• Searching for evidence is one of the duties of police officers.Police image by Zeno from Fotolia.com
  
  Law enforcers do not have the authority to enter or search through peoples' property as they wish. Search warrants are legal documents that grant law enforcers access to places where they believe there is evidence regarding a crime. To obtain such a document, a law enforcer must follow a legal procedure that includes showing probable cause. When a valid search warrant is presented, a property owner cannot deny law enforcers access to the property named in the document. There are numerous formats for search warrants, which generally vary from one jurisdiction to another. A valid search warrant, however, must include certain information despite its format.
  
  

Items Subject to Search

• When a residence is subject to search, the warrant should specify the exact and full address. This means that if you live in an apartment building, the search warrant should not only specify the building but each apartment that is subject to search.
  
  When a search warrant pertains to a vehicle, the vehicle should be specified. If a person has more than one vehicle, the law enforcers' search is limited to the one listed in the search warrant. Unless otherwise stated, law enforcers do not have the authority to search a residence where the vehicle is found.
  
  If the search warrant grants law enforcers the right to search a person, that person should be named. Other people in the company of that individual may not be searched unless there are search warrants pertaining to them or law enforcers have probable cause.
  
  

Date and Time

• A search warrant should be dated. These documents do not generally include expiration dates. However, the jurisdiction where the search warrant was obtained may have rules regarding the length of time for which the document is valid.
  
  If you receive a search warrant, you should also look for times during which it is valid. Many search warrants specify hours of validity, which commonly prevent nighttime searches.
  
  

Authorizing Entity

• Search warrants are obtained from judges or magistrates. If you receive a search warrant, you should look to see that it has a signature. The signature on a search warrant should belong to an individual who is neutral or who lacks any motive or incentive to issue it.
  
  

Reason for Search

• To prevent general searches, a search warrant should specify what law enforcers are looking for. These items should be described as thoroughly as possible to prevent the seizure of goods that do not pertain to criminal acts.