xylene said:
If police officer had said...
"We have X and X reason to believe your son was involved in this (or these) specific burglarlies, and have good reason to believe your son is in possession of "specifically enumerated items"...
My opinion (and that of thejudge who would more than likely issue a warrant... making my opinion irrelevant) would be... Maybe I would consider the situation.
Then I guess we differ. I'd rather have the cops be cooperative than risk a very ostentatious show of cops raiding my house on a search warrant later on. When dealing with juvenile matters, cooperation can often make the difference between a serious prosecution or diversion.
But, if you really prefer lots of cop cars outside and a half dozen fellows tossin gthe entire house rather than his room, that is your call to make.
Consenting to a police fishing expedition for anyhting and everything because there were some 'petty thefts' is neither good parenting nor sensible (on behalf of the police or this man.)
We get cooperation on this all the time. Fortunately, many parents like to hold their kids' feet to the fire. And, the parents of these kids tend to know that their kid needs to be on a tight leash or he is doomed to a life in custody.
No I don't have the receipt to the rachet set my dad gave me, and last time I checked PLENTY of people have craftsman tools...
Since I do this all the time, I can tell you that we would not be yanking things that are questionable. if the cops are asking, they are likely asking because there are some key items they are searching for. Plus, YOU may have a neat Craftsman tool set, but would your little darling have such a set and some power tools under his bved in his bedroom?
But "Some stuff from break ins around the neighborhood...."
THAT ISN'T SUFFICIENT.
The cops are not necessarily going to spell out the specific items. They might have, they might not have. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. And usually I ask becauise I do not have enough for a warrant and I'd like to exclude or include the kid as a suspect. Many parents say "go ahead" because they DO want to exclude their kid ... or, because they know their kid is a ne'er-do-well and they want to show that they are not going to permit their kid to keep on the road to ruin.
Carl, do I think this kid is in trouble? Yes. I agree with you. But that has nothing to do with a warrantless search of kids room and the garage. I will say that, perhaps, as a professional law enforcement officer you enjoy a certain level of affinity and decorum with other law enforcement professionals. The ordinary citizen does not enjoy that, at least not to the degree that consenting to a warrantless search of the home for unspecified items is wise.
I disagree. I enjoy a great deal of cooperation with most the parents in my community. Perhaps it is a function of the fact that most the parents here know their kids are problems when they are, or the fact that I know most the parents as we all attend the same school functions, have kids in sports, and have many contacts due to the problems with their kids. But I almost never get such a request denied. In fact, I can't even recall the last denied request.
But, I can say that if I do get a denial, it is usually from parents that have something to hide ... and usually that isn't a problem because mom and/or dad are already on probation and I am going in anyway.
- Carl