Behavior is said to be the major phenomenon that the police officer must deal with daily and the diligent patrol officer, when observing a particular behavior will try to determine what the individual is doing. It is necessary for officers to learn to observe, analyze, and correctly act on human behavior to avoid potential civil or criminal liability. Over the years law enforcement training programs have incorporated aspects of observation techniques and refined them to be easily utilized on the street by officers. Before acting on what they observe, an officer must make certain that his/her decisions are objective and based on behaviors that are widely accepted as suspicious or abnormal while being cognizant of the influence of his/her own attitudes and opinions. However, officers must be aware that what they are observing may not always be what it appears. Officers need to be allowed to make assessments which sometimes involve the identification of groups or clusters of behaviors that are suspicious. This type of behavior analysis is typed as similar to profiling. However, profiling has not always been viewed in a favorable light. Racial profiling is where an officer initiated action that relies on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual. Behavior analysis continues to be refined and with proper training patrol officers will find that they will become more effective by making informed and safe stops and arrests of suspicious individuals and experience fewer complaints. References