CALDWELL, Idaho -- Strong public support has convinced Canyon County Sheriff George Nourse to move up the start date for having dogs sniff out drugs in vehicles parked at businesses and apartment complexes.
So emboldened is Nourse that he also has decided to risk criticism by providing all his patrol officers with a list of the more than 4,700 people booked into the county jail on drug charges since 1994.The list is needed, he said, "because if we have a reason to hold somebody, this information will help build the case for further investigation."
Jack Van Valkenburgh, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, said an arrest record "should be and is irrelevant" to whether officers have probable cause for investigating someone for drugs.
"What this sounds like is, 'OK, let's round up the usual suspects.' I'm not saying that's what it is, but that's what it sounds like," Van Valkenburgh said.
The sheriff had planned to launch the controversial drug dog program after the first of the year. It now will begin sooner, but he would not say when.
"The people dealing in drugs will be the first to know," Nourse said Tuesday.
His plan has been embraced by some local businesses, which have posted signs declaring "drug dogs welcome." But others strongly oppose the idea, including the ACLU and Canyon County Public Defender Klaus Wiebe. They contend it is possible the plan may violate constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
"There's a little bit of hysteria, and I think our constitutional liberties could suffer because of it," Van Valkenburgh said. "I worry that the sheriff is not respecting the limitations that the spirit, if not the letter, of the Bill of Rights provides."
However, Canyon County Prosecutor Dave Young has issued a lengthy legal opinion concluding the searches are legal and would withstand a court challenge.
Plans call for deputies and drug dogs to patrol business and apartment complex parking lots in search of illegal drugs. If drugs are detected by the dogs, deputies will wait until the vehicle leaves the parking lot before pulling the driver over and possibly conducting a search.
Nourse said the public response to his idea has been overwhelmingly favorable. However, he said, "Many people want to see us fail."
"If we do, it will be front-page news. If we screw it up, we will lose more than the war on drugs; we will lose our integrity," the sheriff said. "As long as law enforcement stays safely within the guidelines established by our courts, this project will work."
He said his office would work with prosecutors to ensure there is no discrimination against any race or group of people.