Stop and Frisk Law

Stop and Frisk Law

Introduction

The term stop and frisk is a technique which is utilized by the police officials for the reduction of crime through stopping and searching the individuals they suspect of committing a crime or in possession of illegal weapons or drugs. The law allows the officers to conduct the search only if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is about to take place and the person stopped are armed or dangerous. According to the rules of the policy, it is imperative that the reasonable suspicion of the law enforcement officer is established on specific and articulable facts instead of simply being a hunch or instinctive response. However, this policy has been under constant debate that it promotes racial profiling, illegal stops and invades the privacy rights of the individuals. This paper will discuss the legal issues revolving around the stop and frisk policy as well as the strategies utilized to decrease its negative impact.

Legal Issues Surrounding Stop and Frisk

The stop and frisk practice has raised serious and grave concerns about the racial discrimination and violation of privacy rights of the citizens. The NYPD has issued reports confirms the concerns of the individuals that the police stop numerous law abiding citizens, majority of whom are Blacks, Asian and Latinos. An analysis by the NYCLU revealed that innocent New Yorkers have been subjected to police stops and street interrogations more than 4 million times since 2002, and that black and Latino communities continue to be the overwhelming target of these tactics (law.justia.com). The reports also mention that the stop and frisk policy also leads to police brutality. There has been news in the past of police brutality and the uses of the police force during the stop and frisk procedure. Countless of innocent citizens have become the target of police force and harassment during stopping and searching. Every police district has certain rules and regulations which the officers have to follow. There are several policies and regulations regarding the police force usage and the use of less than lethal weapons (Mitchell & Connor, 2007). Proper training provides the police officials to handle the firearms and usage of the less than lethal weapons. The policy states that the police can only stop and frisk if they have a probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Even if the police do have a probable cause or reasonable suspicion, they are not allowed to use force. The usage of force is only allowed in extreme situation.

A US Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Garner of 1985 through which the Court held the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which forbids the usage of deadly force by an official to stop the flight of an alleged criminal except when:

usage of this force is essential to stop the criminal from escaping and

The policeman has grounds to think that the suspect pose a substantial menace of grave physical harm and/or death to the official and/or other individuals (Birzer and Roberson, ...