What is the Stop and Frisk Law in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County?

You are walking down the street and police officers want to know what you might be carrying or have in your possession. Can the police in Philadelphia County (or anywhere in Pennsylvania such as Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, or Chester Counties) stop and frisk you without a good reason? No. A stop-and-frisk refers to a brief non-intrusive police stop of a suspect.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that before stopping the suspect, the police must have a “reasonable suspicion” that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the suspect. The legality of a stop and frisk hinges on the officer having a reasonable suspicion, which requires specific facts and circumstances, not just a hunch. Call Mark D. Hauser to be your Chester County criminal defense lawyer.

When Can Police Perform a Frisk?

If the police reasonably suspect that the suspect is armed and dangerous, the police may frisk the suspect, meaning that the police will give a quick pat-down of the suspect’s outer clothing and search for weapons or other dangerous objects. If the officer feels an object during the frisk that they believe is contraband, they are permitted to seize it.

The Purpose and Origin of the Terry Stop

The primary purpose of a stop and frisk is to protect the officer and the public from harm, particularly if the officer believes the person may be armed. This frisk is also called a Terry Stop, derived from the Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). Terry held that a stop-and-frisk must comply with the Fourth Amendment, meaning that the stop-and-frisk cannot be unreasonable.

According to the Terry court, a reasonable stop-and-frisk is one “in which a reasonably prudent officer is warranted in the circumstances of a given case in believing that his safety or that of others is endangered, he may make a reasonable search for weapons of the person believed by him to be armed and dangerous.”

Rights of the Individual During a Stop and Frisk

A “frisk” by definition is a type of search that requires a lawful stop. It is best thought of as a separate act, but in practice, a suspect who refuses to answer questions in a stop may be providing the officer with sufficient justification to frisk. A frisk should not be for anything other than a dangerous weapon or contraband. However, if other evidence, like a suspected drug container, is felt by the officer, it can be seized by the officer under the “plain feel” doctrine. The test for plain feel is that the item’s contraband nature be “immediately apparent.”

• Rights of the Individual: During a stop and frisk, individuals have certain rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to know why they are being stopped (though not always required), and the right to ask to leave if the stop is not justified. There is no legal obligation to provide identification during a stop and frisk, although refusing to identify oneself might lead to further investigation or detention if the officer has reason to believe the individual is engaged in criminal activity.

• Philadelphia's Program: The city of Philadelphia has a program to deprioritize the use of stop and frisk for minor offenses, recognizing concerns about its impact on low-level offenses.

Legal Standards for Stop and Frisk

Stop and frisk is when police temporarily detain somebody and pat down their outer clothing when there are specific articulable facts leading a reasonable police officer to believe a person is armed and dangerous.

It is not necessary for the officer to articulate or identify a specific crime they think is being committed, only that a set of factual circumstances exist that would lead a reasonable officer to have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is occurring. Reasonable suspicion is one step below probable cause and one step above a hunch. Contact Mark D. Hauser to be your Philadelphia white collar criminal defense.