Reasonable suspicion describes whether an individual has been or has the probability of getting involved in a crime based on circumstances and facts that are specific. It is also used as a justification to stop an investigation but does not necessarily require much evidence (Levi & Portwood, 2011). Police have the freedom to detain suspects briefly for purposes related to investigation as well as frisk outside of their garments for weapons as it is a legal standard. The standards of a reasonable suspicion need facts or circumstances that lead a reasonable individual into believing that a suspect has committed a crime, will commit a crime or is committing a crime. The combination of specific facts, regardless of each being significant, can form the basis and probable ground for reasonable suspicion (Pratt, 2010). For instance, the police may get reasonable suspicion into detaining an individual whose description matches a criminal suspect.
Ideally, one can be stopped and not frisked as a stop constitutes a person’s seizure. The two types of stop constitute of; display of authority and display of force where display of force is when an officer lays their hands physically on an individual with the intention of detaining them ( Ferguson, 2015). Display of authority convinces an individual to willingly submit to the authority. Therefore, the police do not necessarily need a crime in mind to determine reasonable suspicion some individuals display emotions and behavior that looks like those of suspects, the suspect could be in possession a weapon that is commonly used or even the suspect is in a questionable geographical surrounding. Typically when reasonable suspicion is used correctly, it becomes more beneficial to the citizens and the police because it helps in curbing crimes while ensuring public servants are safe.
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References
Ferguson, A. G. (2015). Big data and predictive reasonable suspicion. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 327-410.
Levi, B. H., & Portwood, S. G. (2011). Reasonable suspicion of child abuse: Finding a common language. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39(1), 62-69.
Pratt, A. (2010). Between a hunch and a hard place: Making suspicion reasonable at the Canadian border. Social & Legal Studies, 19(4), 461-480.
