united-kingdom police warrant
How quickly will they obtain a warrant?
<p>If the police are investigating a cyber-crime, and all they have is the IP address and they obtain the details from the ISP, how quickly will they usually obtain a search warrant in order to preserve evidence?</p>

<p>It depends on the nature of the crime, among other things.</p>
<p>Under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/section/8" rel="noreferrer">Section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984</a> (PACE) the police must provide evidence to a court that a search warrant is necessary to secure and obtain evidence relevant to an ongoing investigation into a crime. If there is evidence that time is of the essence with regards to the evidence at stake (e.g. there is a high probability that the evidence will be destroyed unless it is secured immediately) then the search warrant will be expedited.</p>
<p>Once the search warrant has been secured, it will be an operational matter for the police to decide when and how to act on it. They could choose to do a dawn raid, for example, or they could monitor the suspect for a week and then search the property when the suspect is out.</p>
<p>Be aware that under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/section/18" rel="noreferrer">Section 18 of PACE</a>, a search warrant is not necessarily required. The police may, in the course of arresting someone for an indictable offence, search the premises without a warrant provided certain criteria are met. Of course, this is predicated on the police having grounds for arrest, and in the vast majority of cases, a search warrant will be obtained.</p>
