Rescuing Dope

Since the 1960’s, there has been a shift in the way law enforcement handles high situations. After dealing with domestic terrorism and more sophisticated bank robberies, law enforcement agencies across the country have had to come up with new tactics utilizing military type tools and weapons to combat the violent criminals (Mijares, 2008). As a result of the war on drugs, police departments have begun to utilize these same tactics that were once saved only when innocent life was at stake to conduct high risk search warrants when the only goal is to recover narcotics. This is relevant because it puts officers and citizens lives at risk in hopes of gaining evidence in drug cases (Balco, 2006).Police departments should discontinue the practice of utilizing S.W.A.T. to serve narcotics search warrants using dynamic entries. Law enforcement agencies use dynamic entries when force is the most likely outcome (Williams & Westfall, 2003). This increased danger has led to numerous deaths of police officers, suspects and innocent persons (Meyers, 2005). There is a contradiction between the use of no-knock dynamic entries and the Castle Doctrine that is recognized in many states (Carter, 2012). Dynamic entry search warrants have also been shown to be ineffective (Balco, 2006).The use of dynamic entry for the execution of a narcotics search warrant, when the sole purpose is to obtain narcotics evidence, goes against the goals of law enforcement to keep the peace and protect innocent life (Balco, 2006).