Montgomery Police Academy Legal Practice Exam

Reasonable suspicion refers to the belief, based on specific and articulable facts, that a person is involved in criminal activity. This threshold is lower than the probable cause standard required for arrests or searches but still requires more than just a vague hunch.

In the context of the scenario, a person leaving a store quickly without buying anything can raise reasonable suspicion. This behavior can suggest that the individual may have engaged in theft or is otherwise trying to evade law enforcement. The fact that they left the store quickly, particularly without completing a purchase, allows law enforcement to form a specific basis to suspect that something unusual is occurring, warranting further investigation.

The other scenarios, while potentially suspicious in their own right, do not meet the threshold for reasonable suspicion as strongly as the first option. For example, an individual loitering in a parking lot in broad daylight may not display enough behavior to indicate criminal intent, as loitering alone isn’t inherently suspicious. Similarly, a known criminal entering a location does not provide sufficient grounds for suspicion without additional context or specific behavior. Finally, a group of individuals discussing a crime may simply be engaging in conversation without any indication that they are committing a crime, lacking the specific and articulable facts required to support reasonable suspicion.