You hear a knock. Not knowing that 4 or 6 cops are standing on the other side, you open it, to be met with a warrant. What's going to happen to you? What are they going to do, and how thorough are they?
1. The Entry
Expect 4-6 cops to be there. One will be in front, and will confirm your identity. He/She will then present a warrant. You say okay, and they come inside. Once in, they'll set up a video camera, and record you and the officer in charge as he tells you what's going on. The camera does not record the whole search, and will not come out again until the end of the search.
The cop will ask whether you have anything illegal in the house. Here you have two choices if you actually DO have anything in the house: you can either tell the truth, or lie your ass off. If there ARE any drugs in the house, I would recommend telling them unless they're damn well hidden... they probably *will* find them.
2. The Search
In general, theyre pretty damn thorough, seeming to average about 12 man hours for a search, whether that be 3 hours with 4 cops, 2 hours with 6 cops, etc. That gives them *a lot* of time to go through your house and admire your porn collection
Probably the key thing you can do is not to obviously fuck them around and be a smartass. The 12 hours average is for people that are courteous and try to at least *look* honest. If you fuck them around, they could tear the place apart.
THE HOUSE
In short, you are an *idiot* if you keep anything in the house - this is exactly where they expect it to be. They'll go through pretty much everything, even flipping through all your books, moving furniture, etc. This is where they epsnd the majority of their time. If you DO need to keep a drugs store, DO NOT keep it in your house. By the way, they'll also look in the roof.
THE COMPUTER
They WILL sit on your computer, go through logs (IE, ICQ, IRC, etc). That said, the majority of people on here are far better with computers than they are, so information hiding should not be much of an issue. Keep your histories short, dont use ICQ for ANY seedy purposes, dont keep any dodgy friends on your ICQ list (for their protection), NEVER log anything on IRC, and make sure you use a prograjm like 'Eraser' (free from
www.dowload.com) to properly erase your deleted files - when you delete them normally they are not deleted, just hidden from your view. Also check out
www.download.com for encryption programs, and a neat lil program called 'Camouflage', which encrypts and hides files into other files, leaving the changed file still working.
THE MOBILE PHONE
DO NOT have dodgy numbers on your phone - they will go through it, write down all the numbers on your SIM card, and investigate those people.
If you simply must have them, one thought is to leave them on the 'phone' phone book, but only have the main phonebook use the 'SIM' phonebook, thereby at least giving minimal protection to your seedy buddies.
THE BACK YARD
They'll check the back yard you holes recently dug, stones to turn over, etc. Theyll go through your garden shed. You get the idea. I would not recommend using either of these places.
AFTER THEY'RE DONE
They'll pull that camera out again, and film the officer in charge of the search concluding the search, and asking you on film if youre happy with their conduct.
3. Tips for avoiding prosecution and for coming out with your ass as intact as possible
DONT KEEP ANYTHING ON YOUR PROPERTY! This is the golden rule!
Dont lose your head and start babbling crap. Don't panic. They *will* corner you with anything they find in an attempt to make you give them names. If you fold and give your friends up you're a weasel and deserved to get raided anyway - this is how they probably got your name from someone else.
If you feel scared then always remember - cops are just like us, only less intelligent.
Never give your friends up.
Keep your story simple, and stick to it. If you keep adding to it, they'll know.
Keep an eye on them during the raid. They will be more than happy to plant something, and might move any dodgy things found into areas where they become more dodgy, eg. (for arguments sake) an old bag of pot into a recently used jacket.
If you keep your head, you'll be fine. If they manage to nail you, get legal advice. From the raids of friends, you *will not* come out any better if you just spill the beans and tell them the whole story.
Also NEVER,NEVER,NEVER.. Throw Anything *You* Dont
Want found Away!! This is how alot of Police Departments get their Warrants Signed, What happens is for whatever reason They Suspect you but dont Have Probable cause to Raid your Home. They have to Present some kind of Reason to have a Warrant Signed to Raid your Happy Home, So What They will Do is watch You and one of the Easiest ways to Obtain Evidence About you Is go through your Trash What Happens is They will Suspect you Then (Especially if you are slick and dont give them anything to go on at first!) They will Jump on the Garbage Truck with Mr Garbage Collector Guy Grab your Trash as if they are a Garbage Man, Then they will Put Your trash off to the Side Till they Get Down the Street Then usually there is an awaiting Police Car They throw Your Garbage in the Trunk and then Take it and Go through it and since Garbage *Will* have Stuff with your Name on it (Plus any Stems,seeds,and other Drug Paraphenella)Then they will have the Probable cause to Have The Warrant Signed by the Judge/Magistrate to Raid your Home also They May watch your House After the Warrant has been Signed and they Will Stop and search Anyone who Comes and Goes from your Property and They Can/Will Search Your Vehicles and Everyone who Leaves or Comes to your House!.
Done by Jakoz a few years back, but it gives you a rough guide.. will update it when ive talked to a few friends in law
