# Police want to search my home in murder investigation **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 10, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107 "2009-11-10T23:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/121 "2009-11-11T17:02:30Z")
I would not let them in my house without a warrant. I wonder if their real goal is to see who starts bringing out a lot of trash or starts digging in their yard between the announcement and the home visits. ---
**Author:** ![DETXL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/detxl/32/19366_2.png) [@DETXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DETXL)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/122 "2009-11-11T17:03:22Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I know what a non-sequitur is (I had three years of college Latin). Your retarded “viewscreens” are an example. It _does not follow_ that being willing to help the cops with one specific investigation means that I would be willing to surrender all privacy in all circumstances. It’s just as much a **non-sequitur** as suggesting that being willing to invite guests to your house for dinner means that you should automatically be willing to let them put a 24 hour webcam in your house. But you’re not surrendering “all privacy in all circumstances”. **Rhythmdvl** ’s scenario explicitly says that you can turn them off at any time with no negative repercussions. So why wouldn’t you have one? I would hope it wasn’t just to assert some sophomoric sense of privilege. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/123 "2009-11-11T17:04:20Z")
Although I have nothing to hide _regarding this kidnapping_, I am not pure enough to have absofuckintively nothing to hide. The fireworks in the basement, the “vase” with the hose attached, etc. I would politely refuse entry by the police, unless they had warrant in hand. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/124 "2009-11-11T17:05:24Z")
“A house around the corner was recently robbed- mind if we come in and look around, to make sure you didn’t commit the crime?” “Our sources say that someone in the area is manufacturing illegal drugs. Mind if we search your house so we can cross you off our list of suspects?” It’s a dangerous precedent, and I wouldn’t have any of it. When come back, officer, bring warrant. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/125 "2009-11-11T17:09:47Z")
> [@DETXL](#): > > But you’re not surrendering “all privacy in all circumstances”. **Rhythmdvl** ’s scenario explicitly says that you can turn them off at any time with no negative repercussions. So why wouldn’t you have one? I would hope it wasn’t just to assert some sophomoric sense of privilege. If I can turn it off at any time, then sure, I’ll put in in my house and never turn it on. ETA, well, on second thought, I might turn it on just to treat the cops to an occasional butt dance in my underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/126 "2009-11-11T17:12:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I doubt you’d say you didn’t want to search the neighborhood if your own kid was missing. Don’t have a child. If I did, I would hope that I retained the same thought that the cops are probably wasting their goddamned precious time and resources searching 6000 houses a month after the disappearance of an 18-year-old, intimidating my neighbors and thousands of people I don’t even know into opening their houses up without a warrant lest they be branded as “child”-haters or possible murderers. ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/127 "2009-11-11T17:13:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If I can turn it off at any time, then sure, I’ll put in in my house and never turn it on. > > ETA, well, on second thought, I might turn it on just to treat the cops to an occasional butt dance in my underwear. And would you turn it on when a child is missing in your neighborhood? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/128 "2009-11-11T17:15:11Z")
Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/129 "2009-11-11T17:27:18Z")
Thing is, this is an absolutely worthless tactic. You think the guy who has the kid’s dead body in his freezer is going to give the cops permission to come in? And I for sure wouldn’t allow the cops to search my house without a warrant, because while I don’t partake, certain members of my household have been known to use certain plants that may or may not be illegal to possess under various state and federal laws. Plus I’ve got a collection of animal skulls. I can imagine the cops taking one look at the cat and deer skulls on my shelf and deciding I’m some kind of twisted deviant. And how many homes can they really search? I guess if they just poke their heads in and glance around, it could take 10 minutes. But to really search? Like, search enough to find evidence of a missing kid? A couple of hours. And they surely aren’t going to search hundreds of houses for a couple of hours this way. It’s a pure stunt. It’s theater, to convince the public that the cops are doing something about the missing kid, when of course they aren’t doing anything, because there’s nothing they can do. So given that, this is my response: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYHfRQ6Nn1c&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYHfRQ6Nn1c&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/130 "2009-11-11T17:30:40Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Eliminating suspects is normal police methdology. All they’re trying to do is remove you as a suspect. Acting like a butthurt civil rights crusader at the door not only impedes the search for a missing kid, but it does not even eliminate you as a suspect. Why not just be a grown up and put a more important goal ahead of your self-absorbed terrorialism? The only rights you get to keep are the ones you stand up for. Searches like these are not productive, they’re media events agencies use when they have nothing else to go on, and I for one would refuse to participate in the sham unless compelled by a warrant. You may be content to toss away your civil rights because standing up for them is occasionally inconvenient, others of us are not. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/131 "2009-11-11T17:41:20Z")
