# Would you let a police officer search your car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397 "2017-09-03T13:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/41 "2017-09-04T17:28:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > A verbal interaction with a cop, like a verbal contract, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. > > So a cop asks for consent, and you say “no”. Cop may search your car anyway. What’s to stop him? He’ll tell the judge you consented. You’ll say you didn’t. It’s your word against the cop. Who’s the judge going to believe? > > If you have your own body cam, and you have it on your person _all all times_ and you have it running, that changes things. How many people do this? > > Do you have a body cam on your lapel at all times? Today, in the United States, the strong majority of people carry a video camera with them at all times. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/42 "2017-09-04T18:17:34Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > For any folks who said (or thought) “Yes, I have no contraband and nothing to hide,” how about the mechanic that worked on your car last week and lost one of the joints that was in his pocket in your back seat? How about the kid your son gave a ride home to last week whose baggie fell out of his backup and got wedged between the seat cushions? These are likely to be extremely low probability events. More generally, the U.S. suffers from over-attention to unimportances and unlikelihoods — there are many examples of this (political hijacks about public restrooms, focus on silly #FakeNews, the exaggerated concerns that lead to gun obsession, etc). > [@Bricker](#): > > Never consent. “I’m sorry, officer, but my privacy is very important to me, so I do not consent to a search.” Smile happily, be friendly, but do not consent. They may search anyway. That’s fine. But f lightning strikes and they find something, your lawyer will thank you, because now they have to prove they had some valid reason to search. When you consent, that protection vanishes; your consent makes their search reasonable. This may be good advice in a majority of cases. But giving this advice to a black in some jurisdictions might put the person in grave physical danger. I think most or all of those proudly saying ‘No’ in the thread are white men. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/43 "2017-09-04T19:13:09Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 1. These are likely to be extremely low probability events. More generally, the U.S. suffers from over-attention to unimportances and unlikelihoods — there are many examples of this (political hijacks about public restrooms, focus on silly #FakeNews, the exaggerated concerns that lead to gun obsession, etc). > > 2. This may be good advice in a majority of cases. But giving this advice to a black in some jurisdictions might put the person in grave physical danger. I think most or all of those proudly saying ‘No’ in the thread are white men. But point 2 could be another example of point 1. Unjustified killings by the cops are rare statistically. They just arguably should be rarer and it might be reasonable to devote considerable public attention that they aren’t rarer and/or racial disparity between a rare rate for blacks and a rarer one for whites. Even for police use of force (much more common than killings, obviously) this 2016 NYT article quoted a study showing that 46 per 1,000 arrests of blacks involved force v 36 per 1,000 arrests of whites. There are many more arrests of blacks per capita and presumably traffic stops too, but the appropriate metric for ‘grave physical danger’ on being stopped/arrested would be _per_ stop. And the raw stat also doesn’t make any adjustment for whether force was necessary. But assuming the necessity for force doesn’t vary by race of suspect, the rate is only somewhat higher for blacks. Again ‘why should it be at all?’ is a valid discussion, but not a huge difference in that study. > **[Study Supports Suspicion That Police Are More Likely to Use Force on Blacks...](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/us/study-supports-suspicion-that-police-use-of-force-is-more-likely-for-blacks.html?mcubz=0)** > > A report by the Center for Policing Equity comes at a time of increased tension over shooting episodes. I don’t see how your belief as stated in 2 is a lot different than somebody else’s belief that a third person leaving drugs in your car is a serious concern. Neither one is obvious statistically. Your belief might be true ‘in some jurisdictions’, a very elastic qualifier potentially. But a concern about somebody else having left their drugs in your car could also be likely enough to worry about depending what kind of people ride in or otherwise have access to your car. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/44 "2017-09-04T19:28:15Z")
It depends on many things where cross country am I? how rural is it? I’m a black woman. I usually travel alone. If I ever do go driving across country again, I will pick up some kind of way to film/stream from my car - because while I don’t want to consent and I know the “correct” option is to refuse to consent, I’m much more interested in staying alive than in being correct. And so, if I get any kind of feeling that refusing to consent will result in death or serious bodily injury, I consent because that’ll probably result in less physical harm than not consenting. Being in a hurry isn’t a consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/45 "2017-09-04T19:56:03Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Never consent. “I’m sorry, officer, but my privacy is very important to me, so I do not consent to a search.” Smile happily, be friendly, but do not consent. They may search anyway. That’s fine. But f lightning strikes and they find something, your lawyer will thank you, because now they have to prove they had some valid reason to search. When you consent, that protection vanishes; your consent makes their search reasonable. This is excellent information. Bricker has given an ironclad reason never to consent. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/46 "2017-09-04T20:07:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > This is excellent information. Bricker has given an ironclad reason never to consent. Agreed. When I started this thread, I was thinking that I’d consent because it’s easier. But Bricker’s post persuades me that’s not a great idea. I’m also thinking about what other people said about normalizing nonconsent. As a middle-aged middle-class white guy who teaches elementary school, I’m about as safe as a person can get from cop violence; I face very little risk from refusing consent, and if my polite nonconsent can help a cop understand that it’s not license for a beat-down, that’s little enough on my part. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/47 "2017-09-04T21:11:22Z")
