xsosorry
Jun 14, 2012, 04:52 PM
Hi everyone. Awhile back I posted about my arrest for my theft under 5000 offense. I have learned a lot a long the way, and one of the more interesting things is that in Canada, in a lot of provinces (but not all) it is the CROWN ATTORNEY that approves a charge, not the arresting police officer (which is why on the appearance notice the officer gives you it says "...who has not yet been charged with a crime") They lay an "information" (a report basically) and the crown decides what to do with it. However, in Canada a person who has not been charged with an offense can still be fingerprinted/phtographed.
In my particular circumstance, I have been offered a pre-charge diversion program, meaning that once the program is complete, I won't be charged (as opposed to being charged, but having the charges stayed or withdrawn). According to the crown attorney and my lawyers, the crown will notify the CPIC to destroy the fingerprints after the program is complete. I still have to wait a year to have my file destroyed locally, but the sergeant in charge of identification in my city has assured me that the US border does not have access to their local records.
It is a known fact, however, that the CPIC and RCMP is very very behind on all of the administrative "stuff". It can take 5 months to have your fingerprints checked to make sure there is no information about you in their system for a criminal record search. I realize that if I tried to cross the border, my FPS could still be accessible, but there should be no charge associated with it. My question is, if the border guards see that I have been fingerprinted, but there is no charge associated with it, can they turn me back on the grounds that I have been fingerprinted alone? I have spoken to my lawyers about this matter and they told me that they have had clients with pretty serious sexual charges that were withdrawn who were able to cross after being questioned, and I'm not even being charged so I should have no problem, but I would rather wait a year than be turned around and need to apply for a waiver for life.
In my particular circumstance, I have been offered a pre-charge diversion program, meaning that once the program is complete, I won't be charged (as opposed to being charged, but having the charges stayed or withdrawn). According to the crown attorney and my lawyers, the crown will notify the CPIC to destroy the fingerprints after the program is complete. I still have to wait a year to have my file destroyed locally, but the sergeant in charge of identification in my city has assured me that the US border does not have access to their local records.
It is a known fact, however, that the CPIC and RCMP is very very behind on all of the administrative "stuff". It can take 5 months to have your fingerprints checked to make sure there is no information about you in their system for a criminal record search. I realize that if I tried to cross the border, my FPS could still be accessible, but there should be no charge associated with it. My question is, if the border guards see that I have been fingerprinted, but there is no charge associated with it, can they turn me back on the grounds that I have been fingerprinted alone? I have spoken to my lawyers about this matter and they told me that they have had clients with pretty serious sexual charges that were withdrawn who were able to cross after being questioned, and I'm not even being charged so I should have no problem, but I would rather wait a year than be turned around and need to apply for a waiver for life.