#Suspicious behavior driver
#Suspicious behavior registration
#Suspicious behavior license

The officer had reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed, as he suspected the driver of the car was inebriated because of his inability to drive in a straight line. The officer detains Max based on a reasonable suspicion that Max is under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Having asked Max to get out of the car, the officer then notices both a strong smell of alcohol on Max’s breath, and tiny green flakes on his shirt. The officer asks Max for his drivers’ license, and notices a strong smell of marijuana coming through the open window. Max is pulled over by a police officer who saw his car weaving on the roadway. This knowledge must be sufficient that it would cause any reasonable person to believe that a crime exists, and that evidence is likely to be present at the location. Probable cause means that a police officer must have knowledge of enough facts and circumstances to believe evidence of a specific crime at the location to be searched. Probable Causeīoth reasonable suspicion and probable cause have to do with determining when police officers can stop or detain a person, search for evidence, and arrest a person. The drugs that were discovered during this permissible search can then be used to charge Steven with another drug-related crime. Taking Steven into custody for the warrant, the officer searches Steven’s clothing for weapons, and discovers several small baggies of white pills stuffed in the lining of his jacket’s pocket.Īlthough the officer had no probable cause to search Steven’s car, or to engage in a very thorough search of his person initially, he did have the right to search for weapons. The officer had reasonable suspicion that Steven was acting illegally by driving a vehicle that was not properly registered, when he stopped him.

#Suspicious behavior license

When the officer runs a driver’s license check, he discovers that Steven has a warrant for failing to appear in court when ordered.

#Suspicious behavior registration

The officer advises him that his car’s registration is expired, and asks for Steven’s driver’s license, registration papers, and proof of insurance. Steven was driving away from a neighborhood known for its drug activity, when police stop him. It is true, however, that if the officer finds something illegal – such as drugs – during the allowable pat-down, it can be seized, and may provide probable cause for further search. In order to legally search for drugs or other items, law enforcement officers must have probable cause. They are not allowed, in such a circumstance, to search the individual’s person for other items, such as drugs. When police do stop someone with reasonable suspicion, they are allowed to frisk him, or do a pat-down search of his clothing, for weapons. Indeed, in order for police to lawfully pull someone over in their vehicle, or to stop them in the course of their day, they must have some reasonable suspicion that the person is engaged in unlawful activity. Such policies have fallen, in many cases, to cries of racial profiling, and other complaints of civil rights violations.

In recent years, there has been some controversy over some jurisdictions’ policies to “stop and frisk” people for no clear reason. Enabling police officers to do this, without allowing them to be reasonably sure the person does not have a weapon on them, exposes the officers to unreasonable danger. This is the reason for the reasonable suspicion standard, which allows officers to stop or detain people temporarily. However, law enforcement would be a pale imitation of justice if their hands were tied, being unable to stop people they reasonably suspect of criminal activity, in order to investigate further. Similarly, people have a right to not be arrested or held by law enforcement without due process. Stop and Frisk Based on Reasonable SuspicionĪmericans are protected against unreasonable searches and seizures by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. A police officer who has detained a person must be able to describe a specific set of circumstances or facts that would lead any objectively reasonable law enforcement officer to suspect the individual is, or has been, engaged in a criminal activity.

Reasonable suspicion, however, is more than just a hunch. Reasonable suspicion, as a standard of belief or proof, is less stringent that probable cause, and is intended to enable law enforcement officials to do their jobs in enforcing the law, preventing crime, and to help keep them safe during their interactions with potential suspects.