 A raid often is the culmination of an investigation. It has several set procedures that must be adhered to. Federal officers with a search warrant to search these premises. Open the door. This is no impromptu happening, but rather the result of careful planning. If it is to succeed, it has to be. This is the raid leader. He is the key decision maker of the group and is always an experienced officer. He may be the principal investigating officer assigned to the case. Because of this, he has made specific advance preparations that have led him to this moment. In order to legally conduct the raid, he has had to get the proper warrants. Specifically, these may consist of a search warrant or an arrest warrant. Or, as in this situation, both. Needless to say, the legal requirements to obtain such warrants are strict. To make a successful raid, you have to be sure you have correctly identified the location. For this reason, the raid leader checks the area out himself in advance, as unobtrusively as possible. He looks not only at the target itself, he checks the general location around it. He wants to be sure he knows all avenues of approach, as well as any possible escape routes for the suspects. And he has to carefully consider the safety of the public. He also notes who the people in the area are and what the nature of their habits is. There may be an informant among them. But the biggest part of his job, before actually conducting the raid, involves surveillance of those who are under investigation. Here, the agent has found a surveillance point almost directly across the street from his target. It's an easy matter to watch all activity. Every individual entering or leaving the house is photographed. Accurate and detailed descriptions are taken of any automobiles seen on the premises. The model, make, and color of each car is recorded. The license plates are noted, as well as any distinctive scratches or marks. All of this is written down in a surveillance log. This information is necessary in case the car in question is to be seized as part of the violation. It also provides investigative leads and may cooperate court testimony. The car is identified photographically, as well as in writing. Later, at the office, it joins the other evidence that has been gathered on the suspects, their associates, the target, and its surroundings. While the surveillance was going on, the warrants from the U.S. Magistrates Office were received. And now the investigator assembles his raid team and carefully briefs them on all aspects of the job facing them. If any local officers are going on the raid, the raid leader should have them stand up and identify themselves. It is good policy to wear some sort of identifying symbol, badge, armband, baseball cap, or coveralls, so that everybody will know who is on the raiding party. Ideally, the raid team should be made up of individuals who know each other, such as agents from the same field office. Special agents of the Internal Revenue Service may participate on narcotics raids to identify assets and books and records indicating tax violations. Photographs provide a lot of key information at a briefing. But it is not always possible to get them. When they are not practical, sketches may be used. And objects to be seized should be carefully identified. A time at which the raid will take place should be set. The actions of the violators determine just when this time should be. Equipment to be used should be identified and carefully gone over to see that it is in proper working condition. The type of equipment to be taken depends upon the type of raid to be conducted. All agents should, of course, have their own official weapons. Extra rounds of ammunition and handcuffs. Among the other things that might be taken are entry tools, evidence-gathering tools such as a camera, containers for the contraband, sketching equipment, labels, fingerprint kit, and sample containers. Other considerations are portable radio equipment and a good first aid kit to be used in case of injuries. The type and number of automobiles to be used on the raid and their deployment are also noted. The agents are divided into three groups or teams. The first is the entering team. Backing them up is the searching team, which will be responsible for a thorough search of the target. These two groups are helped by a third one, the covering team, who are there to prevent escape and control the area surrounding the target. Now the team members are assigned and any special instructions are given. For instance, the team will have to provide protection for an undercover agent who may be with the violators and be informed concerning the expected actions of that agent. Is any special equipment such as a surveillance vehicle going to be in the area? Is there an informant in the area who may also have to be protected? The raid leader points these things out and goes over them a second time. He then hands out photos and information on the various violators expected to be on the scene, as well as instructions for each officer who will participate in the raid. Any expected resistance is indicated, including whether the violators have a past record of resisting arrest. He defines what contraband and other objects they will be looking for. The specific type, how it could be wrapped, where it could be concealed. The contraband and other evidence may not be familiar to the participating local police officers. They should be shown any available samples and be given detailed descriptions. The raid leader goes over the violators' habits, work routines, associates, and the procedures and timing they use in performing their unlawful acts. He points out any additional evidence the agents may expect to find, such as notes, memos, phone books, financial records. He then explains how each of them will get out to the raid site, what the various car assignments will be, and who will transport the prisoners back to the office. Government vehicles are usually used, but when a large raid is planned, special vehicles may be rented or obtained from other agencies to transport prisoners, contraband, and other seized items. The last and most important factor to be discussed in the briefing is firearms policy. No matter how many raids you have been on, no matter how many raids you will lead, it is necessary for you each time to review the firearms policy of your agency, making sure that every agent and local officer understands when and under what conditions a weapon may be fired. At the conclusion of the briefing, the agents move out to their assigned vehicles and prepare to leave for the scene of the raid. Although cars are being used on this raid, other common methods of approach are by foot, boat, or any other appropriate means. Each raid is different from any other raid. The approach to the target depends on where that target is located. The terrain, the neighborhood, the modus operandi of the violators, all have an effect on the speed with which the raid is executed. Here it is possible to drive virtually to the door of the suspect house. Leaving the cars, the raid squads assemble themselves into teams to which they have been assigned. The covering detail surrounds the house to cut off any avenue of escape for those