Discussion: “Stop and Frisk” Concept
“Stop and frisk” is a concept within which a person can be stopped and searched in the street without any search warrant. The practice is used by the police to search people whom they find suspectable, often without any grounds other than personal likes and dislikes. Moreover, the practice runs counter to the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which states “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure” (Constitution of the United States).
I disagree with the “stop and frisk” concept because I believe it violates a person’s right to privacy and lowers an individual’s dignity. When a person is stopped and searched in the street without any warrant, it is humiliating, and the practice gives the police a pretext to feel up to people as they like. Moreover, in this case, people are treated like criminals without any reasonable grounds behind the practice. The concept is also deemed racist as it is often used to terrorize Afro-Americans and Latinos, who are most often stopped and searched without any probable cause.
A search of an arrested suspect differs greatly from a search of a suspect who has not been arrested. First of all, the arrest gives police officers a legal right to search a person, though the search itself “must be limited to the body of the person under arrest and the area within their control” (Diab, 2018, p. 38). In practice, it means that a person’s surroundings may be searched, too, if an officer believes there is a danger there. Moreover, while “stop and frisk” practices are not, as a rule, regulated, the law forbids the use of excessive force toward a person under arrest. An arrestee has a right to consult an attorney and issue a civil rights case if he or she believes the arrest was unwarranted.
References
Constitution of the United States. Fourth Amendment. Web.
Diab, R. (2018). Protecting the right to privacy in digital devices: Reasonable search on arrest and at the border. UNBLJ, 69, 96.