Technicians and interpreters in moral crusades: The case of the drug courier profile

The perpetuation of moral crusades requires the work of two types of moral entrepreneurs: “technicians,” who develop techniques of street‐level enforcement of rules; and “interpreters,” who legitimate the work of the technicians by providing expansive readings of applicable legal limitations. This study explores the work of these entrepreneurs by examining the development, use, and legal history of the “drug courier profile,” an abstract of characteristics thought to be typical of air travelers carrying drugs. The profile is the product of drug enforcement technicians seeking a useful tool to safeguard their control over the crusade against drugs. Despite its constantly changing content and the lack of empirical evidence of its validity, the drug courier profile has been regularly employed on the street and approved in the courtroom through the work of legal interpreters.