THE NOSE DOESN'T KNOW ALL

Being wrong seven times for every correct "sniff" is hardly probable cause
for a valid search.

Before rushing to validate dog searches people should consider the track
record of drug dogs.

The public has an exaggerated notion of how accurate drug dogs really are.
Most folks will be astonished to learn that when the Lake City High School
and Couer d'Alene High School (Idaho) were searched by drug dogs the dogs
"hit" on 65 vehicles as "suspicious" resulting in all of them being
searched. Of these 65 "hits" drugs were only found nine times (8
misdemeanors and 1 possible felony).

In other words, drug dogs are wrong seven times more often than they are
right. Being wrong seven times for every correct "sniff" is hardly probable
cause for a valid search and this no doubt is the source of Hope
Cunningham's wrath about dog searches. A drug detection program that is
wrong almost all of the time is not something to brag about.

Drug dogs are extremely unreliable because dogs quickly lose interest in
playing the "drug game" and respond in an extremely random manner with no
regard for drugs. It is widely known that bomb sniffing dogs can only be
used for a very short time before they tire of the "sniffing game" and quit
responding whether they detect explosives or not.

The purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to prevent searches based on
guesswork whether the guess is done by a man or a dog looking for a treat.
Permitting searches based on a dog's untrustworthy sniffer is an evasion of
our constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Lastly what great good is served by destroying a kid's future over a
marijuana cigarette?

Redford Givens

San Francisco, Ca.