stayin safe on the roads when holding, a few tips

[Guest]

Its the holiday season, at least in the U.S., and cops are out more often than at other times of the year and looking for reasons to pull people over. I just looked up some prfiling techniques that cops use to try to catch anyone that might be carrying.

Though the article is discussing drug courriers, it can be useful for someone just carrying a little personal stash too IMO.

The problem with this, is that you'll go through it, and see that they'll basically search anyone because of anything. FOr example, look at the section on different vehicles used. It basically says that if they're driving a car, they might be a courier and thats potentially reasonable cause for a search.

I'd encourage people to just glance through this. And remember, take it easy on the roads wthis time of year and let the cops stick to catching drunks and not all us heads.

The following has been sourced from

http://www.cass.net/~w-dogs/lcour.htm

DRUG COURIER
PROFILE
INDICATORS



In recent years, the term "Drug Courier Profile" has been used to describe those involved in the transportation of drugs. As this is accepted terminology in general conversation, it can create legal problems if used in conjunction with a vehicle stop.



Stopping someone because they fit a "Drug Courier Profile" has been referred to as a "reasonable suspicion" or pretext stop. In recent court cases, the courts have had mixed opinions on the legality of detaining someone based on nothing but reasonable suspicion. For this reason, we will not stop someone solely on suspicion that she/he fits a drug courier profile.



Once a vehicle has been stopped for a violation, or within the scope of our duties, the officer should then look for indicators leading him to believe that the person is involved in drug trafficking.



Indicators can be broken down into three categories;



1. Exterior of the vehicle and driving habits.



2. Interior of the vehicle.



3. The driver and/or passengers.



The following is a list of indicators that have been present during numerous seizures by various law enforcement agencies. As additional indicators are discovered, they will be provided to you.



Exterior Indicators to look for:



1. Large or late model cars with large trunks - GM most popular.



a. Intermediate size also used.



b. Occasionally a smaller car will be involved.



2. Older car in top running condition.



3. Vans and pickup trucks with camper tops also commonly used.



4. Tinted or blacked out windows.



5. Numerous radio antennas.



a. CB radios



b. Police scanners.



6. Radar Detectors



7. Vehicles equipped with air shocks that normally wouldn't have them.



8. Two or more vehicles running in tandem



9. Pulling speed boats with cover



10. Vehicle Registration:



a. Common tags seen are Florida, Texas, Maryland, New York and New Jersey

b. Florida "Z" for all rental and leased cars



1) Tags expiring in 1986 (green on white) first alpha character is "Z" for all rental and leased cars



2) After running out, some "Y" plates were issue Ex. ZBC123 or YBC123 or 123ZBC or 123YBC



3) All new plates will be ZBC-12A or YBC-12A



c. New York has same system with 3 alpha followed by 3 or 4 numeric



1) New York has some irregularities as car can be registered in name of leased.

2) Title check needed to confirm



d. Dale County plates seen regularly with cocaine seizures



- Broward County plates seen regularly in marijuana seizures



e. North Carolina starts with "R" for rental vehicles



11. Stickers or decals indicating where the car is from or has been - do they match state of registration?



12. Driving habits often result in the courier being stopped for a routine violation



a. Speeding up and slowing down



b. Scrupulous obedience to traffic laws - overly cautious



c. Erratic driving due to drug or alcohol use



d. Many drive straight through and take drugs to stay awake



e. Take a long time to pull over



13. In order to avoid leaving the vehicle they will often sleep in a rest area





Interior Indicators to look for:



1. Fuzz busters, scanners, and radios if not visible from exterior



2. Road maps or atlas



a. Check for marked route of travel



3. Newspapers indicating where she/he has been



4. Tissues - boxed, or signs or exceptional use



5. Duct Tape - (very common) - Fiberglass material



a. White and gray most common found



6. One or two screwdrivers or isolated wrench laying on floor or in glove box



7. Aerosol cans



a. Check for reverse threading



8. Thermos bottles - can indicate travel as well as be concealed compartment



9. Obvious odor of perfume, deodorizer, or talcum powder



a. Odor of ether or cedar shavings



10. Strong odor of fresh ground coffee



11. Odor of burnt or raw marijuana



12. Roaches in ashtray or residue on roach clips



13. Spare tire in back seat



14. Little or no luggage



a. Hard, air tight such as Samsonite



15. Signs of extensive travel such as carton of cigarettes or other items from out of the area



a. Fast food bags



b. Tax stamp on cigarettes



c. Motel, gas receipts



16. High mileage on new car



17. Service stickers



18. Papers with flight numbers, boat names, bus routes, etc.



19. Address books or phone number lists



20. Business cards



21. Fireworks or souvenirs



22. Citrus fruit



23. One key in ignition or trunk key missing from key ring



24. Pagers in vehicle or on driver



25. Concealed switches to activate compartments



a. Starting to use two screws that will activate by shorting out







Signs of concealed compartments



a. Back of back seat or seat itself ajar

b. Loose or missing screws in side panels - door panels



1) Loose screws on floor

2) Rivets replacing screws



c. Door jam vent blocked out with tin behind it



d. Trunk area



1) False area between trunk and rear seat very common

2) False floor in trunk or sides of trunk - access may be from under carriage

3) At times requires depth perception to locate

4) Spare tire

5) Spare tire not in factory position



e. Center of steering wheel



f. Side arm rests and arm rests with vinyl backing attached

by velcro



g. Rear of front seats and console



h. False gas tanks or false compartments within tank



i. Areas behind wheel wells that are accessible from exterior



j. Propane tanks



k. False areas in camper shells



l. Hollowed out lumber or dry wall



m. Use your imagination !!! The location of a concealed compartment is solely up to the imagination of a courier







