Which option best describes a protective sweep?

Which option best describes a protective sweep?

• A. A full home search without a warrant.
• B. A pat-down conducted outside the home.
• C. Conducting a quick look through adjoining rooms during an arrest to locate suspects or threats.
• D. A neighborhood door-to-door search.

Answer: (C)

A protective sweep is a quick, limited search of areas immediately surrounding the arrest scene to ensure there aren’t hidden threats or suspects who could harm officers or others. The best description here is a brief look through adjoining rooms during an arrest to locate potential threats or people who could pose danger. It isn’t a full home search for evidence, and it isn’t focused on targets outside the home or on others in the neighborhood. The sweep should be narrow in scope and limited in time, only reaching into spaces where someone could be hiding and posing a danger.

A protective sweep is a quick, limited search of areas immediately surrounding the arrest scene to ensure there aren’t hidden threats or suspects who could harm officers or others. The best description here is a brief look through adjoining rooms during an arrest to locate potential threats or people who could pose danger. It isn’t a full home search for evidence, and it isn’t focused on targets outside the home or on others in the neighborhood. The sweep should be narrow in scope and limited in time, only reaching into spaces where someone could be hiding and posing a danger.