First-instance warrants: Warrants for wanted suspects who the police are looking for but can't find.

In cases where the police want to arrest an accused but cannot locate them they may issue a warrant for their arrest. This is known as a first-instance warrant because it is issued before the person is formally charged. It allows police forces all over Canada and the USA to arrest the person if they happen to come in contact with them and hold them for charges to be laid. As a result, some people may wrongly believe that the police need a warrant to arrest someone (they don’t).

First-instance warrants are usually what people think of when they think of warrants, but they only exist in a relatively small number of cases where the police can’t find their suspect to arrest them. As such, the public is notified that the person is wanted and that there is an outstanding warrant for their arrest. Some first-instance warrants will be issued under CC s. 703 (1), which is known as a "Canada-wide warrant", however even non Canada-wide warrants can still be enforced anywhere in Canada, the U.S., and other friendly jurisdictions.

Putting a warrant out for someone’s arrest allows the person to be easily arrested by any law enforcement agency in Canada and the USA and therefore is an excellent arrest tool in cases where the suspect has fled (whether intentionally or not).

Pre-charge warrants in the first-instance are inherently public in nature because the police are often looking for the assistance of the public in locating the suspect.

In addition to identifying the suspect, the police may also be looking to raise awareness of the individual who is considered to be a danger to the public. By putting them on blast in the media the police increase the likelihood of making an arrest, and warning people to avoid their allegedly dangerous suspect.

If the police are calling or threatening (warning you in a legal way) to issue a warrant for your arrest you should contact counsel and act on it immediately. You are much better off turning yourself in now before the police put you “on blast” in the media and damage your reputation permanently.

If the police are calling you on the phone or emailing you saying that you are arrestable, wanted, being charged with X, etc. this is your opportunity to hire a lawyer and arrange to turn yourself in now before they potentially go public with the fact that they are looking for you. In these circumstances it is 100% known that they are going to arrest you. This is not always the case though when speaking with the police as some people may be led to falsely believe they are not going to be trouble when they go to the station.

The police may plan to arrest you when you arrive at the station but not tell you this directly. In some cases they will invite you to attend at the station to discuss an incident or give your side of the story. They are looking for you to incriminate or further incriminate yourself or someone else. Some of these people who are talking to the police are going to be arrested and charged regardless of whether they comply or not.

This is why you want to have your lawyer handle as much of this process for you as you can. A person can make their situation much worse without realizing the irreversible damage they are doing (usually by talking in one way or another) until it is too late. Don't be this person. Talk to a lawyer now before things get worse.

Once they go public, you will never be able to undo the damage to your reputation by having the charges associated with your name online in police press reports, media stories, etc.

It is much better to discreetly turn yourself in to the police with the assistance of counsel now than to have your name and picture blasted across the media and the internet where it will remain in the public domain forever. Even an innocent person can easily have their reputation harmed forever by having a first-instance warrant being issued against them.

If you were previously arrested and missed a court or fingerprint date (didn’t show up), or you have been told by the police, CBSA, U.S. Customs or otherwise are aware of an outstanding warrant for your arrest, please give us a call for a no-obligation quote or see our article on arrest warrants in Ontario, Canada for more information.

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