Greetings, I'm currently a criminal justice major and would like a little more understanding on the concept of probable cause. I understand it is the standard needed to effect an arrest or to preform a search, however I was curious what is the lowest amount needed for probable cause. For example suppose you have a crime, such as an indecent A&B, where all you have is a victim's statement. There are no marks, witnesses, or other evidence that could possibly assist you. Would the statement alone be enough to effect an arrest or is more needed? I would greatly appreciate any assistance! Thanks!
No. It was oddly specific. Most of the "general" questions new people tend to ask, it's usually about a specific issue. Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk
It was the first first crime that came to my mind that is typically he said she said. I suppose you could use a ABDW where one party claims they were assaulted. The main point here is can arrests be based solely on victim statements / witness statements.
By the time you get to the point in your life and career that you really need to know this, you will.
In Brinegar v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court defines probable cause as "where the facts and circumstances within the officers' knowledge, and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient in themselves to warrant a belief by a man of reasonable caution that a crime is being committed."
Probable cause by definition is specific articulable facts that a crime has or is being committed. In the case of your indecent A&B example, unless it happens in your presence then there’s really no urgency to run out and arrest the guy or gal. You would gather your facts and apply for a warrant usually. Your victim should go to a hospital for a rape kit, depending on if it would show anything to support the accusation. A slap on the ass isn’t going to show up on a rape kit. The ABDW example is different. Does your victim show signs of being injured? Redness, bruising, broken bones, cuts, scrapes, etc? How recently the crime was committed was it last week, was it five minutes ago? All this would determine whether you go seeking the person to effect an arrest or apply for a warrant. You can’t be held liable for false imprisonment if you in good faith applied for a warrant and it was granted. Same applies to a summons. When in doubt, don’t arrest.
Easiest way for a street cop to understand it is Aguilar/Spinelli 2-pronged test. 1. Reliability - do you have a person willing to give you their name and have it be associated with their statement? If so, inherently reliable. 2. Basis of knowledge - did your named person witness the act themselves? If so, you have the required basis of knowledge. Those two prongs get you the minimum PC to charge someone, but that isn't enough for a prosecutor. If either or both prongs are deficient, there are more cases to study but for a street cop, if you hit this level you are good to go.
