A search warrant is an order usually issued by a court authorizing the police to search for a person or specific items at a particular place in an attempt to reveal crime-related evidence. In the United States, conducting searches without the approval of appropriate entities could be punishable under the law.
The most intriguing part about the search warrant is that it must be issued by the judge. Moreover, the warrant must be based on a sworn affidavit. Therefore, police officers have to seek permission from a court in order to proceed with a search during an investigation (Dally, 2013). An affidavit is a document that is normally signed under oath expressing a conviction that certain evidence will be extracted from the areas of interest. In essence, the law enforcement personnel are only allowed to search the items named in the search warrant. Before the issuance of a search warrant, police officers must be convinced about their claims (Dally, 2013). Lastly, for a search warrant to be valid, it has to demonstrate the connection between the evidence and the crime. In summary, a search warrant has to be approved by a competent court of law, show the relationship between evidence and crime, and has to include an affidavit.
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Additionally, the search warrant has to be issued to the occupant where the search is being conducted by the police officer before the search. Thus, search warrants promote the civilians’ rights by preventing police officers from abusing the suspects with uninformed searches (Daly, 2013). Also, it enhances justice since police officers have to be convinced that there is evidence in the areas they intend to conduct searches. Therefore, search warrants limit the powers of the police officers against ordinary people.
In summary, a search warrant is a necessity in the criminal justice system because it protects the citizens from unlawful searches by the police.
References
Daly, Y. M. (2013). Independent issuing of search warrants: DPP V Damache. SSRN Electronic Journal . https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3451371
