To pat down or search the outer clothing of someone whom police believe is acting suspiciously is known as what?

To pat down or search the outer clothing of someone whom police believe is acting suspiciously is known as what?

• A. Stop and Frisk
• B. Protective Sweep
• C. Search Warrant
• D. Reasonable Suspicion

Answer: (A)

Stop and frisk is the practice described. It involves briefly detaining someone the police suspect of wrongdoing (a stop) and, if the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous, patting down the outer clothing to check for weapons (a frisk). This is a limited search aimed at officer safety, not a full intrusion or a search of hidden areas. This fits the scenario because the person is acting suspiciously and the officer conducts a pat-down of outer garments to look for weapons. The approach is grounded in the Terry v. Ohio standard, which allows stops based on reasonable suspicion and frisks limited to outer clothing. The other terms differ: a protective sweep is a broader, rapid search of the areas around a person or within a building to ensure there aren’t others who could pose a threat, typically during an arrest. A search warrant is a court-issued order based on probable cause to search a specific place, not just a person based on suspicion. A standard of reasonable suspicion is the threshold that justifies the stop and frisk, not the procedure itself.

Stop and frisk is the practice described. It involves briefly detaining someone the police suspect of wrongdoing (a stop) and, if the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous, patting down the outer clothing to check for weapons (a frisk). This is a limited search aimed at officer safety, not a full intrusion or a search of hidden areas.

This fits the scenario because the person is acting suspiciously and the officer conducts a pat-down of outer garments to look for weapons. The approach is grounded in the Terry v. Ohio standard, which allows stops based on reasonable suspicion and frisks limited to outer clothing.

The other terms differ: a protective sweep is a broader, rapid search of the areas around a person or within a building to ensure there aren’t others who could pose a threat, typically during an arrest. A search warrant is a court-issued order based on probable cause to search a specific place, not just a person based on suspicion. A standard of reasonable suspicion is the threshold that justifies the stop and frisk, not the procedure itself.