- You may have to give the police or the court your driver’s licence as part of your release.
- You will have to check in with your bail supervisor or police station on a regular basis. You might have to check in once a week or once a month to show that you’re following the rules and haven’t left the area. These reporting conditions might happen more often and be stricter if there was a long chase or dangerous driving.
- If you plan to move, you need to let the police and the court know where you live now. Some bail orders may say that you have to be home at certain times.
- If there is any evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the event, the court will probably limit your use of them.
If you break any of these bail conditions, you are committing a crime called breach of undertaking or recognizance. If this happens, you might lose your bail and have to stay in jail until your trial. It could also mean that you get more criminal charges, and each one would have its own punishment.
