Consent Search Key Findings:
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The Fourth Amendment guarantees the public freedom from unreasonable searches. Law enforcement should not rely on trickery or intimidation to coerce people into giving up their Fourth Amendment right at traffic stops.
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In 2004, consent searches comprised 30% of all searches conducted at Texas traffic stops.[i]
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According to useable data provided by Texas law enforcement agencies, officers do not find contraband in approximately 88% of consent searches.[i]
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In 2004, approximately 2/3of Texas law enforcement agencies reported consent searching Blacks and Latinos more frequently than Anglos.[i]
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After the Austin Police Department implemented a policy requiring written consent at traffic stops, the number of consent searches during traffic stops declined to from 15,785 in 2003 to 11,250 in 2004. Furthermore, 63% fewer Austinites consented to police searches of their vehicles when they knew they had the right to refuse.[i]There was no decline in public safety.
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New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and the California Highway Patrol require a “legal basis” for conducting searches.
[i] Molly Totman. “Searching for Consent. An Analysis of Racial Profiling Data in Texas.” The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. 2006.