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Concept
No-knock warrant
Summary
In the United States, a no-knock warrant is a warrant issued by a judge that allows law enforcement to enter a property without immediate prior notification of the residents, such as by knocking or ringing a doorbell. In most cases, law enforcement will identify themselves just before they forcefully enter the property. It is issued under the belief that any evidence they hope to find may be destroyed between the time that police identify themselves and the time they secure the area, or in the event where there is a large perceived threat to officer safety during the execution of the warrant.
Use of no-knock warrants has increased substantially over time. By one estimate, there were 1,500 annually in the early 1980s whereas by 2010 there were 60,000–70,000 no-knock or quick-knock raids conducted by local police annually, the majority of which were looking for marijuana.
Amid nationwide protests in response to the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, there were extensive calls to end no-knock warrants. Critics argue that no-knock warrants were prone to lead to deadly use of force by police and the deaths of innocent people. They also argue that no-knock warrants conflict with the right to self-defense, "stand-your-ground" laws, and the castle doctrine, which explicitly permit the use of deadly force against intruders.
Currently, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia ban no-knock warrants; however, state-level bans do not affect federal law enforcement. Thirteen states have laws explicitly permitting no-knock warrants, and the remaining states issue them based on a judge's discretion.
The use of no-knock warrants is a product of the country's "war on drugs" launched by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, and which gained momentum in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan. It is associated with the militarization of police.
English common law has required law enforcement to knock-and-announce since at least Semayne's case (1604), and in Miller v.
Official source
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