Drug sniffing dogs - wrong 56% of the time during police stops

[joe_momma]

The dogs seem to be smelling the residue after the drugs are removed/consumed.

My assumption is that this is mostly pot - but a 56% false positive rate is really rather bad.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7119364.story

(article too long to post)

Drug-sniffing dogs can give police probable cause to root through cars by the roadside, but state data show the dogs have been wrong more often than they have been right about whether vehicles contain drugs or paraphernalia.

[midnight rambler]

A well trained dog can and will "give an indication" upon a very subtle hand signal or gesture by the handler. Who needs drug residue as probable cause to search when you've got a willing and obedient accomplice to your misdeeds in Dag the Drug Dawg? Dag just wants his toy, and will do whatever is necessary for that reward.

[Winston Smith]

http://www.roadmanlaw.com/marijuana.php



Can they get a drug dog to search my car?

Yes. But they only have a limited time to get the drug dog to the scene. It is rare for them to go to this trouble. The threat of getting a drug dog is often a bluff to get you to give them permission.

[willie pete]

I've thought that for a long time, all the handler has to say is "yep, he alerted", presto..they have PC to search your car....and what are you going to do? ...spend thousands to fight it or a suit in court?

[mamboni]

The dogs seem to be smelling the residue after the drugs are removed/consumed.

My assumption is that this is mostly pot - but a 56% false positive rate is really rather bad.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7119364.story

(article too long to post)

Drug-sniffing dogs can give police probable cause to root through cars by the roadside, but state data show the dogs have been wrong more often than they have been right about whether vehicles contain drugs or paraphernalia.


Given that a screening test, to be at all useful, especially when applied to a low-incidence population, has to have a specificity of >99%, the use of these dogs in this manner is not only farcical, but arguably a deliberate attempt to harrass and entrap the general public. In medicinal diagnosis, a 56% false positive rate (=44% specificity) for a test relegates it to the 'tea leaves & entrails' section of the cabinet - useless!

The thing about the government: they can do anything they want it seems, no matter how wasteful, stupid and criminal. :sicko

[Cobalt]

I'm not surprised at a 56% false positive

The K9 handler shows up on scene because another officer "suspected" drugs so the handler shows up with the pre conceived notion that his dog is going to find drugs.
The dog doesn't say "hey boss, I smell drugs" but rather acts in a way that the K9 handler perceives as an indication that it smells something suspicious and because the dog was brought too the scene based on another officers suspicion, it is really easy to confirm the first officers suspicion.

[Walter Mitty]

Half the time the dog is not alerting I would bet.
I was a Patrol Dog handler in the Military and have seen how the Military Drug and Bomb dogs were trained.
When they alert, really alert they are given a reward.
In the military it was a ball.
Also they were trained to sit when they smelled drugs or explosives.
So a Drug Dog handler takes his dog up to the car , the dog sniffs it and the handler said the dog alerted.
How would you or anyone else know the dog alerted unless you know how the dog was trained.

[hoarder]

Every time this issue comes up I think about how funny it would be if some employee at the Congressional motor pool or valet parking stashed a little weed and cocaine under the front seat of every Congressmans car.

[Dogman]

Every time this issue comes up I think about how funny it would be if some employee at the Congressional motor pool or valet parking stashed a little weed and cocaine under the front seat of every Congressmans car.


Diluted, THC oil, and spray as needed!

But it would be one hell of a waste! But a little would
go one hell of a long way! ;D

[LuckyStrike]

The link isn't working for me.

My thoughts have always been that those dogs are trained extensively to follow commands, you can't tell me that the handler can't bump the dog with his knee which could be a signal for him to bark, then bam probable cause.

Truthfully though, the cops can make up whatever BS they want if they want to search your car. They can say "oh he was slurring his speech" or "oh his eyes were bloodshot".

[Rebel Yarr]

Wolves are suppose to be 100x better than the best of the best police dogs - sniffer wise. I had read that they planned to start using them as police dogs - mixed of course as full and even half don't like to listen...