Limit Pedestrian Stops

Pedestrian stops, which allow officers to temporarily detain, question, and search a person once constitutional thresholds have been reached, should be limited to those with a clear public safety impact. Although they have been associated with reduced violent crime and increased firearm recovery, overreliance is not only likely to harm police-community relationships, including the public’s perception of police legitimacy, but may also constitute a discriminatory pattern of practice and, thus, be unconstitutional.

[NOTE: A pedestrian “Terry stop” or “Stop, question, frisk,” is different from a general contact between an officer and a member of the community.]