Drug sniffing dogs — like bloodhounds of old — are treated by our courts, the police, and the public as canny and accurate detectors of contraband.
Except the standard they're held up to in court is shockingly low, especially when its clear a dog isn't being trained to detect drugs, but to detect his handler's desire for a drug detection.
'The Supreme Court originally gave its imprimatur to drug dog sniffs because when used properly, the dog’s finely tuned sense of smell can detect drugs and their absence with incredible precision. But that caveat — when used properly — is critical. If a drug dog isn’t eliminating any innocent people, if it’s validating the suspicions of the police nine out of ten times resulting in searches for which up to half or more of the suspects are innocent, then descriptors such as finely tuned and incredible precision no longer apply.'
The result? The dogs become a justification for a search where the police have any desire to do so — where they don't like the look of you, or the department is short of asset-forfeiture cash, for example. It creates a "reasonable suspicion" for the courts, whether or not it's actually reasonable at all. It vitiates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
That should worry everyone.
Federal appeals court: Drug dog that’s barely more accurate than a coin flip is good enough
A “search warrant on a leash.”
This is not good or fair! Poor dogs and innocent suspects!!! :/