A tip, in law enforcement, is a piece of information regarding a crime or other activity of interest to law enforcement, usually by a source outside of the law enforcement agency. A tip might provide law enforcement personnel with a direction to pursue in the investigation of a crime, and it might be made anonymously, or by a known source whom the recipient might have reason to trust or distrust. In United States law, by itself, a tip generally does not provide probable cause to make an arrest or perform a search of someone's property, but it may be a factor contributing to probable cause if corroborating evidence can be found.[1]

Many law enforcement agencies maintain a tip line to enable citizens to report suspicious activities generally, or to provide information about a particular crime currently under investigation.

References

  1. Kären Hess, Christine Hess Orthmann, Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (2011), p. 213.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.