Which legal doctrine allows police to stop and briefly detain an individual for questioning?

The Stop and Frisk doctrine is the correct answer because it specifically allows law enforcement officers to temporarily stop and detain a person for questioning when they have a reasonable suspicion that the individual is involved in criminal activity. This legal concept was established in the landmark Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio, which determined that officers can conduct a limited search for weapons if they believe the person may be armed and dangerous.

This doctrine balances the need for police to maintain public safety while also protecting individual rights against unwarranted searches. Unlike the Search Warrant doctrine, which requires a higher standard of probable cause and a warrant issued by a judge before any search can be conducted, or the Exclusionary Rule, which pertains to the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through illegal searches, Stop and Frisk applies to brief encounters based solely on reasonable suspicion. The Arrest warrant principle also differs, as it pertains to a more formal process of detaining someone who is likely to face charges based on probable cause rather than the lesser standard of reasonable suspicion necessary for a stop and frisk.