Introduction
Law enforcement officers are the only individuals in society who are allowed to use violence. They relate to this means when arresting criminals and protecting public order is necessary. However, not everyone understands that an arrest is a clearly defined legal procedure, which denotes that an officer cannot make it at their discretion. A police officer should carefully analyze a situation to ensure that using force is a justified and needed solution. Probable cause is a leading legal standard that should be met to state that an arrest is legal, and this term implies a few specific details requiring specific attention.
Identifying Indicators for Arresting a Suspect
To begin with, one should explain that two scenarios explain how a person can be arrested. On the one hand, there should be an arrest warrant that authorized people and bodies issue. This official document relies on evidence and facts and stipulates that a particular person should be detained to protect the community.
On the other hand, not all arrests are made based on such warrants because there can be no time to wait for legal procedures. In this case, law enforcement officers should analyze the case onsite to make timely decisions. The law stipulates that the police may only arrest a person for probable cause (Fisher, 2021). Detailed analysis is needed to understand the meaning of this term.
Probable Cause from Police Perspective
The concept of probable cause provides police officers with a clear explanation of when they should make an arrest. This phenomenon arises when an appropriate person has trustworthy evidence to believe that a crime was committed, is currently occurring, or will occur in the future (Shapiro Law Firm, 2022).
Here, specific attention should refer to evidence rather than suspicion or hunches as the basis of such a cause. Police officers can use multiple sources to collect the required evidence. Possible options include observation, witnesses, victims, police expertise, collective knowledge of police, circumstantial evidence, and reasonable inferences (Fisher, 2021). The police may have any of this information to believe that a particular person should be detained and arrested.
As has been mentioned above, law enforcement officers can collect all the required details and present them to a judge to make the latter issue an arrest warrant. However, if a warrantless arrest is performed, the police workers are still expected to present the evidence before the court. This action is needed to allow a judge to determine whether there was probable cause to arrest in the past (Fisher, 2021). This information demonstrates that a judge can stipulate that the arrest was illegal because the probable cause was absent. In this case, a suspect should be immediately released from custody. This hypothetical example explains that law enforcement officers should know arrest rules and regulations to ensure they do not engage in illegal practices.
Probable Cause from Court Perspective
In addition, it is a judge’s responsibility to determine whether probable cause exists. They try to conduct a comprehensive analysis of every case and make correct decisions. In particular, judges typically focus on the presented facts, the totality of the circumstances, and common sense (Fisher, 2021). All these details should help them support their decisions and let police officers know when to arrest a suspect.
The Role of the Fourth Amendment in Arresting Suspects
One should explain that the Fourth Amendment imposed the requirements above. This constitutional provision stipulates citizens’ right to be secure in their houses, papers, and private situations (Fisher, 2021). The provided articulation guarantees that law enforcement officers do not abuse their power without sufficient evidence. Thus, applying the Fourth Amendment in practice implies that the police should have and present robust evidence to prove that a particular person should be seized (Fisher, 2021). This state of affairs positively affects the spread of democracy in the United States because it guarantees that no people’s freedoms and rights are limited against the law.
Police Training for Decision-Making in Arrest Procedures
The information above offers theoretical regulations that should govern the process of making an arrest. However, when police face such a situation in real life, additional and unexpected challenges can arise. Suitable examples include concerns about whether the identified evidence is sufficient or whether a person should be immediately arrested to protect public order. Since such decisions are frequently made under time pressure, law enforcement officers should have excellent knowledge and expertise to make the correct choices. These individuals should participate in effective interventions to master these skills.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that law enforcement officers should be aware of all the theoretical backgrounds associated with making a legal arrest. It is mentioned by the Office of the Ohio Public Defender (2021) that an arresting officer should have sufficient and exhaustive information to detain someone. That is why much attention should be drawn to their formal education. This information denotes that future police officers should carefully learn the laws and the US Constitution to distinguish between lawful and unlawful practices.
However, one should understand that learning does not stop when a person graduates from the academy and becomes a member of the police department staff. When the professional career begins, officers are encouraged to enrich their legislation knowledge and monitor judicial practice to understand how judges interpret probable cause in real life.
On the other hand, law enforcement officers should understand how to apply the obtained information in practice. That is why practical training is equally important to understand when and how to make an arrest. For example, appropriate simulations can be practical because they place students in real-life situations and teach them how to behave under different conditions.
Furthermore, current police officers can significantly benefit from specifically tailored training sessions. These interventions are similar to simulations in their connection to real-life scenarios, but they additionally allow the professionals to become aware of protocols. These documents are typically designed to provide police officers with recommendations and guidelines for making an arrest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, making an arrest is a required procedure to protect public order and detain criminals. However, this activity can become illegal if law enforcement officers fail to follow all the associated requirements. An arrest is only considered legal if made with a proper arrest order or if a police officer has probable cause to engage in this activity. The concept of probable cause stipulates that the police should have robust facts and evidence to make an arrest. Practical educational and training interventions are needed to guarantee that law enforcement officers know and apply all the arresting regulations.
References
Fisher, E. (2021). When is an arrest a legal arrest? FindLaw. Web.
Office of the Ohio Public Defender. (2020). Arrest. Web.
Shapiro Law Firm. (2022). What is probable cause for an arrest? Web.