Explain that, to detain a person temporarily, the police need (click to add animation) reasonable suspicion. Click to add the definition of reasonable suspicion. Ask a student to read the definition. Ask students to point out and define key terms or phrases which should include: knows” Like probable cause, the standard “officer – relates to a trained police officer. The officer has to know something, he or she cannot have a mere hunch. minor facts” A combination of several “several – small facts can be enough. They must be actual facts, not just a baseless hunch. larger fact” A single large fact may be enough. “a – Again, it must be an actual fact, not just a baseless suspicion. to” This language is not particularly “points – definitive. The connection does not have to be rock solid. person” - The suspicion cannot be “particular directed toward a whole group, but should focus on a single individual. in”- There must be some crime “engaging happening or about to happen (again, planning a crime is generally a crime on its own). activity” The activity must be criminal, “criminal – not just morally repugnant. Point out this is less specific than the crime” language in the “particular probable cause definition. Ask students to compare the two standards. Point out that probable cause is a higher standard than reasonable suspicion. Explain that the probable cause standard is higher because arrest is a more serious seizure than detainment. Slide 7 Show the students the information continuum. Explain that the continuum lays out how much information and what kind of information the police may know about a past or future crime. The least amount of information is on
Explain that, to detain a person temporarily, the police need (click to add animation) reasonable suspicion. Click to add the definition of reasonable suspicion. Ask a student to read the definition. Ask students to point out and define key terms or phrases which should include: “officer knows” – Like probable cause, the standard relates to a trained police officer. The officer has to know something, he or she cannot have a mere hunch. “several minor facts” – A combination of several small facts can be enough. They must be actual facts, not just a baseless hunch. “a larger fact” – A single large fact may be enough. Again, it must be an actual fact, not just a baseless suspicion. “points to” – This language is not particularly definitive. The connection does not have to be rock solid. “particular person” - The suspicion cannot be directed toward a whole group, but should focus on a single individual. “engaging in”- There must be some crime happening or about to happen (again, planning a crime is generally a crime on its own). “criminal activity” – The activity must be criminal, not just morally repugnant. Point out this is less specific than the “particular crime” language in the probable cause definition. Ask students to compare the two standards. Point out that probable cause is a higher standard than reasonable suspicion. Explain that the probable cause standard is higher because arrest is a more serious seizure than detainment. Slide 7 Show the students the information continuum. Explain that the continuum lays out how much information and what kind of information the police may know about a past or future crime. The least amount of information is on
arrest2009.docx