# Remind me what happens if I don't let police search my car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654 "2009-04-10T15:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/21 "2009-04-11T03:09:39Z")
The cops can’t hold you for a routine traffic stop for an unreasonable time without probable cause while they wait for a dog to come sniff your car. ---
**Author:** ![Libre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@Libre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Libre)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/22 "2009-04-11T03:15:34Z")
Here’s an informative video on how to handle the police (US jurisdiction): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yqMjMPlXzdA/hqdefault.jpg "BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/23 "2009-04-11T04:39:57Z")
> [@dustinsquarepants](#): > > at least here in tx, we don’t need consent for 99% of the stops. you were pulled over, why? chances are it was a moving violation in which case we MAY arrest you. arrested? your vehicle will be “inventoried” (a la, searched) prior to it being towed. if we (I say we cause I am a p.o.) want to search, we will. sure it’s a lot of power and not all may agree with us having it, but until you change the laws which apply to you and your privacy don’t complain when you say “no” and are searched anyway. and just cause we arrest you doesn’t mean we can’t search, find nothing, and un-arrest you and let you go. Only if you like being fired when the person in question turns out to have money or influence and is willing to make a stink about it. You would be violating their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, to say nothing about any provision of the Texas Constitution. A police officer with an outlook like yours should never be allowed on the force at all. That outlook gives officers the bad name that bedevils them, a viewpoint held by too many people about an occupation that is, in the main, honorable. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/24 "2009-04-11T05:13:29Z")
My experience, growing up in NC: When I turned 16 I had an old, crappy car that I bought for $950. I got stopped all the time and searched every single time. I always said yes because I never had anything to hide. The next summer I bought a new car and I have not been searched or even asked since then (I’m almost 28 now.) Riding with friends, though, I experienced the same situation many times, and my friends almost always said no. They absolutely invariably got searched anyway. One time I got up the balls to ask the cop how they could do that, and he said “refusing to give consent to a search is probable cause for us to search.” ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/25 "2009-04-11T05:17:50Z")
Saying no and expecting to not get hassled later works if you are average looking, driving an average nondescript car in a big town or in a place you seldom return to. If you are a unusual looking big ugly guy on a chopper you will have to play bumper tag and once a mile stops by every police officer in the area for day or weeks afterward. Your house will be very well protected because there will be a cruiser waiting for you to leave so they can follow you and they will try to get you to do anything they can stop you for. it is almost impossible to not violate some traffic law or other in a mile of driving. I was always totally legal mechanically and in paper work and possessions and baggage, had been clean and sober for years… Bawahahaha, it drove them batty… we eventually became friendly but it took several years… Now I live in small towns in another state and the first thing I do after moving is go to the local towns and the county officials, introduce myself, show them my bikes, CCW permit, weapon of choice, my AA medallion for that year, introduce them to my wife ( pretty wife always makes a good impression) give my address and also show them pictures to prove I am Santa. ( Which I am. ) But officers from other areas still instinctively hit the lights when they see me cruise down the road. I just look so wrong to them… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Donovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Donovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donovan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/26 "2009-04-11T05:47:07Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I think there might be a tiny little due process problem with that analysis. Maybe so, but doesn’t change the fact that they might give you crap about it if they feel like you ‘might be hiding something’ or want to fuck with you for one reason or another. I let police search my car once. They detained me for a while, messed up a bunch of filed papers (as in spread them all over the trunk), then I had to explain why I had an ice scraper in my trunk, while getting dubious looks from the police officers and having one waving it around like the star wars kid, trying to prove a point or something. You know, an ice scraper for your car? A 2.5 foot long stick with a brush on one end and a plastic scraper for ice on the other end? _looks up at the little location tag at the top of the post to make sure it is relevant_ I cut out a lot from the above story to avoid wordiness, but I would like to point out that my crime was walking across a parking lot from a grocery store to my car, seeing a bunch of police cruisers arrive with their lights on, and seeing a bunch of teens/twentysomethings jumping into cars and fleeing the scene - no police followed the cars peeling out of the lot, but I had 4 police officers all very interested in what I was doing that night. