Search

Definition

Searching by the police involves the intrusive examination of persons, property or terrain in order to obtain evidence of wrongdoing that is likely to be concealed. Searching people, property and terrain exemplifies how police are set apart from other citizens by the actions they perform. In all jurisdictions police have the power to search and thus breach the barrier between the public and private domain. However much it might be hedged around with qualifications, police are duty-bound to search for evidence of wrongdoing that may be concealed about one's person, or property, or hidden (e.g., buried).

Parents often turn to the police to search for missing children, not only because police have officers and equipment (e.g., aircraft) that can readily be mobilized to survey the terrain in which the child has disappeared, but also because the police can look where others cannot. House-to-house inquiries may be conducted routinely, but few other citizens would feel entitled to ask perfect strangers whether they have seen a missing child. Police can venture onto private property and look in outhouses and other places where a child might hide. They may survey the terrain from the sky using aircraft and thus scrutinize what is normally kept from view by walls and fences. Even if this is done with the agreement of those who are questioned and onto whose property the police venture, it is an intrusion into privacy that is socially exceptional.

When a serious crime has been committed the police will often search the entire ‘crime scene’. This may involve collecting items of potentially evidential value (e.g., microscopic remnants of fabric). While most popular portrayals of this process focus upon the remarkable skills of forensic scientists, what is often neglected is that in order to ‘eliminate’ potential suspects from the inquiry their privacy must be intruded upon. For instance, mobile phone records might be searched to reveal who phoned whom and from where, all of which a person may wish to have remained private.

The more actively the police intrude into privacy the more heavily the police rely upon their legal powers. Depending upon the legal provisions in particular jurisdictions, if the police have more or less firm grounds for suspecting that a citizen is carrying contraband (e.g., illicit property or an illegal weapon) they invariably have the power to search that person. It is important to note that the degree of certainty required for acting upon such a suspicion usually falls far short of that required for an arrest. Once a person is arrested then searching is almost routine, partly to find evidence to support the arrest, but also for the health and safety of the public, the police officer, and the suspect themselves. Items that might be used to cause injury are normally removed, which routinely extends to belts and neckties. All the clothing of an arrested person may be removed for forensic examination in some cases. Such searching can become extremely [Page 282]intrusive, including the examination of body cavities.

Another aspect of searching is the identification of the person who has been under arrest. Fingerprints and DNA samples are routinely taken to reveal whether or not the arrested person is concealing their identity and/or other important personal characteristics, such as previous convictions and outstanding warrants for arrest.

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