Which action is justified by reasonable suspicion?

• A. A brief investigative stop.
• B. A full arrest.
• C. A warrantless home search.
• D. A confession.

Answer: (A)

Reasonable suspicion allows a police officer to briefly stop someone to investigate possible criminal activity. It’s a lower threshold than probable cause and must be grounded in specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences drawn from the situation. Because the stop is designed to be short and nonintrusive, it can be justified when those facts point to a plausible risk that something unlawful is happening, allowing the officer to verify or dispel the concern.

That makes a brief investigative stop the correct choice. A full arrest requires probable cause to believe a crime has occurred, which goes beyond reasonable suspicion. A warrantless home search generally requires probable cause or another exception, not just reasonable suspicion. A confession is a statement by a person and, while important, is not an action justified by reasonable suspicion in the way a brief stop is; it involves voluntary rights and interrogation rules rather than the seizure standard itself.