Practice Goals/Practice Components
Police-initiated pedestrian stops on the street (also referred to as pedestrian stops, stop and frisks, Terry stops, street pops, stop and searches, etc.) are forms of engagement between law enforcement and citizens “whereby an officer stops and questions a pedestrian based on reasonable suspicion that the pedestrian is—or was recently—engaged in unlawful activity” (La Vigne et al. 2012, iv). The tactic involves police initiating a stop of an individual (or individuals) on the street for the purpose of investigation or questioning. Generally, the goal of the stops is to prevent or reduce the occurrence of crime and disorder.
Police-initiated stops can be reactive in nature, usually requiring the police to notice some prior indication of suspicious behavior or criminal activity to make the stop. Depending on the level of suspicion of police, a frisk or search of the stopped individual may be conducted. In contrast, police-initiated stops may also be part of larger proactive police interventions (Petersen et al. 2023). For example, as part of the Philadelphia Foot Patrol strategy (implemented in 2009), police officers patrolled targeted areas in the city for at least 8 hours a day. The officers would engage in various types of activities while patrolling assigned locations, including interviewing pedestrians.
The constitutionality of police-initiated stops was considered in the U.S. Supreme Court Case Terry v. Ohio (1968). The ruling provided police with discretion to conduct stops of individuals, given a reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed a crime or is in the process of committing a crime. The ruling also provided police with discretion to conduct frisks (or pat-downs) if there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is carrying a weapon (Petersen et al. 2023). The court places on the officers the responsibility of articulating a reasonable basis for frisking an individual but implicitly accepts the facts cited by police as reasonable (Sherman, Shaw, and Rogan 1995).
Practice Theory
Police-initiated stops may help prevent crime and disorder through the deterrent effect of police actions. For example, stops by police may increase the perceived certainty of apprehension of those individuals who may commit a crime. Further, if police-initiated stops are part of a larger proactive police response, the presence of additional police in a targeted neighborhood may also serve as a deterrent (Petersen et al. 2023).