inside. This is their primary function. Each member of the team is ready to return gunfire from the violators if necessary. The men on this detail also control the outside of the perimeter area. They position themselves so that they can notice and halt if necessary the arrival of newcomers who may or may not be associated with the raid. The raid leader heads up the entering detail. This detail must affect entry, make arrests, and control occupants. Nearby, the third detail, the searching detail, stands ready to rush in with the entering detail. These are the agents with the most specialized duties on the raid, since it is they who must conduct a thorough search of the premises for evidence and contraband. Members usually include a photographer, a fingerprint expert, and any other individual assigned to handle the seized property. On some raids, the members of the searching detail may be the same agents who comprise the entering detail. There is a definite procedure clearly defined by the laws of the United States that must be adhered to if an entry is to hold up in court later on. You must knock loudly at the door. You must announce loudly and clearly that you are a federal officer. You must state that you have a warrant. You must announce that you intend to search the premises. You must demand entry, and you must wait a reasonable amount of time before forcing entry. This length of time will depend on the nature of the objects to be seized and the actions of the people on the inside. These agents were lucky. They had a fairly easy entry. Oftentimes, things are not that simple. A door may have several locks, chains, and bolts on it. The door itself may even be made of steel. Windows may be barred and just as hard to enter by. And there may be carefully rigged electronic warning devices. The whole place, in fact, may be a regular fortress. Complete right down to the lookouts, male or female, to warn the occupants of impending danger. And with a secret entrance that can serve as a handy escape route in the event of trouble. Violators fortify the premises to give them time to destroy evidence and perhaps to escape. Oftentimes, entry can only be affected by the use of one or more tools like these. The sledgehammer, the fire axe, battering rams, eye and lever bars. The key thing to remember is to use only the amount of force needed to enter and no more. There may be a better entry route than breaking down the front door. Windows and any other doors should be checked to see if they are open and afford easier entry. The idea is to attack at the weakest point of the premises, wherever it may be. One of the first things violators are apt to do when they realize a raid is underway is to try to destroy evidence and contraband. This must be prevented immediately. The other thing on their minds is to escape. Stopping them from doing this is the most important thing the agents must accomplish once entry has been obtained. The violators must be subdued as quickly as possible and the premises swept through to find any persons who may be in hiding. The primary responsibility is to control the occupants. The persons named in the warrant should be arrested and anybody else found in the area should be kept under control. Everyone should be frisked for weapons. Order should be maintained. The violators must not be allowed to become the masters of the situation. Once the place has been secured, the occupants of the premises are asked if they have anything that is of value, including any large quantities of money. The agents take anyone who does claim to have valuables along with them as a witness when they go to pick up such items. The agent should ask all persons whether there are any additional valuables on the premises. The valuables are then taken to an open area where their owner can watch them throughout the search. The search team should use a systematic plan to search the premises. The search may proceed in a clockwise direction, a counterclockwise direction, or in quadrants. After each agent has searched his particular area, another agent searches the same area. Using methods like this ensures that all areas will be searched at least two times. Do not touch evidence when it is first found. Call a second agent to witness the discovery. The evidence should then be photographed. It's location sketched. Large amounts of cash and other assets found during raids, especially those involving narcotics violations, should be reported immediately to the Intelligence Division of the Internal Revenue Service so that tax effects can be evaluated and the money applied to taxes due. And custody is taken by the person who is assigned to handle all the evidence. He should label and mark. It is then usually placed into a larger container that is kept for all the evidence found on the premises. It is packaged, retained, and protected by the agent assigned to watch over the evidence. The chain of custody must be maintained at all times. From the beginning, the raid leader has been coordinating and supervising the activities of the raid officers. After he is satisfied that the raid has been finished, he completes an inventory of the items seized. This list is written on the back of the warrant. If items not covered in the warrant are seized, these must be listed on a separate receipt. A copy is given to the occupant of the raided premises, or if no one is there, it is left in a conspicuous place. All the violators are then removed and transported to the U.S. Marshall's office or the agent's office for processing. Prisoners should be taken before the U.S. magistrate without unnecessary delay and the evidence logged and placed in a safe storage facility. The raid leader will see to it that the premises are placed in good order. If there is any damage to the raided building, it is the agent's responsibility to nail up or otherwise secure the premises. When this is done, a post-raid critique is held which points out those techniques that were successful and those that were poor and did not work. The object is to clear the air so that future raids may be improved. We have been watching a raid in a typical urban area. However, not all raids take place in such congested conditions. Outdoor raids in rural or open areas present different kinds of problems. Approach procedures are more restricted. You must know the terrain and dress to blend in with the natural cover that is so vital to the security of your approach. Agents must be on the alert for booby traps like this one. Criminals hiding out in remote locations are apt to have all sorts of devices rigged to sound warning of the approach of strangers. And most important for outdoor raids is a first aid kit that includes materials for treatment of snake bites and other animal bites. Once at the house, the basic procedures apply that are used in raiding similar size premises in urban areas. The same division of the raiding party into three teams. The same statements to those on the inside, the same search and control procedures once entry is obtained. And the same danger. Remember, any raid is one of the most important and dangerous parts of your investigation. Study the proper raid procedures. Practice them until they become second nature to you. Your life may well depend on it.