“Do you have a warrant, officer? No? Then I think I’m just gonna go.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/48 "2017-09-04T21:17:31Z")
Yup, never consent, and be clear, concise and very polite. Offer no anger or attitude, period. And if they try to keep you there, ask, over and over as often as necessary, “Am I being detained?” If they say no, “Then I’d like to leave now”. If they say yes, ask under what charges you are being detained. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/49 "2017-09-04T22:04:02Z")
I don’t currently drive so the only way I could see this happening to me would be in a rental car. I do remember getting pulled over on a business trip one time. I was at an airport hotel and was driving around looking for an open place for dinner around 11 pm. I know the areas around airports often have some sketchy areas and some cop pulled me over thinking I was looking for drugs, the whole process took less than ten minutes and he directed me to an open Waffle House a couple blocks away. If he had wanted to search the car, I would have agreed, reminding him that it’s a rental and I’d just picked it up an hour or so ago. I"m not going to fight for my privacy rights when I’m tired and hungry. Like other have said, if the cop is determined to fuck with me, they’ll find a way to do it. I really don’t think that applies to 99.99% of cops. I think they can tell the difference between a business traveler looking for a late night meal and someone that you see on COPS who gives evasive answers on why they’re driving around late at night and doesn’t have a valid driver license. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/50 "2017-09-05T01:33:47Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Follow up questions: > > 1. For those of you that say yes, why would you let police search your stuff? Would you support a program where police search your car on a regular basis (or if this scenario regularly occurred)? > 2. For those that say no, if the officer explained that heroin smuggling is an epidemic in their county and so they are attempting to search everyone, would this sway you in any way? (This would not sway me and I would be disturbed and probably report it to the state or the feds.) I would, and have, said no. As for the follow-up ---- if I was third or twenty-third in a long line of cars (so clearly you are stopping EVERYONE) I may reconsider. But that would depend on my mood at the given moment. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/51 "2017-09-05T03:05:38Z")
Why WOULD I let him search my car? If he had a valid reason, he’d do it without asking permission and could justify his actions to a judge. If he’s asking permission, he knows he’s got no valid cause to search my car. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/52 "2017-09-05T04:43:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Yup, never consent, and be clear, concise and very polite. Offer no anger or attitude, period. > > And if they try to keep you there, ask, over and over as often as necessary, “Am I being detained?” If they say no, “Then I’d like to leave now”. If they say yes, ask under what charges you are being detained. You certainly can ask what charges are involved, but the police are under no obligation to answer you. It is useful to establish whether or not you’re being detained. Often, police will dodge answering that question directly. So I recommend, “Am I free to go?” And if the officer does not answer, you might add, “OK, so I’m free to go. Thanks,” and see if you’re contradicted. But don’t descend into a mindless repetition of “Am I free to go?” One negative answer is enough to establish the detention exists, and it’s at that point that the officer must have at least reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity, which is enough to justify a brief investigative detention to confirm or dispel that suspicion. But he doesn’t have to supply it to you, right then. He will, however, need to have it for later, so establish that a detention is happening early and then just wait. In the case of traffic stops, of course, it’s obvious that the stop begins as a detention, but what the police are trained to do is complete the stop, return your paperwork, tell you you’re free to go, and then immediately start a new line of questions. This allows them to piously claim that the detention had ended and the encounter has now transformed itself into a new, consensual encounter, in which you’re answering questions because you want to, and consenting to searches because you want to. If you’re free to go, go. If you’re unsure, ask. And never consent to a search. And for God’s sake, if you’re arrested, the only thing out of your mouth (other than name/address/DOB and other routine booking questions) should be, “I haven’t done anything wrong and I absolutely want to speak to an attorney before saying anything else.” ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/53 "2017-09-05T15:12:15Z")
