There are only two circumstances when the police can enter and search your home. First, you may give the police officers permission to enter and search your home. Secondly, the police officers may enter and search your home without your permission if they come with a search or arrest warrant. There are also emergency situations where the police are allowed to enter your home but cannot conduct any search.
What does entry with permission mean?
Someone in the home can give the police permission to enter and search the home. This person has to be an adult. If the police want to come and enter your home without a warrant and you refuse, you must say it explicitly that you do not want them to enter. Otherwise, it may be considered as an agreement between you and the police to let them in. Should you allow the police to enter your home without a search warrant, you can revoke this decision at any time and ask them to leave.
What happens when the police come with a warrant?
If the police show up at your doorstep with a warrant, they will enter and search your home with or without your permission. A warrant is simply a document that is signed by a judge and it provides details on who is to be arrested and the places that can be searched. With a search and arrest warrant, the police can enter your home even if you don’t want them to. In fact, refusing to allow the police inside your property when they have a warrant in their possession can result in obstruction charges.
What’s a search warrant?
A search warrant is a document that is signed by a judge giving the police the right to enter and search your home for things listed in this warrant. You have the right to request to see the search warrant when the police come to your home. It’s against the law for the police to destroy things unnecessarily when searching for the things listed. They should be looking in places where the things listed in the search warrant are likely to be found. If the police find other illegal items that they were not looking for, they can still take them and use them as evidence for the charges against you. Once the police have found the things they were looking for, they must leave your home. The search must stop.
What’s an arrest warrant?
An arrest warrant, on the other hand, gives the police the power to perform an arrest in your home. Generally, the police are also allowed to perform a search of the immediate surroundings once an arrest has occurred. They can carry any illegal items or evidence of the crime that took place.
What happens during an emergency?
There are some emergency situations where the police are allowed to enter your home without a warrant. For instance, if the police are following someone who has just committed an offence or whom they believe is about to and this person entered into your home, they can enter without a warrant. However, the power to enter a home during an emergency doesn’t give the police the right to search your home. However, should they see anything illegal or evidence of the crime committed, they are allowed to take it as evidence.
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