PART IV.  POLICING SITUATIONS Chapter 9. Stop and search, arrest and detention This chapter looks more closely at the use of force in the context of arrest and detention, in particular examining what the principles of necessity, proportionality and precaution mean in practice. The chapter also looks at measures that can be taken to avoid the abusive use of force during arrest and detention, as such abuse is unfortunately not uncommon. 9.1.  Stop and search A “stop” is the act by which a law enforcement official requires a person, in a public space, to account for himself or herself. A stop may take place, for example, when a person is walking or driving in the street; at a checkpoint; at an airport, train or bus station; or at a border. A “search” is the act that may follow a stop, by which a law enforcement official or any person authorized by the law, inspects a person and the area immediately within that person’s control, including clothes, any objects being carried, or a vehicle. A “stop and search” can be followed by an arrest. Stop and search interventions impact on a person’s rights to privacy and right freedom of movement and if carried out illegally or arbitrarily may violate these rights. As such, the use of such tactics should comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination. There must be valid legal grounds to justify a stop and search of a person and established procedures for how to conduct a stop and search, and such protocols should be made public. THE RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE In the United States, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution requires that all searches and seizures must be conducted in a reasonable manner. The “reasonableness” standard for seizures of persons is a balance of interests between “the nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests against the countervailing governmental interests.” (United States Supreme Court Decision Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 396 (1989)). A similar rationale has been applied by Courts in the United States in assessing the “reasonableness” of individual cases of use of force by law enforcement officials. The assessment is based on a balancing of interests, focusing on the need for the type of government action under the circumstances of each particular case. Many police departments in the United States have developed policies, practices and training on use-of-force issues that go beyond this standard, as reflected in the Guiding Principles on the Use of Force of the Police Executive Research Forum. a a http://www.policeforum.org/assets/guidingprinciples1.pdf, page 35. 135