NCJ Number
95082
Date Published
1982
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Crime vignettes are presented to test the police officer's knowledge of the law in situations involving a traffic accident, a stakeout, domestic violence, stopping a suspect vehicle, a drug bust, and wiretapping.
Abstract
Each vignette describes an incident and examines legal issues confronting the law enforcement personnel involved. Answers to these issues are provided and discussed following the presentations. Issues examined in the first vignette, an automobile accident, include the role of an off-duty officer at the scene, the correct handling of the car's driver, and the laws regarding search and seizure. In the stakeout vignette, pertinent issues include grounds needed to establish probable cause for an arrest, the distinction between 'frisking' and 'searching' a suspect, and the responsibilities of detectives who observe an unexpected offense (firearms possession) during the course of a narcotics stakeout. Issues examined in the family dispute include the neutral role of the officer, the need for the battered wife to sign a complaint before police action can be taken when the assault has not been witnessed, conditions under which arrest may be resisted, and grounds for forcing a party to leave his house. In the case involving a suspect vehicle stop, procedures for safely stopping a vehicle and factors which must be considered in determining probable cause are illustrated. Topics considered in the drug bust vignette include grounds for probable cause for a narcotics search warrant, the appropriateness of seizing objects not covered by the search warrant, and grounds necessary for probable cause that such objects are stolen property. In the wiretapping case, proper investigative procedures, wiretapping guidelines set forth in Federal Statutes Title III, and the use of legally obtained wiretap evidence by an outside agency are discussed.