What are the laws concerning "police welfare check-ins". Can the enter your home without a search warrant?
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Anonymous
ANSWERS: 5
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a police officer cannot enter your house without a warrent. The only way a police officer can enter your home, business, etc... is if they have probable cause that a crime is being committed or is going to be committed. By them entering a house without a warrent would be a illegal search and seizure.
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yes police can enetr your home for emergency situations- lets say your house is on fire and your babay is in there just in view from the open front door, will he call to get a warrent to enter your house? a welfare check can be the same type of thing, even though he's unsure if u r having a problem or not.
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Absolutely. If the officer has probable cause to believe an emergency exists inside the dwelling, a warrant is not needed. The police are not searching for fruits of a crime to be used in court. the intent is for the protection of the people inside. I do this all the time on "check the welfare" calls. People screaming, a body on the floor, blood visible, house dissaray, and hearing gunshots are probable cause reason to enter a dwelling, without a search warrant. Its called welfare intervention and is covered by law.
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The police were called by an internet acquaintance of my girlfriend's. She told them (purely out of spite that I did not choose HER as a love interest on another website) that she believed my girlfriend was in in danger. After checking my identification for wants, warrants and holds...even checking to see that I was indeed NOT a registered sex offender: they left, having come to our home for nothing but false allegations and purported 'suspicions'. Yes, it can happen...whether there is any real evidence or not!
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You may find that the police have broad latitude not only to enter your home but also to insist that you receive a psychiatric evaluation just on the word of an informant. Many officers are more likely to take you into custody for a psychiatric evaluation if someone is giving them misinformation, because of the disconnect between your state--or your anger at the intrusion. Resisting a welfare call, or, heaven forbid, taking a defensive action against the officers (it's usually several) can cause you problems of their own. If you are the subject of a welfare call, and you aren't sick or suicidal, be polite, be informative, and stay cool. You may still spend the day, or a couple of days, explaining yourself to social workers, psychologists, a psychiatrist, and a judge. If you are held on the basis of false report, expect just a passing apology, and usually not from the officer who hauls you off. But you may be able to get a restraining order against the person making a false report on your state of mind or state of health, and they may face criminal charges.
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