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/27 "2009-04-11T06:21:23Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > The cops can’t hold you for a routine traffic stop for an unreasonable time without probable cause while they wait for a dog to come sniff your car. The problem here is that SCOTUS has more or less declined to define what length of time would be unreasonable. The Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found in US v. Hardy 855 F. 2d 753 (1988) that the availability of a drug-sniffing dog was relevant to whether or not a suspect was detained for an unreasonable length of time… so if you’re in East Bumcrack, Tennessee, and the nearest dog is 54 miles away, 2 hours is reasonable. If you’re on Fifth Avenue in New York, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![dustinsquarepants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/74df32/32.png) [@dustinsquarepants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dustinsquarepants)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/28 "2009-04-11T12:15:30Z")
re: ds sorry, but that’s not the way things work. what you armchair quarterback’d (said) may be true if we went around just stopping and harassing everyone to search without any rhyme or reason, in response to the OP’s question, if you say “no” to a search, chances are you have something to hide. while there are exceptions of course, most officers will pull you over because they suspect something isn’t right (driving at 3am in ghetto) and will use this “hunch” to try and find whatever possible. re: mangeorge look it up, in tx there are only 2 moving violations not arrest-able. most of the time though, we aren’t going to arrest you for not using your indicator, unless we suspect you have something you’re not sposed to in your vehicle ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/29 "2009-04-11T13:40:49Z")
> [@dustinsquarepants](#): > > re: ds > sorry, but that’s not the way things work. what you armchair quarterback’d (said) may be true if we went around just stopping and harassing everyone to search without any rhyme or reason, in response to the OP’s question, if you say “no” to a search, chances are you have something to hide. while there are exceptions of course, most officers will pull you over because they suspect something isn’t right (driving at 3am in ghetto) and will use this “hunch” to try and find whatever possible. > > re: mangeorge > look it up, in tx there are only 2 moving violations not arrest-able. most of the time though, we aren’t going to arrest you for not using your indicator, unless we suspect you have something you’re not sposed to in your vehicle I try to believe that most cops aren’t as dishonest as they seem to be, but it’s hard. When I say “no” to a search it’s because I don’t want you to search my car. End of story. If you choose to lie to get what you want, then the bad is on you. One of the criteria to be chosen to be a cop is to be a control freak. Good cops, imo, learn to control _that_ aspect of their personality. They learn that they can’t always have what they want, and to accept that “no” without having a major hissy-fit. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/30 "2009-04-11T13:59:10Z")
> [@dustinsquarepants](#): > > re: ds > sorry, but that’s not the way things work. what you armchair quarterback’d (said) may be true if we went around just stopping and harassing everyone to search without any rhyme or reason, in response to the OP’s question, if you say “no” to a search, chances are you have something to hide. while there are exceptions of course, most officers will pull you over because they suspect something isn’t right (driving at 3am in ghetto) and will use this “hunch” to try and find whatever possible. > > re: mangeorge > look it up, in tx there are only 2 moving violations not arrest-able. most of the time though, we aren’t going to arrest you for not using your indicator, unless we suspect you have something you’re not sposed to in your vehicle Again, you are dead wrong in your assumptions. If this is how you police, I feel sorry for your populace. I always say no to a search, and I have absolutely nothing to hide in my car. I’m a completely law-abiding citizen, but I also know that there is no good reason to allow an officer to violate your Fourth Amendment rights. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/31 "2009-04-11T15:05:05Z")
> [@Libre](#): > > Here’s an informative video on how to handle the police (US jurisdiction): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA&NR=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA&NR=1) Of course a much easier way would have been not to have illegal drugs on you. Also, I’ve never seen cops act like that IRL. Maybe a police person can chime in, but I would think that acting like a douche from Reno 911 would just make people defensive and uncooperative. I’ve mostly seen the cops act all polite and friendly hoping you’ll let your guard down and give them probable cause. ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/32 "2009-04-11T15:12:29Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > \*New York Penal Code Section 265.01 Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree > > A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree when: > > (1) He possesses any firearm, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, cane sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, metal knuckles, chuka stick, **sand bag** , sandclub, wrist-brace type slingshot or slungshot, shirken or “Kung Fu star”; or :eek: If having a sandbag in your vehicle is a weapon - that means there were a lot of criminals in the north central part of the states the other week! Or is there another definition of sandbag that I’m unaware of? ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/33 "2009-04-11T15:21:49Z")
