A vehicle that is in a high crime area at a late hour alone is not enough to rise to the level of reasonable suspicion that is required to make a traffic stop. The court will look at all the surrounding factors when making the determination whether reasonable suspicion exists and someone who is in a high crime hour at an unusual hour will be considered. However just being in a high crime area at an unusual without more is not enough to justify a stop. State v. Blackstock, 165 N.C. App. 50 (2004) (Holding that activity at an unusual hour is a factor to be considered but is not solely determinative)
Other factors in addition to being in a high crime area at an unusual hour that may justify a stop could include the defendant’s nervousness or evading police. This was seen in State v. Mellow, 200 N.C. App. 561 (2009) in which a defendant was in a known high-drug area and was acting evasively with respect to police presence. The court found that a stop was justified in this scenario. Essentially police can use the fact that someone is in a high crime area at a late hour but there must be some other factor in addition to that to support reasonable suspicion to stop that person.
