A critical evaluation of the use of “stop and search by the police

       Police officers have a fundamental function to maintain law and order in the society (Smith, G. 2001: 372). They deal with crimes and arrest offenders. They are supposed to be vigilant all the time and monitoring any potential criminal activity and prevent its occurrence where possible. According to Hess, K. M., &Wolski, H. M. (2006: 57), they do this by taking part in community patrols and responding to emergency calls. As the complexity of civilization is increasing, so is the level of crimes (Nick, et al., 2000: 7).

This makes the role of the police officers even more challenging. In order to realize their objectives, police officers should make sure that they create and maintain a good relationship with the general public. This is because the potential criminals are in the community and information regarding them is also within the community. Again, any successful policing operation must be done within the stipulated regulations by the state.

Otherwise, any operation done outside the guidelines is deemed unlawful (Hagan, F. E. 2008: 89). It is also of greatest importance for the police officers to uphold the principle of transparency, consensus,