Criminology Term: Exigent Circumstances
Exigent circumstances is a legal term that describes some serious and pressing situations that require immediate action from law enforcement officials to prevent potential harm to individuals or the community.
These situations could be a whole range of things, like someone being held hostage or a suspect trying to flee a crime scene. And if there's a risk of evidence being destroyed, like if the suspect is trying to flush drugs down the toilet, well then, that could be exigent too.
Now, in these high-pressure situations, law enforcement officials may be allowed to enter and search a location without a warrant. But, of course, there are limits.
The search must be limited to the exigent circumstances that justify the warrantless search, and the officials must have probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be found.
The courts recognize that there are certain circumstances where warrantless searches are necessary to protect people from harm, like emergency medical aid or when a suspect is trying to make a run for it.
But, let's be clear, the use of exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless search is subject to judicial review, and if the search is found to be unjustified or excessive, any evidence obtained may be excluded from the trial.
