Consent to Search Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

fancy to Search - Re pursuit Paper ExampleWhile there atomic number 18 a number of reasons why a practice of law officer might prefer to obtain approve as opposed to warrant, it is less clear why an unmarried would voluntarily consent to the inconvenience of a legal philosophy search. This paper analyses the consent to search issue and considers why policy resort to consent searches as an investigative tool, why individuals might voluntarily consent to a search and how consent searches benefit the public. Consent Searches as a Police Investigative Tool According to Stack police largely affirm on consent searches at the airport in their efforts to interdict adulterous drug dealingsking (183). Police suspicions argon usually aroused as to who might be a presumable drug trafficker base on the latters conformity to police drug courier profiles of persons involved in the illicit drug trade (Stack, 183). This suspicion would not usually be sufficient to obtain a search warrant on the grounds of probable cause or reasonable suspicion that the individual is virtually to or has move a criminal offence. Even if, the officer had probable cause, it would be counterproductive for the police to apply for and go through the process of obtaining a search warrant as the individual leave likely leave the airport or take a flight outside of the jurisdiction in the meantime (Stack, 183-184). According to Nadler and Trout, police investigative practices in the US typically involve on-the-fly searches as a means of detecting evidence of crime (328). In other words, these types of searches are impromptu and not accompanying to an existing criminal investigation. Police are acting on their instincts and training regarding a persons appearance or behavior or even presence in a particular rear (Nadler and Trout, 328). For the most part, consent searches are obtained during routinely made traffic stops. In a typical case, the police will often stop a driver for a minor tra ffic infraction much(prenominal) as a flawed tail-light, changing lanes without a signal or for exceeding the speed limit. When police officers stop a motorist for a minor traffic infraction it is not usually because of the comprehend danger of these infractions, but for the opportunity the stop provides for investigating suspicious citizens (Nadler and Trout, 329). Even where police stop an individual in a routine traffic stop on a hunch that the individual is likely in possession of illegal drugs, the stop is not unlawful if there is evidence of an actual traffic violation (Whren v US, 806). According to Nadler and Trout, the federal government awards significant funding to local police departments as a means of advancing the nations war on drugs (329). Therefore, local police departments invite a significant incentive for interdicting drugs and this accounts for the large reliance on motorists consent to be searched and have their vehicles searched in routine traffic stops (Na dler and Trout, 329). Consent searches are necessitated where there is no probable cause or where there are no reasonable grounds to suspect that a crime is being committed or was committed (Nadler and Trout, 230). In addition to passengers at the airport and drivers in traffic