Michigander
Member
I was trying to find statistics about the number/percentage of no-knock warrants that are issued/executed. Apparently, nobody really keeps track of this kind of stuff.
But I did find this about no-knocks for Colorado Springs PD:
csindy.com
I find it interesting that most of us here at THR would all have firearms and many would have purchased some recently and considering the number of firearm owners, and that "all men [should] be armed," etc., it would seem to me that the police should assume that anyone who may be at a residence in which a warrant is to be issued would be armed.
This no-knock stuff gets my goat!
As for stats, this is all I have found so far:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0325/little.php
the following two websites corroborate the above:
http://www.nyclu.org/nypd_search_warrant_testimony_060603.html
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_835.shtml
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http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3889.shtml
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http://www.ndsn.org/july97/swat.html
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http://www.counterpunch.org/jackboot.html
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http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/okla/thoreen24.htm
No hard numbers yet, but no-knocks are certainly not as rare as some people would have us believe and all indications is that the number of no-knock is on the increase and has been for some time.
Just ramblin'
But I did find this about no-knocks for Colorado Springs PD:
.40 NO.KNOCK SEARCH WARRANT: The legality and use of no-knock search warrants has been affirmed by the Colorado Supreme Court.
In preparing the affidavit for a no-knock search warrant, the affiant must cite specific probable cause to believe that:
· The subject or subjects inside the premises to be searched will destroy or dispose of evidence sought by the warrant;
OR
· The subject/subjects inside the premises are armed and dangerous and that announcing entry would endanger the lives and/or safety of officers and/or other persons;
OR
· Announcing entry would cause the subject/subjects in the premises, who are to be arrested, to escape.
Information which may substantiate the need for a no-knock warrant may be found in many ways, including:
...
FIREARMS SALES RECORDS: A check with the Investigations Division Pawn Detail may provide information that the suspect has purchased a weapon. This information, coupled with a propensity toward violence, may afford the affiant sufficient probable cause for a no-knock warrant.
csindy.com
I find it interesting that most of us here at THR would all have firearms and many would have purchased some recently and considering the number of firearm owners, and that "all men [should] be armed," etc., it would seem to me that the police should assume that anyone who may be at a residence in which a warrant is to be issued would be armed.
This no-knock stuff gets my goat!
As for stats, this is all I have found so far:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0325/little.php
Presenting numbers backed up by incomplete data, Kelly testified before a City Council hearing this month that about 13,000 warrants were issued between January 2001 and May 2003, the vast majority being no-knock.
the following two websites corroborate the above:
http://www.nyclu.org/nypd_search_warrant_testimony_060603.html
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_835.shtml
________
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3889.shtml
Last year [1999], Denver's Metro SWAT officers executed 148 immediate-entry searches, mostly in cases where police were looking for evidence of narcotics. ... That was a 38 percent increase over the 107 "no knock" warrants issued by Denver judges in 1997.
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http://www.ndsn.org/july97/swat.html
The research shows that between 1990 and 1995 SWAT units were employed in their traditional roles for only a small number of occasions. Instead 75% of their activities were devoted to serving "high risk" warrants, such as "no-knock" warrants, mostly drug searches.
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http://www.counterpunch.org/jackboot.html
Bovard notes that unfortunately, no-knock raids are becoming more common as federal, state and local politicians and law enforcement agencies decide that the war on drugs justified nullifying the Fourth Amendment. "As Charles Patrick Garcia noted in a 1993 Columbia Law Review article, 'Seven states, favoring strong law enforcement, have chosen a `blanket approach', which holds that once police have established probably cause to search a home for drugs, they are not required to follow the constitutional knock-and-announce requirement.'
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http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/okla/thoreen24.htm
Fifteen years ago, city [police] departments called out their tactical units little more than once a month on average, usually for rare events such as hostage situations or barricaded suspects. By 1995, tactical units were being called out, on average, seven times per month, most often for no-knock drug raids.
No hard numbers yet, but no-knocks are certainly not as rare as some people would have us believe and all indications is that the number of no-knock is on the increase and has been for some time.
Just ramblin'