Policy Text
TRAINING BULLETIN
Evaluation Coordinator: Commander
Automatic Revision Cycle: Years
partment Training Bulletins shall be used to advise members of current police techniques and
procedures and shall constitute official policy.” Index Number: IV-O
Alpha Index: Investigative Procedures for
Search Warrant Service Date of Issue / Revision
20 Aug 03
“De
Investigative Procedure for Search Warrant Service
This Training Bulletin identifies the steps follow- up investigators perfor m to execute a search
warrant.
Due to the varying conditions under which search warrants are served, the need to modify the
procedure identified in this Training Bulletin may sometimes occur.
The supervisor executing the search warrant may be the follow-up investigator's supervisor or a
uniformed supervisor executing th e search warrant at the request of the follow-up investigator.
The supervisor executing the warrant may alter this procedure when appropriate and will assume
responsibility for doing so. Exigent circumstances should be documented in the investigative
reports.
The procedure for executing a search warrant consists of four sequential steps: Obtaining a Search
Warrant, Planning a Warrant Service, Reviewing the Operations Plan, an d Executing the Search
Warrant.
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Search Warrant Service, Index Number IV-O
Obtaining a Search Warrant
To obtain a search warrant, an investigator completes the following steps:
1. Ensure the statutory grounds for issu ing a search warrant are satisfied.
Satisfying the statutory grounds for issuing a search warrant requires that one of the following conditions be met (PC Section 1524):
1. The property or things to be seized are stolen or embezzled.
2. The property or things to be seized we re used as the means to commit a felony.
3. The property or things to be seized are in the possession of a person who intends to use
said property or things as a means to commit a public offense or are in the possession of
another to whom the person may have delivered said property or things to conceal them
or prevent their discovery.
4. The property or things to be seized consis t of any .item or constitute any evidence that
tends to show a felony has been committed or tends to show a particular person committed a felony.
5. The property or things to be seized consist of evidence that tends to show that sexual
exploitation of a child, in violation of PC Section 311.3, has occurred or is occurring or depicts sexual conduct of a person under the age of eighteen years, in violation of PC
Section 311.11.
6. A warrant exists to arrest a person.
2. Notify your supervisor of your intention to prepare and serve a search warrant in order to further a specific investigation.
Investigators called to a crime scene who must prepare a crime scene search warrant in order
to start an investigation may notify the Patrol Watch Commander or Incident Commander in
place of their supervisor.
3. Complete the search warrant and the affidavit.
4. Contact an on-call magistrate to re view and sign the search warrant.
Only a magistrate may authorize a search wa rrant. A Commissioner, judge pro tem, or a
referee may not authorize a search warrant.
During normal business hours, an investigator may locate a magistrate at the courts.
During non-business hours, an investigator makes a request to have the on-duty magistrate paged by calling the Alameda County Sheriff's Dispatch at (510) 667-7721.
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20 Aug 03 ● Oakland Police Department
Planning a Warrant Service
Planning a Warrant Service consists of completing a Risk Assessment Overview and Operations
Plan to determine the overall risk of the operation and the personnel and resources required to safely execute the warrant.
To plan a warrant service, perform the following steps.
1. The primary investigator completes and signs a Risk Assessment Overview (Form TF-3115,
Report Writing Manual Insert O-1).
The total of the point values assigned to each significant factor recorded on the Risk Assessment Overview indicates the overall risk of the operation and helps determine whether
a Tactical Operations Team consulta tion and/or call-out is recommended.
Point totals are guidelines; some factors may n ecessitate a Tactical Operations Team call-out
regardless of the point total. The following situations would normally warran t the involvement of the Tactical Operations
Team:
• The structure is fortified, and it would be diff icult for investigators to force safe entry.
• The suspects are known to be ar med with weapons superior to the investigators, or the
suspects have the ability to defeat the armor and tactics normally employed by the inves-
tigators.
• The suspects have a criminal history involv ing substantial violence and are likely to
violently resist the warrant service.
• The structure is large, and securing the structure requires tactical planning.
See Training Bulletin III-Q, Risk Assessment Overview and Operations Plan, and General
Order K-5, Tactical Operations 7Mm.
2. At the earliest opportunity, the investigator contacts the appropriate command officer to
arrange for the resources and equipment needed to serve the search warrant.
Under some circumstances, a team of investigators under the supervision of an investigative
supervisor executes a search warrant. (Investig ators may serve administrative search warrants,
for example, without assistance of uniformed Patrol Division officers.)
The mixing of investigators who have various skills and who may not be familiar with all
members is a factor the supervisor should review before deciding for investigator service of a search warrant.
If serving the search warrant requires the Tacti cal Operations Team, the investigator contacts
the on-duty Tactical Oper ations Team Commander.
If serving the search warrant requires more than a team of investigators but does not require
the Tactical Operations Team, the investigator contacts the PSA Lieutenant for the service
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Search Warrant Service, Index Number IV-O
area in which the address is lo