In the context of law enforcement, what is the threshold of suspicion required for a Terry stop?

In the context of law enforcement, a Terry stop requires reasonable suspicion. This concept comes from the Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio, which established that police officers can briefly detain a person for investigation if they have a reasonable belief that the individual might be involved in criminal activity.

Reasonable suspicion is a lower threshold than probable cause, which is required for arrests and obtaining search warrants. It is based on the totality of the circumstances and can arise from a combination of factors such as the officer’s observations, the behavior of the suspect, or the context of a situation. This standard allows officers to act on less than certain evidence while still requiring more than a mere hunch or unparticular feeling of suspicion.

Clear evidence of wrongdoing would establish probable cause, which is not necessary for a Terry stop. Likewise, no suspicion needed would not be applicable, as a Terry stop inherently requires some level of suspicion to justify the intrusion on a person's freedom. Thus, the standard of reasonable suspicion strikes the appropriate balance between individual rights and the necessity of law enforcement to ensure public safety.