Under what circumstances can a police officer search a vehicle without a warrant in the field?

Prepare for the Police Standards and Training Council (PSTC) Test with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question includes hints and explanations. Get ready to excel!

In the field, you can search a vehicle without a warrant if you have probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence or contraband and the vehicle is readily movable, so obtaining a warrant would be impractical. This is the automobile exception. You can also search without a warrant if someone with authority voluntarily consents to the search. These are two independent pathways that make a warrantless vehicle search permissible. The correct idea isn’t that it’s limited to one path or that it never allows warrantless searches; both probable cause under the automobile exception and valid consent allow it.