Glossary

Law Enforcement

Amendments – Often referring to one of the amendments to the United States Constitution. Specifically:

First Amendment – The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and to petition the government. The First Amendment governs, for example, police interactions with protesters. The First Amendment also guarantees inmates and pretrial detainees a right to access to the courts, which includes uninhibited confidential communications with the person’s attorney.

Fourth Amendment - The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people, and their houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It provides that the courts shall only issue warrants based on probable cause and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Police use of force cases are governed under the unreasonable seizure provisions of the Fourth Amendment. PLS provides officers with regular legal update training on search and seizure law.

Fifth Amendment - The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people from, among other things, being tried twice for the same offense, being compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself, and from being deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. The Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against self-incrimination places limits on police interrogations.

Sixth Amendment – The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides criminal defendants the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, to be informed of the crime of which they are accused, to compel witnesses at trial, and to have the assistance of an attorney.

Fourteenth Amendment - The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, shortly after the end of the Civil War. It gave citizenship to all persons born in the United States. It requires every state to give every person the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws. It also prohibits states from passing laws that would limit the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. This amendment is the reason that so many of the protections in the Bill of Rights, such as the right to counsel, right to remain silent, and right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, apply to state actions.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - The ADA (beginning at 42 United States Code section 12101) was passed by Congress in 1990 in order to provide equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for disabled individuals. Under this law, no public entity may discriminate against individuals with disabilities or use a qualified person’s disability as a reason to deny services, programs, or activities to that person. The ADA covers many types of disabilities, such as developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and mental health disabilities. The ADA affects a wide range of law enforcement activities, including interrogating witnesses; arresting, transporting, and holding suspects and those convicted of crimes; and providing emergency services. PLS provides law enforcement officer training on the ADA.

Apparent Authority - So long as officers reasonably believe a person giving consent has authority to do so, a warrantless search is valid even if the third-party does not actually have authority over the place or item searched. A person has apparent authority to consent where the facts available to the officer at the time would lead a person of reasonable caution to believe the consenter has authority over the item searched. Officers cannot ignore signals or circumstances that would put them on notice that the third-party does not have authority to consent to the search.

Bloodborne Pathogens - Microorganisms that cause disease and are present in human blood. They include, but are not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). PLS provides law enforcement officer and correctional officer training on bloodborne pathogens.

Consent Search - Officers may search a person or the person’s property when that person voluntarily consents. Consent to a search must not be the result of duress or coercion.

Curtilage - The area surrounding the home to which Fourth Amendment protection extends. Generally, police may not conduct a search in the curtilage of a home unless they have a warrant.

Custodial Interrogation - Law enforcement questioning of a suspect that is likely to elicit an incriminating response performed while a reasonable person in the suspect’s position would not feel free to leave.

Deposition – A pre-trial procedure to gather and preserve evidence in anticipation of trial. In a deposition, the witness is placed under oath, and the opposing parties in a case examine and cross-examine the witness while a court reporter records the witness’s testimony. Depositions can be used at trial to impeach witnesses as they testify on the stand. For example, if an officer says one thing in a deposition, and a different thing in direct examination at trial, the defendant’s attorney can point out that discrepancy to the jury during cross-examination of the officer.

Emergency Aid Exception - The emergency aid exception permits officers to enter private property without a warrant to provide emergency aid to someone inside. This exception is justified “because the motivation for the intrusion is to preserve life rather than to search for evidence to be used in a criminal investigation." Officers must have an objectively reasonable basis for believing that someone within the property requires immediate aid. Even if officers enter a property intending only to give emergency aid, there still must be objective facts that would support the officers’ belief that aid is necessary.

Ethics – Ethics can be seen as simply “doing the right thing,” but they are also an institutional set of values and guidelines that are specific to a profession or organization. Many states require law enforcement agencies to train their officers on these values and how to apply them in the field. For example, the Missouri POST training requirements include ethics.

