[rday]

58% would follow the drugs, 30% would follow the money? Following the drugs would catch smaller fish at each step.

Also 72% of people were unfamiliar with the term.

Serious question, does being unfamiliar with the term for which the survey is named taint the significance of the answers given?

[logfromblammo]

The person leaving with the money is not leaving with the necessary evidence that a crime has occurred. It is not illegal to carry money (most of the time).

You follow the guy with the drugs, so that you can seize the drugs and place them into evidence. That, combined with the LEO witness of the transaction, provides probable cause to get a warrant for the person who left with the money. You presumably also have the guy who left with the drugs in custody, and the prosecutor might be able to convince him to testify against the other party.

If you follow the guy with the money, the only evidence you have is the LEO witness testimony. As we have been repeatedly reminded in the smartphone age, that sometimes contradicts the objective evidence. (That is a polite way of saying that some cops lie in order to achieve a desired enforcement outcome.) The jury couldn't know for sure whether the cop saw a drug deal and decided to go after the "bigger fish", or whether he just saw a guy with a lot of cash and came up with a plausible pretext for taking it.

Cops should chase the hard evidence necessary to secure a conviction, not the potential forfeiture targets that pay for all those cop toys.

(Of course, there was no third option that might satisfy someone who opposes the continuation of the "war on drugs".)

[rday]

Very good point. I suppose the question is a false choice in the first place. The officer should just write down both tag numbers with a "worst drug deal ever" note...

[michael_h]

> Serious question, does being unfamiliar with the term for which the survey is named taint the significance of the answers given?

Being a poll on a website taints the significance from the start. A sample size of 1000 is usually enough to get you some insight into the mind of a large population, but it has to be an accurate representative sample. A poll sponsored by HuffPo is unlikely to be a representative sample of the US.

[Symbiote]

YouGov is a reputable polling company. They're regularly used by British newspapers on all sides of politics (it was a British startup, the CEO's daughter was a friend's roommate).

The polls are sent to people registered with YouGov, who get paid a tiny amount. When I was a student it seemed worth my time, but I didn't get many polls -- probably there are lots of people in that demographic. Once I was employed I got more polls, but it wasn't worth my time.

The demographic breakdown is given in the PDF.

[imissmyjuno]

Not if you ask probing questions that also explain the term which they have. I do wonder about the 58% though. Does the question assume that a drug deal has definitely taken place? Personally I would only choose to follow the drugs if there was uncertainty about the crime having actually taken place.