The Constitution gives people certain protections One of those is protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
As part of that, the police cannot just come in and search your home whenever they feel like it. Generally speaking, officers need a warrant to go into a person’s house or apartment to search for evidence and take away any evidence they find.
Sometimes, however, the police can enter to carry out their search without having a warrant. Here are three of those occasions?
1. If you tell them they can
It is easy to get confused and make errors if you are startled by the police knocking at your door. One error a lot of people make is agreeing to an officer’s request to enter their property. Often, the officers phrase the request so innocently that people don’t fully recognize what they are agreeing to and the consequences that could follow.
2. If they can see evidence in plain view
Let’s say you open the door to an officer. If they see something sitting on your kitchen table they consider evidence, they may just enter and grab it as the law permits them to enter if there is evidence in plain view. Once they are in, they may well be justified in searching further.
3. If there are exigent circumstances
If a police officer at your door hears someone from the inside shout, “Quick, flush the drugs down the toilet” they can enter. They have the right to enter if they believe evidence is about to be destroyed. The same applies if they have reason to believe someone is about to get hurt if they don’t enter immediately.
You might not always agree with the police officer’s interpretation of the situation. If they intend to enter, don’t try to block them. Do seek urgent legal guidance to protect your rights.