Police information: Officer Observations Flashcards
What are the four physical intrusions preformed by Officers?
1) Threshold inquires
2) Frisks
3) Arrests
4) Searches
A threshold inquiry is :
Brief detentions to determine whether citizens are engaging in criminal conduct
A Frisk is :
Pat downs of citizens clothing, possessions and/or vehicle to determine whether they are armed
An arrests is:
Taking Citizens into formal custody because they have committed a crime
A Search is:
Intrusions into private areas to look for evidence of crime
Officers must have ________ information to justify their intrusive activity
Sufficient
What is a hunch
A hunch is an intuitive or gut feeling about something. Often described by officers as instinct
What is reasonable suspicion:
Reasonable suspicion is more concrete than a hunch and involves specific fats that lead an OBJECTIVE police officer to suspect 1) A criminal activity has, is, or will occur and sometimes 2) the suspect may be armed and dangerous
What is probable cause :
Probable cause leads to an officer to believe it is more likely than not that 1) the suspect has committed or is committing a crime and/or evidence will be found in particular place
When you have a hunch permissible Police conduct:
Field encounter
(Officers observe and speak with a subject. However, Officers cannot compel the subject to stay or even interact with them)
When officers have reasonable suspicion they can conduct ?
Threshold inquiry and/or frisk
(If a crime is suspected , then conduct a threshold inquiry, if a crime and dangerous weapon is suspected then frisk)
When Officers have Probable cause they can conduct:
Charge and/or search
(Charge a crime by warrant, arrest or complaint. Search for evidence with or without a warrant)
What is the definition of reasonable suspicion
There are trustworthy facts and inferences; that would lead a reasonable person to believe; there is a concrete possibility; that a crime is, was or will be committed and sometimes the suspect is armed and dangerous
What is the definition of Probable cause ?
There are trustworthy facts and inferences that would lead a reasonable person to believe it is more likely than not; that a specific crime was or is being committed and/or evidence of crime is in a particular place.
The major difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause is the _________ of information
Amount
(the degrees of certainty that officers in the field possesses, For reasonable suspicion the officer must have concretely suspicious while probable cause requires poof “more likely then not” a crime has occurred or evidence is in a specific place)
The second difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause is the ________ activity
Authorized
(RS is the least amount of information needed to detain citizens and sometimes frisk. For charging crimes and searching an officer needs probable cause)
The Constitution insists that officers rely on _________ information
Trustworthy
What are the two types of information that officers can rely on to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause ?
1) Their personal observations
2)Information provided by other people (Secondary sources)
Officers must deal in ________ not assumptions and innuendo
facts
Officers may make _______ from the facts they learns
inferences
(reasonable deductions. Inferences must be reasonable not inescapable. Example: When you see a known drug dealer drive up and make a hand to hand interacting you can infer that it was a drug deal. The driver could have handed the other party a stick of gum but officers do not have to eliminate all innocent possibilities before investigating)
Another name for an inference is …..________ _________
Circumstantial evidence
(While no definitive number of facts must be present, it is usually necessary to rely on more than one to develop reasonable suspicion or probable cause)
Probable cause and reasonable suspicion are concerned with ________
Probabilities
(the factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable people, who are not legal technicians act. The court is obliged to look at situations from the perspective of a reasonable person)
Officers do not have to show that the information they rely on in the field will be ________ at trial
admissible
The ________ _______ of Officers investigating a case is evaluated to determine if a reasonable suspicion or probable cause exist
Collective knowledge
Officers do not have to ______ their information with each other for collective knowledge doctrine
share
(it is not necessary for officers to actually trade information. The knowledge of once officer may be attributed to another as they work together to establish RS or PC)
Collective Knowledge includes information obtained by ________ _______
Civilian Dispatchers
When investigating an officer may take into account past ______ ______ in an area
criminal conduct
The ______ _____ nature of the area is only relevant if directly connected to the location and activity being investigated
High crime
The history of a _______ is never, by itself, justification to stop anyone
Location
When an activity is “____ __ _______” with a particular location officers may develop a reasonable suspicion to investigate
Out of character
Insufficient suspicious activity provides no basis for _____
detention
Violation ordinance or bylaw may justify a ______ _______
threshold inquiry
Violation of ordinance or bylaw may justify ______
arrest
Concealing an item or transferring an item to another may indicate ______ _____
Criminal conduct
Officers are not required to see the illegal object ______
exchanged
A suspects drug history is a ______ ____
Critical Factor
A public exchange between parties is not automatically _________
Suspicious
There must be proof that an ________ took place especially with multiple people present
exchange
(When there are multiple people present during an exchange officers must be clear who is involved)
Presence of an object in _______ is not enough to be suspicious
mouth
The fact that a person is visibly nervous, flees or hides may contribute to ______ ________
reasonable suspicion
A ________ flight may support reasonable suspicion
Companions
Flight cannot be the ______ factor for reasonable suspicion.
MAJOR
(There are reasons other than guilt why residents, especially minority groups, might want to avoid police contact )