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Their Eyes and Hands Reveal Secrets, Part 2

When conducting a vehicle search, have the subject stand with his or her back to the vehicle, then have a second officer (you should always have a cover officer when conducting vehicle searches) create idle chit-chat with the subject. You will find that more often than not, the subject will turn away from the cover officer and be very concerned with what the search officer is doing and where he or she is looking within the vehicle. As the search officer gets closer to contraband, the subject’s actions and movements will tell you. Often a subject will say, nonverbally, “You’re getting colder, oh, oh, now you are getting warmer,” and so on. If the search reveals nothing, tell the search officer to recheck any location where the subject appeared to be the most nervous.