Consent searches

[uoplax13]

Can someone explain why there is a moratorium on consent searches for the CHP, how long it is expected to last, and how (if at all/if appropriate on the forum) it has changed how you do your job? Do you find that less arrests are being made for possession of weapons, drugs, etc... because you can't just ask someone if it's alright if you look through thier car or has it not changed a whole lot of anything?

[snowdog]

Better put on your Bee Keepers suit because you just knocked down a huge hornets nest. I remember taking a creative writing class in college thinking it would never come in handy. Boy, was I wrong.:biggrin: JK.

[SB 405]

Is that YM or dw's keys I hear getting ready to lock this thread up?

[uoplax13]

Is that YM or dw's keys I hear getting ready to lock this thread up?

Nope....:biggrin: I asked first, received a good answer and a go-ahead to start the thread, and am now just looking for some other opinions.

[SB 405]

Well then it looks like I owe you an apology.:shock:ops:

[Mac]

Google "Rodriguez vs. CHP" - that will answer the "why" for you. I won't comment on operational matters, except to say that the vast majority of our searches have always been "probable cause" searches anyway.

[KingFrankSam]

The moratorium will end within the next six months. Expect new policy and a large statewide training program.

[Flying Pig]

Im not a CHP officer, but having been a patrol dog for 8 years ..I will say that I have made NUMEROUS arrests based soley on consent. Of course you cant beat the search incident to arrest for 12500 or 11550. I am continually floored at how many people with guns and dope agree to allow me to search them and their car. I was taught when I was working dope pretty heavily that the consent search is a very handy tool in every cops bag. There were several cases where we had nothing, no PC for a warrant, or arrest. We'd sit down the street, stop the guy for rolling the stop sign, and flat out ask if we could search the car. 95% of the time the answer was yes. I even got a guy once, to agree to a consent search of his house, on a vehicle stop. We followed him back to his house, he signed the consent form in his driveway...we entered....and he later went to jail for HS11378....Possession for Sale.


It was a huge blow to Law Enforcement when the CHP decided to put a halt to consent searches. It told the ACLU that all you need to do is threaten to sue on a foundationless claim of racism, and we as police will cater to your every request. The CHP is the only agency in the state that halted consent searches. Of course, I believe they were the only ones to be named in the suit.....but everyone else in the state honestly, laughed. Im sure it was a management decision, and by no means am imlying that the road cop was supportive of it. My dept did implement the race stats after vehicle stops...it showed that the white male got stopped more than anyone else! Hopefully when this is over, it will be remembered as a bad mistake. My only concern is what will the ACLU decide to attack us on next after this expires for you guys.

I am curious though.....your saying the moratorium will and, and there will bbe a statewide training program? For what? To teach how to do consent searches?

[Mac]

The CHP got hosed for sure (and yes, CHP was the only agency named in the suit) - but if you think that's bad, do some reading on the decree that was leveled against the New Jersey State Police in a similar lawsuit. They now basically have to write a full report and keep stats for EVERYTHING they do. The amount of paper they have to generate for each and every contact they make has basically hog-tied them to the point that they can barely function as a law enforcement agency. Which, of course, is the exact goal of the ACLU - being the liberal anarchist types they are.

[Your Mentor]

As I pointed out to the thread author, this is all public info. One fact, however, that is repeatedly lost on the public is that we DID NOT LOSE A LAWSUIT TO THE ACLU!!!! Our commissioner at the time didn't want to waste anymore operational money on this case and settled before it ever made it to trial. This case ended in a settlement agreement. If he'd been willing to spend the money, and frankly I can't blame him for not being willing (that's operational money where the only losers are the public we serve; apparently the ACLU doesn't give a damn about the average motorist), we'd have slammed the ACLU to the backboard. The ACLU was making demands that even a liberal judge would have sckoffed at. Basically, the ACLU wanted to run the CHP. It was amazing. What they got, again, in my opinion, was way more than they should have. The guys in the field and the public got hosed. The executive managers involved went about their day to day business completely unaffected and proud they'd saved a dollar.

[KingFrankSam]

I am curious though.....your saying the moratorium will and, and there will bbe a statewide training program? For what? To teach how to do consent searches?