To fill in some knowledge gaps: Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. A general Charter-compliant standard for a search is “reasonable and probable grounds” that are _fact based_. ETA: you can voluntarily consent to a search and seizure, which is what the cops are asking people to do, and you can also revoke your consent at any time. (“NO! Don’t look inthe closet!!!”) The “missing child” is an 18 year old woman and not a minor _now_, but she was 17 at the time she went missing in September about two weeks before her birthday. She had just moved to Canada from the Republic of Georgia and does’t speak English well and does not have a lot of friends or family here yet. Personally, if the police just want people to check their garden sheds and any nooks and crannies, that’s fine. They could turn up at my door, I’ll gladly tell them that I looked in the shed and in our furnace room and there was no trace of a missing teenager. I would not allow them into my home without a warrant, sorry. I am a firm believer in the Charter. And cops who say “You may face a warrant…” well, okay, that’s a great big “MAY” there, and personally the veiled threat is not appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Logical\_Phallacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Logical\_Phallacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Logical_Phallacy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/132 "2009-11-11T17:47:03Z")
Not to add fuel to the fire, but I heard the police speaking about this situation on the radio this morning, and I clearly heard them state that " **we have no suspect at this time**. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/133 "2009-11-11T17:50:26Z")
That just means they haven’t narrowed it down to anybody specific yet. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/134 "2009-11-11T17:51:31Z")
> [@Logical\_Phallacy](#): > > Not to add fuel to the fire, but I heard the police speaking about this situation on the radio this morning, and I clearly heard them state that " **we have no suspect at this time**. They also have stated repeatedly that there is “no evidence of foul play”. So there wouldn’t be a suspect. ETA: Although there was that bit last month when they said there were reports she was communicating with an evangelical priest in Toronto, originally from her home country, who it’s alleged has been trying to persuade teenagers from Georgia to cut ties with their families. ---
**Author:** ![Logical\_Phallacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Logical\_Phallacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Logical_Phallacy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/135 "2009-11-11T17:55:08Z")
I was also very pleased to just read that the CCLA (Canadian Civil Liberties Association) is already getting involved 🙂 [http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091110/mariam\_search\_091110/20091110?hub=Toronto](http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091110/mariam_search_091110/20091110?hub=Toronto) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/136 "2009-11-11T18:01:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I didn’t say everyone is a suspect, by the way. I said anyone who the cops thing might have done it is a suspect. Actually, you said this – > [@](#): > > Anyone who could have done it is a suspect until they are eliminated. Nothing about what the cops say. Your only qualifier is whether a person could have committed the crime. So, again. Do you trot yourself down to the precinct every time a crime is committed that you could have done, so as not to obstruct the investigation? Every day in every way do you actively pursue a course of action that helps the police eliminate suspects in whatever cases might be open? If not, then refusing to give up my constitutional rights is no hindrance either. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/137 "2009-11-11T18:03:16Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Actually, you said this – Nothing about what the cops say. Your only qualifier is whether a person could have committed the crime. Read all my posts, don’t just cherry pick one. I said repeatedly that what puts you on the list is the police thinking you might have done it. Even in the post you quoted, I said anyone who _could have done it_, which doesn’t mean anyone at all, but anyone who had had some bare level of opportunity or motive. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/138 "2009-11-11T18:23:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, I trust the police- to do their duty and enforce the law. Why do you think that that even a 100% trustful police officer would turn a blind eye to other violations? Let us take a worst case scenario- you are 100% innocent of this kidnapping (if that’s what it is, other than a runaway) but you have a basement full of bodies from other crimes. Should the police just tip their hats and thank you? > > How about if they spotted known stolen merchandise? Bomb-making supplies?.. > … > Seditious literature? > > Where are you sure the Police, no matter how trustworthy, will draw the line? Sorry for the late response… First, if you are breaking the law, don’t let them in your house. Second, if you are breaking the law and the cops find out about it on an unrelated manner, you’re still breaking the law! What does it matter how you get caught? Honestly, if we had this type of search in my neighborhood, and as a result of this search they find that my neighbor has a grow-op, or the guy down the street has child porn, GOOD! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/139 "2009-11-11T18:26:50Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > Honestly, if we had this type of search in my neighborhood, and as a result of this search they find that my neighbor has a grow-op, or the guy down the street has child porn, GOOD! Maybe you should organize one. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107/140 "2009-11-11T18:30:53Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Maybe you should organize one. I should. I’ll call it neighborhood watch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-want-to-search-my-home-in-murder-investigation/517107.md?page=8)