Exigent Circumstances – Officers may enter and search a home without a warrant if there are “exigent circumstances,” or an emergency where there is a compelling need for official action and no time to get a warrant. Exigent circumstances may exist if officers have probable cause and sufficient basis to suspect incriminating evidence may be destroyed if they do not act. Officers may not create the emergency to justify a warrantless search. Exigent circumstances rarely justify a warrantless entry into a home for a minor offense.

Hazard Communication - The goal of a Hazard Communication Program (also known as HazCom) is to protect people from injuries and illnesses associated with using hazardous chemicals in the workplace. People, including law enforcement officers, have the right-to-know and understand the hazards and identities of the chemicals they are exposed to at work. PLS provides hazard communication training.

Hazardous Materials - “matter (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy that when released is capable of creating harm to people, the environment, and property, including weapons of mass destruction, as defined in 18 U.S. Code, Section 2332a, as well as any other criminal use of hazardous materials, such as illicit labs, environmental crimes, or industrial sabotage.” National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472: Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents. First responders likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release, which includes most law enforcement officers, are required to have annual hazardous materials awareness refresher training. 29 CFR 1910.120(q)(8)(i). PLS provides hazardous materials awareness refresher training for law enforcement officers.

Human Trafficking – Modern-day slavery. Labor trafficking involves using illegal methods, such as physical injury, threats of physical injury, blackmail, fraud, and abuse of the legal process, to force a victim to work for someone else, usually for little or no pay. Sex trafficking involves recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting a victim for the purpose of a commercial sex act, where illegal methods (such as threats of force, coercion, or fraud) are used to cause the victim to engage in the act. Human trafficking is widespread in the United States. Training can help police officers to watch for signs of human trafficking while engaging in law enforcement duties and to effectively investigate this crime that often goes undetected.

In-service training – Training that is given to employees during the course of their employment. PLS provides in-service training for law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Inventory Search - A warrantless search to record the contents of a vehicle that police have taken into custody. Inventory procedures serve to protect an owner's property while it is in the custody of the police, to insure against claims of lost, stolen, or vandalized property, and to guard the police from danger. Inventories conducted pursuant to standard police procedures are reasonable, under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, some states, such as Iowa, place further limits on an officer’s ability to lawfully conduct an inventory search.

Legal Update - Training for law enforcement officers and correctional officers on new legislation/statutes and new court cases.

Miranda – A suspect in custody must be warned that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for him. These are known as the “Miranda warnings.” Failure to provide a suspect in custody with the Miranda warnings may make any statements that the suspect makes inadmissible in court.

OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA is a division of the federal Department of Labor that ensures safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. OSHA requires that public safety professionals take regular training on topics such as bloodborne pathogens, hazardous materials, and hazard communication.

Plain Feel Exception - Under the “plain-feel” exception to the warrant requirement, an officer can seize an object from a person if, during a lawful pat-down search of the person, the officer feels an object’s shape or mass that makes its incriminating character immediately apparent. The object must be identifiable without squeezing, sliding, and otherwise manipulating the contents of the suspect's pockets.

Plain View - The "plain view" doctrine permits the warrantless seizure by police of private possessions where three requirements are satisfied. First, the police officer must lawfully make an "initial intrusion" or otherwise lawfully be in a position from which he can view a particular area. Second, it must be "immediately apparent" to the police that the items they observe may be evidence of a crime, contraband, or otherwise subject to seizure. Third, the officer must have a lawful right of access to the object itself.

Subpoena - a writ, usually issued by a court, that orders a person to give evidence in the form of testimony or documents. If a person does not comply with a subpoena, the person may be subject to penalties.

Qualified Immunity - Qualified immunity protects an officer from liability in a section 1983 case unless: 1) The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the person making the claim against the officer, establishes a violation of a constitutional or statutory right, and 2) The right was clearly established at the time of the violation, such that a reasonable official would have known his actions were unlawful. PLS training provides frequent guidance to police on qualified immunity.

Reasonable Suspicion - Reasonable suspicion is some minimal, objective justification based on specific facts. It is more than a hunch.

