If you're there to arrest people, that seems reasonable. But if the goal is to collect evidence, you can't give them time to destroy it.
I do have the presumption that when professionals do things that seem weird, they probably have reasons that I as an amateur don't immediately understand.
I've also read enough Radley Balko to know cops often get away with doing awful and stupid things...
> But if the goal is to collect evidence, you can't give them time to destroy it.
Unless it's proven someone is on imminent harm, then they should find another way to collect evidence, or just not do it.
I'm aware, but there seem to be an awful lot of instances where "high stakes high priority evidence collection" doesn't apply.