Indicators from the driver and/or passenger:
1. Driver exits the vehicle rapidly and comes back to the patrol car



2. Often gives signs of fertile behavior or nervousness



3. Many times are or have resided in the Miami area



4. What does a courier look like?



a. Usually between 20-40 years old, average age 32

b. Many unemployed

c. Many don't fit the vehicle

d. Unshaved appearance



e. Two man teams are common - women and women with children also used

f. Many are immigrants:



1) Cuba



2) Mexico



3) Colombians



4) Some Pakistani's involved in heroin



5) Immigrants from El Salvador and Nicaragua starting to get involved to fund weapons



5. May have residue of white powder on nose or mustache



6). Will have sniffles if a user



a. Observe nose for lack of nasal hair or redness

b. Very common to find couriers as users



7. Identification for person and vehicle will appear confusing - called two party vehicles



a. Driver license from one state, vehicle registered in another

b. Many cases cars are leased or rented in another name



1) Check additional driver portion of agreement for driver's name

2) Should be written at time of lease



c. If not rented - most likely driver will not be the owner



1) Will often state first name only of owner or leased

2) State they are just paid to drive it and drop it off or call pagers or phone number

3) Will provide very little information on how to contact owner or will not know



d. Mileage on car compared to mileage at time of rental will be excessive

e. Expensive car with no lien

f. Older car recently transferred from another state



8. May have extensive jewelry, cash, or credit cards on person



9. Itinerary does not fit occupation or amount of luggage in vehicle, etc.



10. Occupant and driver give different routes of travel - should separate



11. Will often deny being in source city



a. May have to observe items in car to determine his departure point

b. Known source states:



1) Florida - Miami

2) Texas - Brownsville, Houston

3) New Jersey - Union City, W. New York, North Bergen

4) Illinois - Chicago

5) Indiana - Gary

6) Massachusetts - Boston



12. They are paid only to drive the vehicle - often contributes to obtaining consent



13. At times may be following or being followed by a "friend" (trailer vehicle).



14. Driver should be monitored for body language while discussing his trip, etc.



a. Will have separate class on how to properly question and evaluate the courier



In addition to the indicators of those transporting drugs, we should also be aware of those items used in the manufacturing of cocaine that might also be found during a stop



1. Large quantity of rubbermaid trash cans



2. Large amount of cheese cloth or coffee filters



3. Multiple microwave ovens



4. Multiple heat lamps



5. Large quantities of mannitol used as cutting agent



a. Dietic drug for kidney analysis



6. Large drums that don't appear to fit the vehicle



a. Look for labeling, etc.





NOTES

"Profile" is a bad term to use when referring to your observations of vehicle, driver and contents. Use "indicators".



Conversation with suspect is very important. If you feel you may ask for a consent search keep your conversation casual and non-aggressive.



Prior to asking suspect for a consent search conclude all activity related to your probable cause stop or original contact. This is to include returning all his documents, o.l., registration, citation, etc. The suspect should be ready to leave and there should be the feeling of freedom to leave on his part.



Be extremely cautious and watchful of additional suspect in other vehicles travelling with your suspect.



Recommended policy on a positive consent search is to stop once any contraband has been discovered. Continue after search warrant has been obtained.

 

[confedrate69]

wow its amazing that they can concider all the critera listed above. they just decribed more than half of the us population in some way or another about ten things hit pretty close to home.
clean shaven-nope, old car "gm" small body in perfect running order, age yep, unemployed-yep, spare tire not in original spot, screws laying on floor, the out of place tool on floor,duct tape, tissues, theres 10 i can keep going too.
that is just so sad that our government can let lists like this be made on our soil sad i say.
i am not a courrier nor will i ever be a courier just because im disabled and cant afford to be driving 2 brand new cars and dont really care what people think im a courrier SAD
confedrate

 

[George Hayduke]

Anyone who plans on transporting larges amounts of marijuana on major interstates during the holidays is askin' for trouble in my opinion. Theres just to much cop activity this time of year for many reasons. Travel with your personal amount and you should be fine I just wouldn't travel with anymore than that.

 

[Guest]

I meant this as useful-ish for people carrying personal stashes during the holdiays. mor eof a reminder to be careful out there especailly now. Many of us are inevitably gonna be on the road, maybe going to a christmas or new years party, maybe droppin off that special christmas present, and we'll be holding. These next two weeks are going to be some of fthe most dangerous times to be on the road with anything at all.

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

There were quite a few hilarious one-liners. (IE: Expensive car with no lien...lol)

The meat and potatoes truly lies in the last few lines. None of these 'indicators' give the police reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle.

In fact, it sounds as if the best police don't think an innocent person should consent:

"Prior to asking suspect for a consent search conclude all activity related to your probable cause stop or original contact. This is to include returning all his documents, o.l., registration, citation, etc. The suspect should be ready to leave and there should be the feeling of freedom to leave on his part."

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

Here's an interesting slide-show:

UNCOVERING SMUGGLERS' SECRETS
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/popup?id=4022813

 

[SomeGuy]

Tags expiring in 1986 (green on white) first alpha character is "Z" for all rental and leased cars

I wonder how old this article is? Looks like something leftover from the Tony Montana. south Florida days.

 

[Fat Albert]

2. Often gives signs of fertile behavior or nervousness

LMAO....like how? Spread legs? A freshly used tampon? An official sperm count? Traveling with a cornucopia in the passenger seat?

Fat A

 

[Verite]

.. Exterior Indicators to look for:

1. Large or late model cars with large trunks - GM most popular.

a. Intermediate size also used.

b. Occasionally a smaller car will be involved...

Just to be safe, describe every car out there.