Can the police take my fingerprints if I have not been convicted?
Short answer
Yes. In Canada, the Identification of Criminals Act allows fingerprints and photographs to be taken as early as the charge stage, for indictable offences and hybrid offences — so before any conviction.
In detail
Section 2 of the Identification of Criminals Act covers, among others, people who are in lawful custody because they are charged with an indictable offence (or with an offence that could have been prosecuted by indictment), as well as people who are required to appear by summons, undertaking or court order for such an offence.
In other words, simply laying a charge is enough to trigger fingerprinting. It is not proof of guilt and it is not a criminal record: it is an identification measure.
That data goes into the national repository of criminal records maintained by the RCMP. This is why a charge, even one resolved without a conviction, can leave a trace in police files. See the question further down on withdrawn charges.
What to document
Write down the date and place where your fingerprints were taken, along with the police file number you are given. That number will be useful later if you ask for your data to be destroyed or request a criminal record check.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Identification of Criminals Act, s. 2 — Justice Laws Website
- Criminal records — Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Related questions
- Do I have the right to a free lawyer right away when I am arrested?
- Can I get legal aid for a criminal charge?
- Who decides to lay criminal charges in Quebec?
- Can the victim withdraw the complaint?
- How long does the police have to lay charges against me?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.