The police are known for keeping communities secure. You see them patrolling the areas to make sure law and order are maintained. The police also carry out welfare checks from time to time on people. You only need to contact the police and request a welfare check on someone if you believe the person is in great danger. But, can police enter your home for a welfare check?
Yes, the police can enter your home for a welfare check if they have a strong belief that you or someone in your house needs help or is in great danger. They can come into your house to provide assistance and support
Table of Contents
What is a Police Welfare Check?
A welfare check is when the police visit a house to be sure the people there are okay. It is also known as a wellness check.
Welfare checks are made to check the safety and well-being of a person. This is carried out when people are looking for their friends, neighbors, colleagues, family members, or anyone close to them.
Also, welfare checks are made when there’s an incident of attempted suicide, overdose on drugs, endangerment of children, and many more.
You can request a welfare check on someone if you are worried that the person is in danger. You can do this by getting in touch with law enforcement agencies by calling 911 or a non-emergency number. As the case may be. When the police arrive, you can go with them to the person’s house if you live in the same area.
Can Police Enter Your Home for a Welfare Check?
The police can enter your home for a welfare check WITHOUT a court order if they have reason to believe that the occupants of your house are in danger. It is legal under the Community Caretaking Doctrine. A welfare check is one of the important services the police provide, it helps in keeping the community secure.
What to Do When Police Enter My House for a Welfare Check?
The police are permitted by law to enter any residence for a welfare or wellness check. When the police knock on your door, you have to open the door for them. If you refuse to open the door, the police can gain entry forcibly into your house.
That action is protected by the Law, why? In some scenarios where the people in the house are unable to walk to the door to open it, the police have to be able to attend to them.
Therefore, it has been put into law that whenever the police knock on a door of a residence for a welfare check and there is no response, they can force entry into the residence.
When the police enter your house for a welfare check, you need to attend to them politely. Someone might have requested a welfare check on you because they have not heard from you in a long time or you are not picking up their calls.
Welfare checks are harmless so receive the police with courtesy and be of good conduct. They are only performing their duties.
Some cases have been reported where the police made arrests on a welfare check. If the police come to your house and they see incriminatory evidence against you that shows that you are involved in criminality, they can take you into custody.
If they see hard drugs and other contraband, they can take you into custody. Even if that was not the initial purpose of their visit.
Benefits of Police Welfare Check
The police perform welfare checks as part of their services to society. If you are worried about certain individuals, you can call the police and request a welfare check on them.
Aged people and the infirm are the people who need welfare checks the most. Some of these people find themselves in circumstances where they live alone and provide for their needs themselves.
There are several benefits of police welfare checks, not limited to those provided below:
Ensures the Safety and Well-being of People
When the police carry out welfare or wellness checks on people, they are able to provide immediate help to the needy and make sure that everything is okay. If medical help is needed, the police will take the person to the hospital for treatment.
Maintains Law and Order in the Society
Miscreants will stay away when they know that the police can come at any time to carry out a welfare check in residences. So, this helps in maintaining law and order in communities.
Can Police Refuse a Welfare Check?
The police will not refuse to respond to a welfare check except they have reasons to believe that the welfare check is absolutely not necessary.
Bear in mind that police welfare checks are carried out on an abundance of reasonable grounds. If there are no reasonable grounds to warrant the police visiting a residence for a welfare check, they might turn down the request.
Can Police Force Entry for a Welfare Check?
When the police arrive at a residence for a welfare check, they will knock on the door or press the doorbell to announce their arrival. If after some minutes, they do not get any response, they can force entry into the residence. This is why the police ensure they have reasonable grounds before they can carry out a welfare check.
Can Police Do a Welfare Check without an Address?
Yes, it is possible. When you have reasons to believe that someone needs a welfare check and you do not know the address of the person, you can still contact the police.
However, you will need to provide all the essential information that you have about the person. The phone number, workplace, SSN, family friends, bank account, etc.
Basically, any information that can be used to track the person’s address. You will need to provide it to the police. So yes, a police welfare check can be done without an address provided. The police respond as fast as they could once a call is placed to them.
Conclusion
A welfare check is most useful to people in danger and elderly people. Some of these aged people do not have helps around them to assist and help them do their day-to-day activities, the police will be on the ground to help them if a welfare check is requested. Welfare checks do not require a warrant or court order so the police can enter your house to carry out a welfare check at any time.
