What Are Search Warrants, and Who Issues Them?
Search warrants are documents serving as proof that the police have been given explicit permission to search a specific place in order to look for a specific person or item. To obtain a warrant, a police officer must attest to the fact that there is good reason to believe that the person or property will be found at the place the police want to look. This is probable cause the police officer’s reasonable belief that a search of the target property will turn up the object of the search. The basis of the officer’s belief does not have to turn out to be true. There are circumstances in which the police do not need a warrant. These exceptional cases most often arise out of the urgent need of the police to investigate some matter.
