Stop and Frisk: Legal Perspectives, Strategic Thinking, and Tactical Procedures

Every law enforcement patrol officer and investigator needs to understand both the tactical considerations of stopping and frisking a suspect, and the legal constraints that should govern that power. Recent years have shown clearly the damage that can be done when police lack an adequate understanding of the legal foundation for their activities. In this new edition of Stop and Frisk, Mitchell and Connor team up to provide active or aspiring police officers with the knowledge of applicable law as well as practical techniques they need to safely and legally carry out their crime suppression and investigative duties. This updated edition includes clear summaries of major cases of the last decade and lessons learned when police and communities failed to fully understand the results of Terry v. Ohio.

Ideal for in-service training at the post-academy level, this book also gives time-tested tools to police officers, supervisors, and legal advisors. Stop and Frisk can be used to teach undergraduate Criminal Justice majors as well as concerned citizens to prevent crime in their communities.

Douglas R. Mitchell, J.D., M.P.A., has been an attorney for 30 years. He is a deputy prosecutor in Washington State, assigned to the Civil Division of his office. His duties include advising several clients in different parts of the Criminal Justice system and serving as public records officer for the office. He has broad experience in both civil and criminal duties, including the prosecution of violent felons.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and Police Training Institute, and he has been a prosecutor and part-time officer in Illinois and Washington. His primary interest is in the legal foundations of law enforcement operations, and he has authored and co-authored several books and articles on related topics.

Gregory J. Connor, M.S., is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. For more than four decades he provided both practical and tactical education and training to police officers and corrections personnel.

Professor Connor has published numerous texts and articles on associated topics in the criminal justice field and is a recognized expert on such topics as use of force, contact controls, police pursuits, and jail and police procedures and policies.

He is an originator of the Use of Force Model and the recent Police and Jail Control Models designed and developed for peace officers throughout the country and additional graphic illustrations to enhance the training effort in areas including use of force issues, stop and frisk dynamics, vehicle stops, and contemporary operations in both police agencies and jails.