I (currently middle aged, middle class white male) have been stopped by police quite a few times over my driving lifetime of the last 30+ years for speeding, taillights being out, and various other typical offenses, and when the officer encountered me he seemed utterly unconcerned that I was harboring any kind of illegal contraband, and after giving him the requested paperwork, and we concluded out transaction (ie ticket, warning, reminder to have lights on etc) I went on my merry way.
In reading the local blogs citing various police stops of note it’s not uncommon for stops to be cited where guns and drugs are recovered from stopped vehicles.
I’m curious as to what the tell tale signs are to a policeman that there are likely to be drugs or guns etc in a car? Is it just a feeling, the way people dress, type of car, racial profiling, nervousness… what? What are the law enforcement tip offs that drugs or guns are likely to be present?
If you want more information I suggest you check out this guy http://nevergetbusted.com/v2/ He is a former cop that is now a legalization activist. This video is particularly interesting http://nevergetbusted.com/node/53 He claims its complex and that skilled cops develop a sense for people and vehicles that seem likely to be involved in the drug buisness.
Yeah, it might be complex in its finer points, but I’l wager this - “middle aged, middle class white male” - goes a pretty long way. Especially when combined with a range of conservative car makes and models in good repair…
There was an hilarious episode of Cops on Fox where an officer stopped someone (purportedly for a driving violation), and when the guy rolled down his window a dense cloud of marijuana smoke rolled out (we’re talking major combustion here).
I’m always amazed by the frequency with which innocent people get busted on the show because other people are leaving dope in their cars, or even tossing drugs in through the window unbeknownst to the innocent. It’s why I keep my windows rolled up at all times.
Not to hijack this thread much, but I have a question related to this. My sister got busted the other day for having pot in the car :rolleyes: she told me that they brought in the dogs then searched her car without asking. Now if they asked I have no idea. What I’d like to know is if they bring in a dog do they then have the right to just search your car if the dog responds?
I know I’ve seen on cops and other such shows a couple of times them bringing in the dogs and then just ripping the car apart. That doesn’t mean they didn’t cut the parts about the cop asking to search the car and whatnot.
IIRC, the courts have ruled that cops don’t need permission to use the drug dogs. If the hounds can sniff your stash, you’re busted! The dog’s response is considered “probable cause” to search the vehicle, I guess. And since the dog detected the stash from outside the car, you have no “right to privacy” or any of that. Sort of a canine version of the “plain sight” rule.
Mr. Moto, I concur. I can smell dope smoke coming from a car ahead of me for quite a ways. I’m sure cops can do the same.
The use of a drug dog is not a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The cops cannot generally make you wait for hours for a dog to arrive, but if they’ve legitimately stopped you for another reason, they can use the time you’re detained for the citation to be written to have an already-present drug dog do a sniff. If he alerts, then they have probable cause to search.
When I was young (the 60s and early 70s) I had very long hair and got stopped many times. Got a job and a business man haircut and drove new cars; in 22 years only got stopped one time for doing 55 in a 35 zone in what turned out to be a known speed trap in Arizona … the cop was courteous and professional, wrote the ticket, end of story.
Switched careers, cut expenses, sold the Acura and bought a beat up looking 12 year old Civic. Within a week … pulled into the parking lot after closing to return some videos (as I had done a hundred times before) and was cornered by two police cars … tires squealing to a stop, show me your hands, cops jumped out hands on guns, flashlights in the windows, the whole trip.
My hair got longer and the stops continued, never more than a couple of months without one, all for no real reason, always some crap story about my fitting a description or I had been weaving or driving erratically, (I haven’t had a drink for almost 30 years) and always doing the peering into all the windows, where are you going, what are you doing here, where are you coming from, usually with a second car arriving on the scene very shortly after the first.
Got tired of it, bought a new Scion, put the hair in a ponytail and wear a hat while driving. Haven’t been stopped in four years.
I think this qualifies as data rather than anecdote.
One of the tell tale signs is what I believe I’ve heard police refer to as ‘hurried movements’ That is, when they are walking up to your car and they can see you scrambling under your seats, in your glove compartment, in your pockets etc.
I’ve been around a lot of cops and read a lot of police reports. Often among the factors are a beater car, Led Zepp or similar bumper stickers, furtive movements, driver nervousness, and a whiff (or more) of marijuana.
See the opening scene of Super Troopers for a great example of such crack police work.
I have longish hair (down to the top of my shoulders) and haven’t had any trouble. Seems to me the first thing that gets you stopped is a traffic violation, I try not commit those because I don’t want to pay the tickets.
Beyond that when you’re stopped I think a lot of it is your demeanor. Act nervous and the cop will wonder what’s up. Looking grungy or having a grungy-looking car are also big clues.
