Posted: 6/18/2008 8:33:18 AM EDT
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When you have pulled over a vehicle, have you noticed a trend between they type of bumper stickers and the attitude of the driver? Do you ever get suprised at the response? Veteran stickers, liberal politics, NRA, support the troops, sports teams, My kid is a ... I saw an interesting one today: Chief of Police Association. I don't have any stickers, just curious. |
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There's not really a cookie-cutter answer, people being individuals and all. I have met granola-munching tree-hugging Obamamites who were as sweet as could be, and GOP-voting, NRA-belonging veterans who belonged in Webster's Dictionary under "prick". I generally ignore the outside of the car and pay attention driver and everything else that is inside. To borrow a trite cliche, don't judge the book by the cover. 
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PBA, Support Police, Sheriff's Associations, Religious bumper stickers, etc all are indicators, while not solely conclusive, when combined with other indicators can reach reasonable suspicion for criminal activity such as drug running, etc. |
Around here, the 'bangers started running "Prevent Violence" license plates.  The primary reason I've heard is that the identifiers are supposed;y smaller than on other types of plates. I call  , as they're the same size as the police or FF memorial plates, or the hunting/fishing/ good cause XYZ plates.I think some hood rat has a sense of humor and wanted to  , and it took hold.
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I seen one from COPS that said "what would jesus do" |
I thought this was funny, since last time I remember St. Micheal was the protector of police. I shot this photo on a recent traffic stop off of the I-12 pipeline in Louisiana. 
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Under cover cops in a yellow 18-wheeler? 
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Police and .Mil yeah.  Some people's kids. |
That sounds right. I noticed that every home repair company that states "senior discounts" or has a fish thing-a-majig on their yellow pages add is a screw artist. However I notice a ton of elderly people driving crown vics with chief of police/ sheriffs association stickers, I always wanted to ask them if they or their husband was a cop, never have, yet. What about pot stickers and anything with Bob Marly(SP)????? Pretty much a dead give away that the driver has dread locks and a nice bag of weed. |
That would be profiling, and we all know profiling is terribly horrid thing, so I'm sure that would never affect anyone's decision when they see a car. 
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Actually, there's nothing wrong with that kind of profiling. It's criminal profiling based on articulable behaviors. Of course, a Bob Marley sticker is not by itself PC to search, it's CERTAINLY an indicator to add to the list of what you're seeing. Totality of the circumstances. If you can articulate that through your training and experience, Bob Marley, The Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, Cypress Hill, etc are often associated with the use of marijuana or other drugs, then it's something to include in the report as what helped raise your suspicion. I include every small detail I can note from a stop if I end up getting dope from the car, or even if I ask for a consent search and am denied or don't find anything. By noting the criminal indicators present, it's much easier to explain why you were heading that direction in the first place, and can stave off unsubstantiated complaints. Quite a few times, I've had a boss ask what were the circumstances surrounding a search, and when I pull out the list with the indicators noted, the conversation is over. |