I, too, failed to read the OP’s condition of “having no contraband in your car” … so I really don’t know whether I’d consent to a search under that condition as it would be strictly hypothetical … under realistic conditions I would eagerly allow the police to search my rig, throw the officer’s thought process into a tail spin and have him disdain the time and effort … If the police want to search your rig, they’re going to search your rig … it’s fine that five years hence the appeals court throws out the evidence, but that’s a hell of a long time to spend in jail waiting racking up a quarter million dollar legal bill … sometimes it’s cheaper to pay the fine than to hire a lawyer … and if you can’t pay the fine, don’t do the crime … ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/54 "2017-09-05T15:41:19Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > But the reality is that in a lot of places, they take a “no” as “proof” that you have some contraband in the car, and they request a warrant from Judge Bubba, who approves it, and then they “find” some drugs in your vehicle. > [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve seen videos recently of cops finding things that were not there originally. Planting evidence happens. It was one of a multitude of reasons my cop buddy used as reasons my kids should _never_ consent to a search. So, according to what several people have said: You shouldn’t say “no” because that could lead to big trouble. But you shouldn’t say “yes” because _that_ could lead to big trouble. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. So what’s the “correct” answer to the OP’s question? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/55 "2017-09-05T15:58:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So, according to what several people have said: > > You shouldn’t say “no” because that could lead to big trouble. But you shouldn’t say “yes” because _that_ could lead to big trouble. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. So what’s the “correct” answer to the OP’s question? The one I gave. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/56 "2017-09-05T16:43:15Z")
Fuck no. If Barney Fife wants to go fishing, he should go find some water. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/57 "2017-09-05T16:59:05Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > 1. For those that say no, if the officer explained that heroin smuggling is an epidemic in their county and so they are attempting to search everyone, would this sway you in any way? (This would not sway me and I would be disturbed and probably report it to the state or the feds.) I don’t give a crap about their heroin smuggling concerns. I’d say no. You got me thinking, however, about when I might consent. All I came up with is the cop telling me that there’s a missing child and they’re looking for a car that matches mine, and asks to take a quick look in the trunk. I’d probably fall for that, and let them have a peak so they can go back to finding the real car with the child in it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/58 "2017-09-05T17:02:00Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > … you get pulled over for having a faulty tail light. The officer explains this and then asks to search your vehicle. “No - it would be a waste of your time and mine. And it would be very wrong of me to waste the time of a valued public servant.” > [@](#): > > … if the officer explained that heroin smuggling is an epidemic in their county and so they are attempting to search everyone … “I never have had - nor will have - anything to do with heroin smuggling. Because searching my vehicle will in no way contribute to the suppression of heroin smuggling, it would be wrong to consent.” ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/59 "2017-09-05T17:04:22Z")
> [@](#): > > What I could see myself doing is filming the encounter with my phone using my Marco Polo app so that shit would go straight in the cloud. On video, I would politely ask the cop why my car needs to be searched. I would then say that I am not giving consent to a search, but I will remove myself from the car (along with my kid, if she is with me) so that the cop can do anything within legal bounds without me getting in the way. If they then search my car, I got that shit on tape and thus, have the means to follow up as necessary. That’s what I would do as well, Question: Is one obligated to tell the officer that she is being recorded? ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397/60 "2017-09-05T17:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > You certainly can ask what charges are involved, but the police are under no obligation to answer you. > > It is useful to establish whether or not you’re being detained. Often, police will dodge answering that question directly. So I recommend, “Am I free to go?” And if the officer does not answer, you might add, “OK, so I’m free to go. Thanks,” and see if you’re contradicted. But don’t descend into a mindless repetition of “Am I free to go?” One negative answer is enough to establish the detention exists, and it’s at that point that the officer must have at least reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity, which is enough to justify a brief investigative detention to confirm or dispel that suspicion. But he doesn’t have to supply it to you, right then. He will, however, need to have it for later, so establish that a detention is happening early and then just wait. > > In the case of traffic stops, of course, it’s obvious that the stop begins as a detention, but what the police are trained to do is complete the stop, return your paperwork, tell you you’re free to go, and then immediately start a new line of questions. This allows them to piously claim that the detention had ended and the encounter has now transformed itself into a new, consensual encounter, in which you’re answering questions because you want to, and consenting to searches because you want to. > > If you’re free to go, go. If you’re unsure, ask. And never consent to a search. > > And for God’s sake, if you’re arrested, the only thing out of your mouth (other than name/address/DOB and other routine booking questions) should be, “I haven’t done anything wrong and I absolutely want to speak to an attorney before saying anything else.” Any time a thread about police procedures / searches comes up, I just scan through to look for the Bricker response. Thanks for sharing your expertise so often and so well [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-police-officer-search-your-car/795397.md?page=4)