The Department has learned a lot about how to protect itself as a result of the lawsuit. A new Search and Seizure policy is being developed, including policy regarding consent searches. The training program will ensure that all uniformed staff will know and understand the new policies. If someone's Fourth Amendment rights are violated due to actions that are inconsistent with the policy, the officer is to blame, not the Department.

[dw]

One thing that I'll add to YM's post is that the settlement agreement was very favorable to us and only a fraction of what New Jersey was left with.

[CHPGuy]

[CHP Explorer SGT]

Are the ACLU the ones responsable for making us do the 422 D?
I think you mean 415 D

[CHPGuy]

[dw]

Are the ACLU the ones responsable for making us do the 415 D?

No. We did the 415D for statistical tracking before the settlement. (Yes, the lawsuit prompted it, but it was not prompted by the settlement, although it did mandate we continue for a specified time.)

[snowdog]

Are the ACLU the ones responsable for making us do the 415 D?

Us? When did you graduate the Academy?

[CHPGuy]

[snowdog]

Read my signature dum dum! :lol: J/K When I go on ride-alongs, I am the one responsable for filling out the 415D's

I suppose I could reply something like:
"Who are you calling dum dum? You think that just because you are an explorer you put yourself in the same class as an Officer. Just because you've been to an Explorers Academy you believe you have full understanding of what the Acadmey is like. Who are you to offer advice to real applicants when you have no idea of what you're talking about? Who are you to offer your experiences as stories? Your experiences offer no comparision to real life. When you get right down to it, you are just an explorer, nothing else. Remember, when you go on ride-alongs you are just a "ride-along. The same position that almst any person can have by simply walking into an office and asking if they can have a ride-along. Does it make you feel important filling in the bubbles on a 415D? Good for you. You get to perform the job that almost every real CHP Officer hates to perform. And when you're done with you're ride-along, do you run home to your family and tell them how many bubbles you got to fill in today? What does your signature have to do with anything? Maybe I should have phrased the question "When did you graduate from a real Academy? Yeah, we all know you're an explorer. You couldn't even get the form number correct on your first post. And how about learning how to spell. Apparently they didn't have spelling tests at your one week Academy. If they did, you probably would have lost a weekend. But they couldn't even do that because you weren't there long enough to lose a weekend. You may ba part of the CHP family, but you are not one of US."

Some would be tempted to respond like that but I have far too much respect for those who volunteer to help this Department, especially our senior volunteers. As a former Explorer Advisor I know just how hard our Explorers work and appreciate all the time they volunteer when they could just as easily be out with their friends having a good time. I give nothing but respect and encouragment to any Explorer who shows respect to US. Do you know the percentage of former Explorers who are successful when aplying as a cadet? Not good. And many times it's because they have the attitude that they are already one of US and are a shoe in for hire. They carry this attitude as they go along in the day believing that they can go out and act like a knucklehead thinking "If I get caught I'll just tell them I work with the CHP and I'll get out of it." Thank you for your service as an Explorer. Now go clean your room.

[not5150]

Read my signature dum dum! :lol: J/K When I go on ride-alongs, I am the one responsable for filling out the 415D's

Egads... I think your next Explorer meeting is going to be very interesting.

[23112]

Read my signature dum dum! :lol: J/K When I go on ride-alongs, I am the one responsable for filling out the 415D's

"Dum dum?" I sure hope this was just a momentary lapse of sound judgement. Isn't snowdog an Officer with more years of experience than many on this board? I'll take it by the fact that the Explorer erased his original post realized how far over the line he stepped by saying that. Be careful Explorer, if you're so fortunate as to earn this job (something I'm still in the process of doing as I don't yet have a year on), don't carelessly joke around with those who are superior to you in rank, and watch your step around your peers who have more seniority than you. You'll make a much better impression and get lots of help from those who know more than you about this job (which is everyone) if you don't come across like you already know it all.

[CHP Explorer]

I am also an explorer, I completely agree with what the officers had stated above. I give the utmost respect to the officers and glad that I can learn from them. Just because you might be "cool" with one officer doesn't mean that you are able to joke with all of the officers.