NCJ Number
91792
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Law Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1983) Pages: 67-79
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
To control the use of drug detection dogs, police officers should be required to suspect the individual of criminal activity because of both a tip and their own observations and should be allowed to use a dog if this use does not require detaining the individual of the luggage for longer than a brief investigatory stop.
Abstract
Requiring police officers to provide corroboration for their own suspicions eliminates the abuses which are posed by the present vague profile of drug couriers. Police could still use this profile, but other factors would supplement it. The profile has been helpful to narcotics officers in the past, but it has also permitted officers to disregard the individual's interest in being able to walk through a metropolitan airport. Indiscriminate searches are not reasonable. A balance is needed between the individual's interest and society's interest in coping with the drug problem. When the person is at home, privacy carries greater weight. In public, the privacy interest decreases. Nevertheless, merely walking into a public place should not render an individual completely vulnerable to government scrutiny. The proposed two-pronged test provides law enforcement officers with a stronger basis for effective work by reducing their fear that they may be exceeding the bounds of their authority. The proposed model combines the tip, the suspicion of the officer, and the dog's alert working to establish probable cause for a warrant. A total of 79 case notes are provided. (Author summary modified)