FOUNDED SUSPICION AND PERSONAL SEARCH: LIMITS OF POLICE ACTION IN APPROACHING INDIVIDUALS IN BRAZILIAN LAW

Abstract

The Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure, in its article 244, establishes that the personal search does not depend on a judicial warrant in cases of arrest or when there is a well-founded suspicion that the individual is in possession of a prohibited weapon, objects or papers that constitute a crime. The interpretation and application of this provision raise relevant debates regarding the limits of police action, especially in light of the constitutional guarantees guaranteed to citizens. In this context, this article aims to analyze the police approach from the perspective of the Brazilian legal system, examining the normative framework that governs personal searches, with special attention to article 5 of the Federal Constitution, which enshrines individual freedoms, the inviolability of intimacy, private life and freedom of movement, as well as the principle of legality and the prohibition of illicit evidence. Furthermore, the study addresses Law No. 13,869/2019 (Abuse of Authority Law), highlighting the criminal types related to carrying out searches and approaches that do not comply with the law, especially when there is no just cause or well-founded suspicion. This article also analyzes doctrinal understandings and jurisprudential decisions of higher courts regarding the legality of personal searches, identifying objective criteria for their validity. Finally, we seek to demonstrate the legal consequences of abusive police action, both in the criminal and administrative sphere of the public agent and in the invalidation of evidence obtained illegally, reaffirming the centrality of the protection of fundamental rights in the Democratic State of Law. The research has a bibliographical nature, based on legislation, doctrine and jurisprudence of higher courts.