My Rights

Breath samples are considered less invasive than DNA or bodily sample searches.

• A police officer can demand that the driver of a vehicle provide a breath sample when the driver has been pulled over during a valid driving stop.
• A police officer can demand a breath sample even from someone who is not driving, if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has alcohol or a drug in their body and that the person has, within the past three hours, driven a vehicle. In this case, the police officer can immediately demand a breath sample.

If police want to take your DNA or a bodily sample, this is considered an extremely invasive search and generally requires that police have a warrant or your consent. If you refuse and they do not have a warrant, police cannot force you to give DNA or bodily samples before an arrest has been made.