{"id":7570,"date":"2023-10-27T15:47:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T15:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7570"},"modified":"2026-09-17T06:13:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:13:58","slug":"reasonable-suspicion-vs-probable-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7570","title":{"rendered":"Reasonable Suspicion Vs Probable Cause"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause?<\/strong> \u00a0It’s a great question, because even the courts struggle with defining the difference. \u00a0There is no one definition that’s in the legal dictionary, so let\u2019s look at them separately.<\/p>\n

What is the difference between a hunch and reasonable suspicion?<\/h2>\n

First of all, we have to find a hunch.\u00a0 Every officer can have a hunch. \u00a0Officers will look at somebody, look at a situation, and feel that something is up here.\u00a0 That is a hunch. \u00a0They’re unpredictable.\u00a0 They’re like something on the back of your neck, the hairs going up.\u00a0 But you can’t do anything with those.<\/p>\n

You can watch, but the only thing you can do<\/em> is to have a consensual encounter<\/a>. \u00a0Such as, \u201cHey, guy; can I talk to you for a second?\u201d and maybe try to follow the breadcrumbs and see if you get something more.<\/p>\n

You can’t<\/em> detain somebody over a hunch<\/em>. \u00a0But you can<\/em> with reasonable suspicion. <\/em><\/p>\n

The difference is, it’s particularized. \u00a0<\/em>That means that the cop can put his finger on something particular about this guy, this environment, and say that something is up.<\/p>\n

Is the goal of reasonable suspicion to prevent crime or make arrests?<\/h2>\n

\u00a0You have to also remember the goal of reasonable suspicion.\u00a0 The goal of reasonable suspicion is crime prevention, not crime apprehension.\u00a0\u00a0 You may apprehend somebody, and you may determine that they are involved in criminal activity.<\/p>\n

But your goal is to prevent major crimes from happening in the first place.\u00a0 And the reason why that’s important is because reasonable suspicion, by very definition, is that you’re looking at something and no crime has necessarily occurred. <\/em><\/p>\n

What actually happened in Terry v. Ohio?<\/h2>\n

\u00a0Think about Terry versus Ohio<\/a>.\u00a0 Officer Martin McFadden, 38 years on the job with Cleveland PD, knows a thing or two about crime. And he sees Terry and his friends going back and forth in front of that sucker\u2019s department store.\u00a0 Well, going back and forth in front of a store several times is not a crime. That’s called aggressive window shopping in my family.<\/p>\n

But Martin is no fool.\u00a0 There are other things going on.\u00a0 Terry\u2019s talking to people on the corner, they then go to the front of the window, and they look, and then they meet up again, and one takes off to another corner, maybe going to the other side of the store.\u00a0 So this is not aggressive window shopping.\u00a0 Martin thinks that this is a setup for an armed robbery.\u00a0 And he was right.<\/p>\n

\u00a0But Martin McFadden stopped Terry and prevented an armed robbery from occurring that day.\u00a0 Terry got convicted of concealed weapon charges.\u00a0 He didn’t get convicted of attempted armed robbery, because there wasn’t enough there for the attempt part.<\/p>\n

That was Terry versus Ohio.<\/p>\n

To wrap up reasonable suspicion, do you have something particular<\/em>? \u00a0Do some facts and circumstances lead you to believe that this person, right now, is engaged in something that is some kind of criminal activity? \u00a0Yet what you’re seeing is not necessarily a crime, right?\u00a0 (If it was we would call that probable cause<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Can you detain someone for walking away from a patrol car?<\/h2>\n

\u00a0Let me give you another example.\u00a0 An officer is patrolling at night, around two o’clock in the morning.\u00a0 And this area of town has a lot of graffiti issues.\u00a0 Maybe it’s recent, maybe it’s long term, whatever.\u00a0 He sees this guy walking down the street, kind of looking around.\u00a0 The guy sees the car, a marked unit, and takes an immediate next right.\u00a0 Okay, people have the right to avoid a police officer.\u00a0 That’s a hunch; that’s raising suspicion.<\/p>\n

So the cop then follows the guy, who goes into the alleyway.\u00a0 He also notices that the guy has something in his pocket the size of a paint can. \u00a0A rattle can.\u00a0 And you probably have enough.\u00a0 If you’re confident in your articulation and describing the whole environment, you can detain that guy temporarily to find out if he is getting ready to attack something.<\/p>\n

The evasiveness, the underlying criminal activity in that area, and this object that appears to be a rattle can; that’s kind of odd. \u00a0That’s a big object in somebody’s pocket.\u00a0 So that’s what you want.\u00a0 If you stop them at the point of evasiveness, you lose, but if you stop them at the point of when you put all these pieces together, you probably have enough for reasonable suspicion.<\/p>\n

How much certainty does probable cause require?<\/h2>\n

Now we move into probable cause.\u00a0 Probable cause to arrest is; facts and circumstances that lead a reasonable officer to believe that a crime has been committed and that the person you arrested has likely committed it.<\/em> \u00a0It\u2019s not a super high standard.<\/p>\n

\u00a0When I ask cops, \u201cHow much certainty do you need to have for probable cause?\u201d; I sometimes\u00a0 get \u201c70 to 80%.\u201d \u00a0That’s not accurate.\u00a0 That standard is way too high.\u00a0 In fact, that’s pushing it into the realm of beyond a reasonable doubt<\/em>. \u00a0So it’s a much lower standard.\u00a0 It’s around that 50% mark, probably lower than 50%, even though you’re probably taught that it’s higher.\u00a0 \u00a0But when push comes to shove, per the case law, it’s probably lower.\u00a0 But the point is, that it’s not very high. \u00a0You just have to describe why you think this person has committed a crime.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I hope that helps.\u00a0 Until next time, stay safe.<\/p>\n

Related from Blue to Gold<\/h2>\n