Searching for a Big Score: Analyzing Search Warrant Yield in Felony Drug Arrests

• In Event: Policing Drug Crimes and the Influence of Body Worn Cameras: Impacts and Implications

Abstract

Serving search warrants is a core activity of the criminal legal system and one of a handful of investigative tools available to law enforcement. In particular, search warrants are commonly used in investigations of drug offenses, and law enforcement invest substantial resources to justify search warrant applications. Botched warrant executions leading to injury or death have received heightened media attention in recent years. Yet, to date, research on the effectiveness of search warrants is incredibly rare. Using a comprehensive dataset on all felony drug arrests following the execution of a search warrant in one large Southern County in the U.S., we consider the yield of drug warrant searches. More specifically, we examine whether high effort justifications for search warrants result in high-yield outcomes. If search warrant effort is related to search warrant outcome, we would expect a strong, positive relationship. Our findings show, however, no relationship between law enforcement effort and search warrant yield. We discuss these findings in the context of police effort and potential harms associated with warrant activity.

Authors

• Walter Campbell, Urban Institute

• Elizabeth Griffiths, Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice

• Kay Levine, Emory University

• Joshua Hinkle, Georgia State University