In the criminal justice system a police officer or crime scene investigator cannot legally search a person or property without a search warrant. There have been ongoing debates and revisions on the legal requirements and circumstances under which it is necessary to obtain a search and seizure warrant before crime scene processing. According to the Fourth Amendment search and seizure requirements, a warrant is required any time a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. Therefore, in an effort to protect the right of the people and their belongings against unreasonable search and seizures and up hold the law officials accountable for fair treatment and processing procedures. When a crime scene investigator comes upon the scene, they must have a search warrant. Without a warrant, all of the information gathered in order to process the crime could be greatly compromised. Now a search warrant is defined as a legal document authorizing law enforcement official to enter and search a premises or person (legal-dictionary n.d.). Therefore, when a crime scene investigator come on a scene to process that scene they most have a search warrant in order to gather all of the information needed to process the crime.
The Fourth Amendment seems clear on laws concerning crime scene investigation, but emergency situations will sometimes arise
…show more content…
They have to know that they cannot touch or process anything on the scene without a warrant. Furthermore, they have to ensure that all of the evidence is collected properly, as well as a proper perimeter is established around the crime scene to keep unauthorized people out of the scene to avoid contamination and collection of evidence. They have to also deal with the issue of sometimes getting information from witness, while making sure that their safety is not placed in any