NCJ Number
141702
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 60 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 19,21,23-25
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Police officers face potential civil liability charges related to high-risk drug control operations, particularly with regard to securing drug houses, searching drug suspects, confiscating property, and detecting drugs and drug traffickers. Recent courts of appeal cases have highlighted the unique problems facing narcotics officers.
Abstract
Threats to the security of police officers involved in securing drug houses can emanate not only from suspects but from their colleagues who conduct raids negligently. While the courts have generally held that officers can legally detain and search persons apprehended at the scene of a drug raid, the nature of that detention and the manner in which suspects are searched has been the focus of litigation. A landmark decision regarding confiscation of property during a drug raid held that such seizures must be limited to illegal substances and evidence directly related to the commission of a crime. Police officers face several civil liability problems stemming from techniques used to detect drugs, methods used to detect traffickers, probable cause issues, and the need for a verification process to establish that the substance found is actually illegal. The author recommends that officers always obtain a warrant before beginning a drug operation, but warns that the Fourth Amendment also applies to the manner in which these warrants are executed. 32 references