An excellent expose by the Tribune shows that alerts by police drug-sniffing dogs in suburban Illinois are usually wrong, and that the hit rates for car searches resulting from the use of dogs are nearly twice as high for whites than for Hispanics ("Drug dogs often wrong; Police canines can fall short, but observers cite residue and poor training as factors," Page 1, Jan. 6).

These numbers do not tell the full story. Dog sniffs are menacing, especially for minority motorists, in light of historical abuses committed with police dogs. Dog sniffs also are humiliating, taking place in full view of passing motorists, friends and strangers alike, many of whom probably conclude that the people subjected to dog sniffs must be guilty of something. Full car searches based on false dog alerts are even more frightening and embarrassing.

[continues 437 words]