What must a tip contain and what must the officer do for it to justify a stop?

What must a tip contain and what must the officer do for it to justify a stop?

• A. Tip must include a name and address and the officer must call in backup.
• B. Tip must have sufficient predictive information and must be corroborated.
• C. Tip must be from a verified informant and the officer must arrest immediately.
• D. Tip must include a video and the officer must obtain a warrant.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that a tip can justify a stop only if it provides details that are predictive and specific, and the officer can verify those details through independent observation. In practice, this means the tip should describe things that allow the officer to anticipate what will happen next—such as a suspect’s appearance, clothing, direction of travel, location, or behavior—and the officer should corroborate those aspects before detaining someone. Reliability matters: a tip from a trusted or verified informant can strengthen the basis for a stop, but the decision still rests on reasonable suspicion formed from corroborated information, not on an immediate arrest. The other options introduce requirements that aren’t necessary for a stop—backup, an arrest, a video, or a warrant—and don’t reflect how stops are legitimately grounded in corroborated predictive details.

The key idea is that a tip can justify a stop only if it provides details that are predictive and specific, and the officer can verify those details through independent observation. In practice, this means the tip should describe things that allow the officer to anticipate what will happen next—such as a suspect’s appearance, clothing, direction of travel, location, or behavior—and the officer should corroborate those aspects before detaining someone. Reliability matters: a tip from a trusted or verified informant can strengthen the basis for a stop, but the decision still rests on reasonable suspicion formed from corroborated information, not on an immediate arrest. The other options introduce requirements that aren’t necessary for a stop—backup, an arrest, a video, or a warrant—and don’t reflect how stops are legitimately grounded in corroborated predictive details.