[torstenvl]

> They're called "warrants" but they can't possibly be supported by probable cause. Treating everyone in the area of a suspected crime as a criminal suspect until things can be sorted out inverts this concept.

This not a good faith analysis. Probable cause to make an arrest of a suspect is different for probable cause of a search.

Only the former requires probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that the person in question committed it.

Probable cause for a search means probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the area to be searched contains relevant evidence. It is the question of whether "there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 214 (1983).

If there was a murder in your neighborhood and your neighbor saw a random person digging a large hole in your back yard and putting a body bag in it, there would be probable cause to search your property without regard to whether you yourself were implicated as a suspect.

[jvanderbot]

But there would not be probable cause to place GPS trackers on every car in the neighborhood, or wire taps on every phone. Tracking phones and capturing metadata or search results is not investigating the scene of a crime.