detain
In criminal law , to detain an individual is to hold them in custody , normally for a temporary period of time . Police in the United States, under Supreme Court precedent in Terry v. Ohio , may temporarily detain an individual if there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is armed, engaged in, or about to be engaged in criminal conduct.
In the motor vehicle context, a police officer may detain a vehicle pending inquiry into a vehicular violation regardless of whether criminal activity is suspected. There is no bright light line between a detention and an arrest —courts will often look to a variety of factors in determining whether either has occurred during an interaction with police. While reasonable suspicion is required for detention of an individual by law enforcement, probable cause is a prerequisite for an arrest.
[Last reviewed in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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