NCJ Number
117915
Date Published
Unknown
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The recent Supreme Court decision, U.S. versus Sokolow, clarifies the proper use of a controversial narcotics investigative procedure known as profiling.
Abstract
The profiling technique singles out for investigation individuals with characteristics that police determine are consistent with certain criminal activities. Following Sokolow, the emphasis of courts will be away from standard police department profiles and toward the experience and knowledge of police officers. Therefore, police officers can consider individual behavior in deciding whether to investigate for drug law violations. An investigating police officer must be able to articulate or recall each act and characteristic of the suspect that prompted an investigation. Further, police officers must demonstrate that they possess sufficient training and experience to have concluded that observed behavior was consistent with possessing or distributing illegal drugs. The Supreme Court decision leaves several search and seizure questions open. For example, the Supreme Court did not actually sanction the use of "drug courier profiles" by law enforcement agencies. Instead, the Supreme Court leaves it to individual police officers to rely on their training and experience in using a profile to initiate an investigation. In addition, when police officers stop an individual who exhibits suspicious characteristics and behavior, they can only perform an investigatory stop. A valid search can only be conducted if the suspect consents, if a trained dog identifies a suspect person or baggage, or if investigating police officers notice any indication that the suspect is harboring illegal drugs. The "plain view" doctrine still applies if police notice the odor of an illegal drug or observe the suspect to be under the influence of a controlled substance.