> [@Libre](#): > > Here’s an informative video on how to handle the police (US jurisdiction): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA&NR=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA&NR=1) In the third scenario of this video, the police is responding to a noise complain. There’s a loud party with pot smoking and underage drinking. What’s going to happen if they simply keep the noise down but ignore the police when they knock on the door? You’re not legally required to answer the door, right? What if they never open the door, but simply tell the officers through closed door that everything is fine? Can the police compel you to open the door of your home to talk to you face-to-face? I assume the police will be pretty pissed off if you do that, and may harass your guests when they leave. But is there anything else they can legally do? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/34 "2009-04-11T15:52:46Z")
> [@dustinsquarepants](#): > > if you say “no” to a search, chances are you have something to hide. Now that´s just retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/35 "2009-04-11T15:56:00Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Now that´s just retarded. But we’re just armchair quarterbacks. He knows stuff. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/36 "2009-04-11T16:27:25Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Now that´s just retarded. No, but you “win”, which is unacceptable. They have to say something to try to get back in control. We no longer say “retarded” to mean “stupid”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Donovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Donovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donovan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/37 "2009-04-11T16:55:47Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > In the third scenario of this video, the police is responding to a noise complain. There’s a loud party with pot smoking and underage drinking. What’s going to happen if they simply keep the noise down but ignore the police when they knock on the door? You’re not legally required to answer the door, right? What if they never open the door, but simply tell the officers through closed door that everything is fine? Can the police compel you to open the door of your home to talk to you face-to-face? > > I assume the police will be pretty pissed off if you do that, and may harass your guests when they leave. But is there anything else they can legally do? That happened at an underage party around 10 years ago in my neck of the woods… Police were either tipped off or got a noise complaint or something, but when they knocked on the door of the obvious party house no one answered, house went dark, all were silent, etc., etc… so the police called in backup and surrounded the house, and started phoning in license plates on the cars outside (this is in the suburbs where no one parks their cars on the street - the amount of cars may have also been what tipped them off to the party. The suburbs part also explains why they had the extra manpower to dick around with that stuff). They then called the home of every person of record on the license plates, reaching, of course, the parents. Parents were asked if they knew where their kids were, and a large percentage of the parents then drove out to the house and started joining the police shouting at the kids to come out… the majority of them complied with the parents where they wouldn’t with the police officers. You can bet they harassed the guests as they left, but I don’t think they ever made it inside the house. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/38 "2009-04-11T17:24:24Z")
> [@Donovan](#): > > That happened at an underage party around 10 years ago in my neck of the woods… Police were either tipped off or got a noise complaint or something, but when they knocked on the door of the obvious party house no one answered, house went dark, all were silent, etc., etc… so the police called in backup and surrounded the house, and started phoning in license plates on the cars outside (this is in the suburbs where no one parks their cars on the street - the amount of cars may have also been what tipped them off to the party. The suburbs part also explains why they had the extra manpower to dick around with that stuff). They then called the home of every person of record on the license plates, reaching, of course, the parents. Parents were asked if they knew where their kids were, and a large percentage of the parents then drove out to the house and started joining the police shouting at the kids to come out… the majority of them complied with the parents where they wouldn’t with the police officers. You can bet they harassed the guests as they left, but I don’t think they ever made it inside the house. Heh, this probably won’t be as effective for the police in a college town. ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/39 "2009-04-11T17:39:46Z")
> [@dustinsquarepants](#): > > … if you say “no” to a search, chances are you have something to hide. I suppose you think we should all consent to warrantless wiretapping, too, if we “have nothing to hide.” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654/40 "2009-04-11T18:20:39Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > I suppose you think we should all consent to warrantless wiretapping, too, if we “have nothing to hide.” Pay little attention those who declare “nothing/something to hide”. It’s a way for those who can’t stand for their rights to ridicule those who can. A cop has no authority to punish you. If one does, do like the guy in the video says, contact your nearest ACLU. You’ll actually be helping the cops clean up their ranks, something they’re often not encouraged to do themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-what-happens-if-i-dont-let-police-search-my-car/492654.md?page=3)