Probable Cause Standard Essay

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You might have heard about the debate between the probable cause standard and the reasonable suspicion standard. When the probable cause standard is applied, it means that officers have to go through the long and tedious process of obtaining a warrant. With reasonable suspicion it is the opposite; officers can search students’ belongings without a warrant, and in case of an emergency, the dangerous situation can be easily prevented. I support using the reasonable suspicion standard in public K-12 schools for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, reasonable suspicion creates a safe environment. The standard of probable cause is more burdensome and it would make it difficult for officials to keep schools safe. Schools have a major problem with …show more content…

“It will force educators and resource officers to take the time to apply for a warrant instead of immediately addressing a perceived threat—time that in some circumstances, could literally be the difference between life and death.” (Tiller). More searches benefit education in two ways. First, it reduces drug use. Drug users are 7 times as likely to commit suicide and 60% less likely to finish high school. Second, it decreases gun violence, as more searches will create a mentality of fear, and students will eventually stop bringing them to school. Guns are found in a student’s possession once a day, according to The Trace. The Supreme Court has ruled that an anonymous tip is not sufficient evidence for probable cause. However, these anonymous tips can save lives. Safe2Tell is an anonymous tip line that allows students to report illegal activity. To date, it has intervened in 2,641 youths who were contemplating suicide and addressed 3,601 cases of bullying, among thousands of other incidents. The biggest thing that prevents students from reporting incidents is the ‘anti-snitch mentality’. This is exemplified by the fact that over 90% of students reported that they would use an anonymous line tip service if one were available to

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