Reality-Based Training – Training that uses tools, techniques, or methodologies to approximate situations that might occur in operational settings. Reality-based training promotes mental acuity, situational awareness, and confidence. PLS offers reality-based training for police, correctional officers, and 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Sexual Harassment - "Sexual harassment" is a form of sex discrimination that violates state and federal law. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. PLS provides training on the prevention of sexual harassment.

Sufficiency of the Evidence - Courts will find evidence sufficient to prove an offense if there is “substantial evidence” supporting the offense. Evidence is substantial if it can convince a rational jury that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Evidence is substantial even if it can also support a different conclusion than that the defendant is guilty.

Terry Stop - When an officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot, the officer may conduct a brief investigatory stop, called a Terry stop. When done properly, a Terry stop does not violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. But a Terry stop is unlawful if it becomes too intrusive.

Traffic Stop - A traffic stop, even for a brief period and for a limited purpose, is still a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Traffic stops may only last as long as is necessary to address the traffic violation that warranted the stop and to attend to related safety concerns.

Use of Force - Police officers may not use excessive force when detaining or arresting (“seizing”) a suspect. An officer may use force that he or she reasonably believes is necessary to arrest or defend a person from bodily harm. The use of deadly force may be reasonable where an officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or others.

Warrant - The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that no warrant may be issued except upon probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. This means that evidence must presented, under oath, to a neutral magistrate (a judge) who reviews the evidence and determines whether to issue a warrant. A search warrant or arrest warrant must be particular in describing the place to be searched and the things or people to be seized. Generally, police officers may not search a place or seize a person without a warrant. One exception to this rule is when there is an emergency situation (“exigent circumstances”) where officers must act immediately but have no time to obtain a warrant.

Jail

Bloodborne Pathogens - Microorganisms that cause disease and are present in human blood. They include but are not limited to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). PLS provides law enforcement officer and correctional officer training on bloodborne pathogens.

Deliberate Indifference – Jail and prison officials are obligated to provide prisoners with adequate medical care. To prevail on a constitutional claim of inadequate medical care, prisoners must show that prison officials treated them with deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. A prison official demonstrates "deliberate indifference" if he or she recklessly disregards a substantial risk of harm to the prisoner.

Legal Mail - Legal mail includes mail that is addressed to or from state and federal courts, any member of the State Bar or holder of public office, and the Boards of State and Community Corrections. Opening inmates’ legal mail outside of their presence deprives the communication of confidentiality, generally violating the inmates’ right to freedom of speech.

Legal Update - Training for law enforcement officers and correctional officers on new legislation/statutes and new court cases.

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) - A federal law intended to reduce the risk of sexual assault in conditions of confinement and imposing regulations on prisons, jails, lockups, and community confinement facilities. PLS provides PREA training.

Reality-Based Training – Training that uses tools, techniques, or methodologies to approximate situations that might occur in operational settings. Reality-based training promotes mental acuity, situational awareness, and confidence. PLS offers reality-based training for law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Dispatch

APCO - APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals. PLS training can be used to help satisfy APCO recertification requirements.

Continuing Dispatch Education (CDE) - Generally, training provided after obtaining basic certification as a 9-1-1 dispatcher.

Emergency Medical Dispatch - “A systematic program of handling medical calls for assistance. Trained telecommunicators use locally approved EMD guidecards to quickly and properly determine the nature and priority of the call, dispatch the appropriate response and give the caller instructions to help treat the patient until the responding EMS unit arrives.” APCO International.

IAED – International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. PLS Training can be used to help satisfy IAED EMD, EFD, or EPD recertification requirements.

NENA – National Emergency Numbers Association. A non-profit organization solely focused on improving 9-1-1

Reality-Based Training – Training that uses tools, techniques, or methodologies to approximate situations that might occur in operational settings. Reality-based training promotes mental acuity, situational awareness, and confidence. PLS offers reality-based training for law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and 9-1-1 dispatchers.