Ontario Police College (OPC) Exam 1 Practice Test

Under section 495.1, warrantless arrest is permitted when which of the following occurs?

The accused has a prior conviction

The arrest is necessary to prevent harm

They have not yet committed any offense but are believed to pose a risk

They are about to breach a form of release or commit an indictable offense while on a previous form of release

Warrantless arrest under section 495.1 is allowed when a person who is on release (bail or similar) is about to breach the release conditions or is about to commit an indictable offense while on release. This power exists to prevent harm and to protect the integrity of the release order by acting immediately when there’s imminent risk of non-compliance or new criminal conduct. The other scenarios don’t fit because a prior conviction alone doesn’t justify immediate arrest, a general aim to prevent harm is too broad without an imminent offense or breach, and someone who hasn’t committed any offense but is only believed to pose a risk doesn’t meet the threshold for warrantless arrest without further imminent behavior.