dragnets
Wide-reaching police searches
Dragnets are nets dragged along the bottom of a body of water to catch fish, or nets drawn through an area to capture game.
The word extends to systematic searches by police or military forces, sweeping through an area to find suspects or contraband: The dragnet caught three of the escaped prisoners.
A dragnet catches whatever falls within its reach, wanted or not.
Search for a suspect
- raidsSudden armed attacks
- sweepBrush clean with broom
- roundupOrganized gathering of scattered things
- stingSharp wound from insect
surveillance · suspects · fugitives · crackdown · patrol · pursuit · apprehension · arrests
Vertical hanging fish net
- gillnetMesh that snares by gills
- purse-seineEncircling net with drawstring
- haulPull or carry laboriously
- catchSeize or snag
trawler · fishery · bycatch · commercial · harvest · fishermen · aquaculture · overfishing
Facts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
- sleuthingInvestigative work
inquiry · probe · witnesses · testimony · suspects · alibi · indictment · prosecution
Writ requiring testimony
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- warrantFormal authorization document
- complianceAdhering to requirements
statute · ordinance · prosecution · litigation · due process · civil liberties · probable cause · search
manhunt
Search for a suspect
sting · surveillance · suspects · fugitives · crackdown · patrol · pursuit · apprehension · arrests · operation
seine
Vertical hanging fish net
- gillnetMesh that snares by gills
- purse-seineEncircling net with drawstring
- haulPull or carry laboriously
catch · trawler · fishery · bycatch · commercial · harvest · fishermen · aquaculture · overfishing · quota
evidence
Facts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
sleuthing · inquiry · probe · witnesses · testimony · suspects · alibi · indictment · prosecution · conviction
subpoena
Writ requiring testimony
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- warrantFormal authorization document
compliance · statute · ordinance · prosecution · litigation · due process · civil liberties · probable cause · search · seizure
dragnetsretreats
Backs off or sanctuaries
stand-downs · withdrawals · pullbacks · disengagements · cessations
dragnetsreleases
Lets go or publishes
amnesties · liberations · pardons · exonerations · escapes