Notes

People who do not know much about criminal justice terms may confuse or use the terms “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause” interchangeably. In reality, although very similar the two terms are slightly different. Reasonable suspicion is the reasonable presumption based on the objective facts and logical conclusion that a crime has been, is being, or will be committed. This belief is made by the facts or circumstances by police officers. Some instances where reasonable suspicion is to be present is when conducting a stop and frisk. Stop and frisk are two separate events in which reasonable suspicion is needed. An officer needs to have reasonable suspicion that the person they are stopping is involved in a crime. Having a reason to stop someone does not give the officer the right to frisk the person; there has to be reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and poses a threat to the officer at that precise moment and only then can an officer “frisk” or pat-down the person's outer clothing.

On the other hand, probable cause is the belief backed up by facts and circumstances that a crime has “more than likely not” committed a certain crime. Probable cause is based on concrete evidence where reasonable suspicion is open to the officer's discretion. An instance in which probable cause is permissible is when an officer is going to make an arrest. A legal arrest cannot go into motion if the officer does not have a probable cause. Also, in order to obtain a search warrant for a suspect's property, the officer must also present the magistrate with probable cause that there is evidence of a crime that exists in a specific place and must fully describe the place to be searched.