Reasonable Suspicion?

[Rainman]

Been reading a funny news story about a guy who had a container labeled "not weed" and a police officer who desired to confirm to the veracity of the claim opened the container and found weed inside.

This had me thinking. Should the gut feel of a cop tell him/her that someone just might be a criminal can this, be used as grounds for arresting the suspect or search their vehicle [for drugs] and so on?

 

[Gabe]

It depends on the circumstances and where they were. If they were in a public place then the police have a right to search, but not in a private place. They can ask and the other person can refuse. It seems a very silly thing to write though,' not weed' or 'no money' in a can, so you question the intelligence of anyone that does this.

 

[missbishi]

Instincts are often correct and I'd like to think that the cops are able to act on this sensibly but I'm sure that in reality, sterotyping and racial profiling can easily cloud their judgement.

Having a container with "Not Weed" printed on it is laughable though. Of course someone will look - it would instantly make you curious. Silly guy!

 

[Profit5500]

Been reading a funny news story about a guy who had a container labeled "not weed" and a police officer who desired to confirm to the veracity of the claim opened the container and found weed inside.

This had me thinking. Should the gut feel of a cop tell him/her that someone just might be a criminal can this, be used as grounds for arresting the suspect or search their vehicle [for drugs] and so on?

I would look at the circumstances of the situation myself. If I were the cop I would probably be suspicious about it.

 

[dyanmarie25]

A container with "not weed" written on it really is suspicious. The cop probably ended up thinking, "If there's no weed in the container, what does it contain?" Anyway, the man could have had the chance to get away if he just didn't write it down. Haha.

 

[JoanMcWench]

Maybe what it actually said was, 'No Tweed' because he hated to wear tweed & the officers just misunderstood the whole situation. Oh, those wacky officers.

 

[timelord731]

Probable cause is such a disputed term because it is so hard to define. The cause is going to be different case to case so there is no way of describing what that actually constitutes.

 

[JoanMcWench]

Let's be honest, weed is becoming an acceptable pastime across the states at this point. It's not the federal crime it used to be in the minds & hearts of people living here. The sooner a state turns to taxing it the better off they will be.

 

[ally79]

Depending on the situation cops can search based on "reasonable suspicion". They have to be really careful about using their "gut feeling" though because if they are wrong or they cross a legal line anything they find can be thrown out of court.

 

[shilpa123]

I do believe that suspension should always exist. Suspension only helps to guess the right needs and it also helps to take care of you finding the right person who would be a criminal. I do believe that one should be careful.

 

[stevesxs9]

I would think that if your going to be suspected of a crime, the one thing you don't want to do is bring attention to yourself. Part of the Police's nature is to be suspicious. And if someone is making themselves look suspicious the Police is going to inquire.

 

[Determined2014]

I would say that, most of the time , the police officers go by instinct or inner gut feeling,because apart from a person acting weird, there must be that inner voice that tells them to search somebody, because there are those who do not act funny yet they are guilty, but when it comes to a situation like tht of someone writing on the can "not weed" that will definately spark someones interest.

 

[wahmed]

I think that if you cannot find substantial evidence but you find enough to make you suspicious then yes they should arrest them