NCJ Number
100764
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 55 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1986) Pages: 23-29
Date Published
1986
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Based on court decisions, this article discusses the justification for and the scope of a frisk.
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized there must be narrowly drawn authority for officers to protect themselves by searching an individual for weapons, regardless of whether there is probable cause to arrest the person for a crime. A frisk must be supported by reasonable suspicion to believe that the individual who has been lawfully stopped is armed and dangerous. Courts have ruled that the presence of danger is suggested by (1) information that a particular person is armed, (2) suspicious bulges in the suspect's clothing, (3) the nature of the suspected criminal activity, and (4) the observation of weapons in the vicinity of a person who has been lawfully stopped. The permissible scope of a frisk was confronted in Michigan v. Long (1983), as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that officers have the authority to protect themselves by searching the passenger compartment of a vehicle during the lawful investigatory of a vehicle during the lawful investigatory stop of the vehicle's occupant, providing there is reasonable cause to believe it contains a weapon. The Court also ruled that incriminating evidence uncovered while engaged in a permissible search for weapons on the person or within the vicinity of the person is admissible. 43 footnotes.