There are many ways that Texas law enforcement agencies enforce drug rules. There are prescription monitoring programs that track commonly-abused medications. There are specialty law enforcement teams in many jurisdictions whose members specifically try to identify those involved in the manufacture and distribution of dangerous substances. Officers may work with confidential informants or may even go undercover to identify those involved in drug trafficking.
The state also trains and regularly utilizes the services of drug-sniffing dogs. These canine police officers check bags and even lockers at schools for scents associated with illegal drugs. The dogs are trained to alert as a means of notifying their handlers that they detected smells that could indicate a drug crime.
When a dog alerts, police officers can use their reaction as probable cause to justify a search. Those arrested because of a search that began with a canine reacting to a smell may have questions about their rights and the accuracy of canine law enforcement efforts.
Are drug-sniffing dogs truly reliable law enforcement tools?
False alerts are far more common than people realize
Dogs certainly have a keener sense of smell than most humans, but that doesn’t mean they are always right when they alert while working with police officers. Research into the accuracy of drug-sniffing dogs raises questions about their continued use. More often than not, police officers search and find nothing. Their actions cause stress, inconvenience and possibly property damage for the people suspected of a drug offense.
An analysis of drug-sniffing dog cases found that only 44% of alerts led to the dog’s handlers finding drugs. That number dropped to an abysmal 27% in cases involving Latino suspects. With so many false alerts occurring, people can potentially raise reasonable questions about whether the continued use of drug-sniffing dogs is an appropriate law enforcement strategy. They might be able to raise questions about the legality of a search and the fairness of any consequences that they face.
Defendants facing drug charges often need to secure the support of someone familiar with Texas state law and current best practices for law enforcement. Small details, such as a potentially inappropriate use of drug-sniffing dogs, can have a major bearing on the charges a defendant faces.
