POLICE NEED MORE THAN UNVERIFIED TIP, TOP COURT RULES

An unsubstantiated tip that someone is dealing drugs from a phone number doesn’t amount to reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. In a 5-4 decision Friday on a pair of related cases, the high court said police must take sufficient steps to verify such tips to avoid entrapping suspects. “As state actors, police must respect the rights and freedoms of all

Canadians and be accountable to the public they serve and protect,” said a majority of the court. “At the same time, police require various investigative techniques ... Without a requirement of reasonable suspicion, the police could target individuals at random, thereby invading people’s privacy, exposing them to temptation and generating crimes that would not otherwise have occurred,” the decision said.