CONVICTED CRIMINALS TO FACE NEW RULES UPON RELEASE

Probationers Not Required To Provide Fluid Samples, Top Court Rules

Convicted criminals cannot be ordered to surrender blood and urine
samples on demand when they're out of jail on probation, the Supreme
Court of Canada ruled yesterday.

The decision is a victory for an Abbotsford, B.C., man convicted of
sexual assault, whom a judge ordered to submit fluid samples if
required by police because he had a history of substance abuse.

"The seizure of bodily samples is highly intrusive," wrote Justice
Louise Charron in the unanimous ruling. "It is subject to stringent
standards and safeguards to meet constitutional requirements."

Judges, therefore, cannot order samples be given without a federal law
in place that deals with privacy concerns, the court concluded.

"There is no question that a probationer has a lowered expectation of
privacy," wrote Judge Charron. "However, it is up to Parliament, not
the courts, to balance the probationers' charter rights as against
society's interest in effectively monitoring their conduct."

Harjit Singh Shoker was sentenced to 20 months in jail and two years'
probation for a September 2003 break-and-enter in which he climbed
naked into the bed of an RCMP officer's wife.

The woman called 911, but her husband came home and arrested the
intruder before the local police arrived.

Mr. Shoker was convicted of break-and-enter with intent to commit
sexual assault.