Police Stop-and-Frisk Practices: An Examination of Factors That Affect Officers' Decisions to Initiate a Stop-and-Frisk Police Procedure
| Author | Avdi S. Avdija |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2014.16.1.325 |
| Published date | 01 March 2014 |
| Date | 01 March 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Paper |
Police stop-and-frisk practices: an examination
of factors that affect officers’ decisions to
initiate a stop-and-frisk police procedure
Avdi S. Avdija
Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Holmstedt Hall, Room 242, Indiana State University,
Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA. Tel: +1 812 237 9652; email: avdi.avdija@indstate.edu
Submitted 15 October 2013; accepted 4 November 2013
Keywords: stop-and-frisk, racialised policing, proactive policing, high-crime areas
Avdi S. Avdija, PhD is an assistant professor of
high-crime area, time of day fits the crime incident,
criminology and criminal justice at Indiana State
fugitive movements by the suspects, casing a victim or
University. His broad research interests include
location, and proximity to a crime scene. Factors that
community policing policy, problems related to
influenced an officer’s decision to frisk the suspect
the implementation of evidence-based polic-
after the initial stop were suspect’s gender, followed
ing, crime prevention strategies and tactics,
by suspect’s physical proximity to the crime scene,
and methods of criminal investigation, including
suspect’s evasive responses to questions and race.
techniques of interviewing and interrogation. Dr
Avdija has published fourteen research articles
in various academic journals and two books.
INTRODUCTION
His current research interests are on testing the
Stop-and-frisk police procedures are com-
effectiveness of eyewitness identification meth-
monly used in large cities. Although a stop-
ods, factors that affect police officer’s decision
and-frisk is considered a proactive police
to use force, stop-and-frisk police practices, and
procedure in the USA, it cannot be initiated
the effect of work-related stressors on police
without meeting the minimum legal require-
officer’s health-related issues.
ment of reasonable suspicion. State laws in the
USA vary from State to State, but for a police
officer to make a legal arrest, for example,
AbstrAct
there should be some form of probable cause
The purpose of this research is to examine the fac-
indicating that the suspect has committed or
tors that affect an officer’s decision to initiate a stop-
is committing a crime. To make a simple stop,
and-frisk procedure. The primary objective of this
however, police officers are not required to
study is to rank-order the typical reasons that were
meet the ‘probable cause’ level of justification.
reported by police officers and that were determinis-
Since Terry v Ohio in 1968, the police need
tic on initiating a police stop procedure. The second
to meet the ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard,
objective of this research is to test whether there is
which is a lesser justification level than prob-
empirical evidence suggesting racialised policing. The
able cause. Moreover, the reasonable suspicion
analyses are based on data that were originally col-
level of justification extends to the frisk proce-
lected and archived by the New York Police Depart-
dure also. A police officer can initiate a police
International Journal of Police
stop and escalate it to a ‘frisk’ based on only a
Science and Management,
ment on stop-and-frisk police practices in 2006. The
Vol. 16 No. 1, 2014, pp. 26–35.
analyses in this study show that the top five highest
reasonable suspicion level of justification. It is
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2014.16.1.325
rank-ordered reasons for initiating a police stop were
noteworthy that the reasonable suspicion level
Page 26
Avdija
of justification is open to interpretation and
2000; Gelman et al., 2007; Harris, 2007; Lee &
that interpretation is frequently influenced Rivera, 2007; Lundman, & Kaufman, 2003;
by an officer’s judgement, which in turn is
Weitzer & Tuch, 2002, 2005; Weitzer, 2000;
affected by a host of interrelated factors.
Withrow, 2004). However, there are other
studies that do not support this conclusion.
Reasons for initiating a stop-and-frisk
Alpert, Macdonald, and Dunham’s (2005)
procedure
study, for example, shows that being a minor-
A stop-and-frisk police practice is a form of
ity does not have a significant influence on
a field interrogation conducted for a variety
an officer’s decision to initiate a stop prac-
of reasons. Some of the typical reasons for
tice, other than building suspicion on sus-
the initiation of a police stop-and-frisk pro-
pects. Nonetheless, according to Alpert et al.
cedure include: proximity to the crime scene,
(2005), being suspicious did not rise to the
suspicious behaviour, high-crime area, time
level of initiating a stop-for-questioning
of day fits the crime and geographic hetero-
police procedure (Alpert et al., 2005). Race
geneity (Lippman 2013; Ridgeway, 2007). If a
surely correlates with the number of police
serious crime has been committed in an area,
stops. However, it is not the only factor
the police are more likely to conduct stop-
that influences officers’ decisions to initiate
and-frisk procedures on individuals for safety
a stop-and-frisk procedure; research shows
reasons. However, according to Harris (1994),
that gender, age and situational factors also
proximity to a crime should not be justified
have a significant influence (Schafer, Carter,
entirely based on the reasonable suspicion Katz-Bannister, & Wells, 2006). This tells us
standard. Thus, officers must also add in fac-
that one should not rush to judgement by
tors such as suspicious activity, officer’s safety
selectively choosing one single isolated factor
concerns, and to some degree, knowledge that influences an officer’s decision to initiate
about the suspects, because no one reason is
a police stop by building a case on it to sup-
good enough by itself to warrant a frisk of a
port one’s point of view
person (Harris, 1994). Nonetheless, research
shows that crime-scene-related factors, time
of day, environmental factors and suspect’s THE PRESENT STUDY
behaviour, either individually or as a group
The purpose of this study is to investigate
of factors, have a significant influence on an
the relevant factors that significantly affect an
officer’s decision to stop-and-frisk suspects
officer’s decision to initiate a stop-and-frisk
(Fallik & Novak, 2012; Ridgeway, 2007).
police procedure. The primary objective of
In addition to crime-scene-related factors,
this study is to rank-order the typical reasons
time of day, environmental factors and sus-
that were reported by police officers and that
pect’s behaviour, research shows that being a
were deterministic on initiating a police stop
member of a minority group is an influenc-
procedure. The second objective is to test
ing variable in an officer’s decision to initiate
whether there is empirical evidence suggest-
a stop-and-frisk...
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