Search Warrants and All

[StephenC]

Since a number of posts have questioned why four or five officers need to be involved in a search warrant, I thought I might shed some light on why this happens. Again, most people simply lack real knowledge about how and why certain things happen in law enforcement. Please consider the following.

The first priority when assessing a law enforcement mission is safety - safety of the officers involved and certainly the safety of civilians who may be present at the scene. Serving search warrants, even those related to the most mundane crimes is, at best, a crapshoot. Understandably, few things anger people more or quicker than having their homes or property searched. We have a constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches. That is why search warrants are very specific, they are not “fishing” expeditions. It is also why a judge must sign warrants to make them valid. My experience showed judges are very reluctant to sign search warrants and you better be ready to answer some hard questions when you stand before the bench. This is how it should be.

As an officer, when you walk up to that door and announce your intention to search, you never know if you will be met with reluctant cooperation or full-blown resistance. You better be ready for the worse case scenario or someone’s going to get hurt. It becomes imperative that the officers involved in the search gain control of the situation as quickly as possible and retain control until they leave the premises. You never know how many people you will be dealing with, their mental state or the current inventory of the family arsenal. Also, persons present can not be allowed to wander around or leave while the search is being conducted.

As a First Lieutenant I always considered four or five officers a minimum to conduct a search. In some cases, there is full SWAT involvement, it just depends on the situation and the crime being investigated. The initial show of force discourages a possible foolish act. After that at least two officers would conduct the actual search (get in, seize what you’re looking for, and get out as fast as possible), while two officers secured the inside premises (watch those present), and, if available, one officer to secure the outside of the premises. Is it a waste of manpower if it turns out there will be no resistance? Yes. Is it a waste of manpower if it keeps someone from getting hurt? You be the judge. By the way, it would not be unusual for one or maybe two officers to leave the scene once it was determined there was a very low threat level.

Thanks for taking the time to read this info. I apologize for not limiting my posts to Cobras, but if there is an on-going investigation of replicas in California, it’s probably because of one or two shady dealers, title washing, and people trying to circumvent what appears to be a less than user friendly DMV. I would expect there might be more of you answering the door to find four or five officers standing there. Hopefully, you now have a better idea why they are there.

Best Wishes