Careers: Police/911 procedures

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Expert: - 6/29/2007


Question
QUESTION: Situation: 911 call from a house. Police respond. Wife meets them on the sidewalk saying that "everything is fine - it was an accidental call." Officer is suspicious that there's something going on.

Does the officer have the right legally to enter the house to check to see if everything is OK?

Is there a general standard procedure that would require the officer to investigate further than the initial comment by the wife?

ANSWER: Greg,

  There are no national "standard procedures".  Every call for service is different.  Every 911 hangup call is different.  If the officer has probable cause to believe that something is amiss inside the house then he probably would enter.  If he finds something and arrests someone it would be up to a judge whether his entrance to the house was lawful and thus the arrest.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm curious as to the latitude the officer has re: probable cause when its a 911 call. Does the fact that he thinks its odd that the wife met him half a block from the house and not at the house give him what he needs for probable cause?

Does the fact that SOMEONE called 911 give him what he needs to constitute probable cause?

Or if the wife says "my bad" does he have to let it go despite his suspicions?

Answer
Greg,

   Is this a real life situation?  If so I cannot get inside an officers mind and tell you what he thinks.  Officer #A could handle the case completly different than Officer #B.  The fact that someone has called 911 means that there is trouble of some sort at the address.  What happens after that could play out in a hundred different ways.

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Jack Toomey

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U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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