British police officer talks about the need for a warrant.

Thought this might be useful to any fellow brits, from an ask reddit thread here.

British officer here - we do this as well. It's done to stop evidence being destroyed before the door is answered.

And in fact, in the UK, we very rarely need a warrant. Our main powers of entry without a warrant are:

*If we reasonably believe that someone is in the house and we want to arrest them for an "indictable offence" (one punishable by more than six months in prison), we can force entry to search for them and arrest them.

*If we have just arrested someone, we can search the premises where they were at the time of their arrest, or immediately before, for evidence related to the offence for which they have been arrested (i.e. if we arrest someone at their home address, we can search their house).

*If we have arrested someone outside their home, we can search any building which they control or occupy for evidence relating to the offence for which they have been arrested, or to similar offences (e.g. if we arrest a shoplifter at a shop, we can search their home address, and the storage locker they rent, for stolen goods). This requires the approval of a police officer of the rank of Inspector (rank structure: Constable -> Sergeant -> Inspector)

*To prevent or deal with a "breach of the peace" (an extremely nebulous legal term basically meaning "any harm")

There are also a number of minor offences for which we have a power of entry without a warrant to make an arrest (e.g. animal cruelty), and a few other circumstances which are either very obvious (e.g. to save life and limb, when in hot pursuit) or so rare as to not be worth mentioning (e.g. if I suspect that someone is wearing a political uniform in private premises, I can force entry to arrest them for it).

In four years working with the police, I think I have used a search warrant maybe once or twice, out of easily forty to fifty forced entries. I can't tell you the number of times someone (who has watched too many US cop shows) tells me "you're not coming in without a warrant!" only to find that yes indeed I am coming in without a warrant.

And an arrest here doesn't require probable cause like in the US. We only require "reasonable suspicion". The way it was explained to me was, if "probable cause" is 60% certainty, "reasonable suspicion" is 10% certainty - any articulable suspicion that a crime has been committed and that the person being arrested is guilty of it is reason enough.

In other words, we can legally search someone's home for evidence, without a warrant or the authorisation of anyone other than ourselves, based on a 10% certainty that they may have committed a similar offence to the one they were arrested for, as long as they were arrested there.


Comments


[6 Points] darknetpotter:

One of few ways in which the US police are better than British ones.

10% certainty - any articulable suspicion that a crime has been committed and that the person being arrested is guilty of it is reason enough.

Pretty much means they can come up with any excuse to get in.


[2 Points] None:

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[2 Points] None:

Holy shit. American police would love all that shit... Holy... Now that the USA is a more mature empire, all those things would be pretty convenient. I'm definitely happy that it's baked into our constitution


[2 Points] Hank_Vendor:

cunt


[1 Points] ziz1:

if I suspect that someone is wearing a political uniform in private premises, I can force entry to arrest them for it.

WTF?


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] The_fire_bird:

The way it was explained to me was, if "probable cause" is 60% certainty, "reasonable suspicion" is 10% certainty.

Still, could be worse. If the police in any other European Union country say that they want us in the UK arresting, they don't even need to provide 10% certainty.

You can be carted off to Romania without any recourse, and oddly enough, your British rights (like the right to a fair trial) don't apply, not like here where you have to charged within 28 days.

And then in the last general election we had Cleggy trying to tell us that the European Arrest Warrant was good for us


[-11 Points] None:

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