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STATISTICS FOR FACE TO FACE CONTACTS WITH POLICEAn estimated 40 million U.S. residents age 16 or older, or about 17 percent of the population, had a face-to-face contact with a police officer in 2008

[According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics]

This is a continuing decrease in contact between police and

the public, down from 19 percent of residents who had contact with the police in 2005 and 21 percent who had contact in 2002.

These findings are based on the Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), conducted every three years since 1999. The PPCS, a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), consists of a nationally representative sample of U.S.

FACE TO FACE

residents age 16 or older. Nearly 60,000 people participated in the most recent PPCS, which was conducted during the last six months of 2008.

About five million fewer residents had face-to-face contact with the police in 2008, compared to the 45 million residents who had police contact in 2002.

1# Reason: traffic stopDuring this period, the most common situation in which people came into contact with the police was as a driver in a traffic stop.

1# Reason: Report a CrimeThe second most common reason for contact with police continued to be reporting a crime or problem, although the number of contacts that occurred for this reason decreased. Nearly 12 million residents said

their most recent contact in 2002 was to report a crime or problem to police, compared to about 8 million residents in 2008.

90% Approval RatingAmong people who had face-to-face contact in 2008, about nine out of 10 residents felt the police were respectful or acted properly during their most recent contact that year.

About half of drivers who were pulled over by police said that they were stopped for speeding.

85% Stop LegitMost drivers (85 percent) who were pulled over by police during 2008 believed they were stopped for a legitimate reason.

ADDITIONAL FACTSAmong persons who drove a motor vehicle during 2008, about eight percent reported that their most recent contact with police in 2008 occurred as a driver in a traffic stop.

Police conducted a search of the driver or the vehicle in about five percent of traffic stops in 2008. Black drivers (12.3 percent) were about three times as likely as white drivers (3.9 percent) and about two times as likely as Hispanic drivers (5.8 percent) to be searched during a traffic stop.

Police issued a traffic ticket to more than half of drivers (55 percent) during a traffic stop, arrested about three percent of drivers, and issued

warnings or took no action during the remaining stops.

An estimated 1.4 percent of residents said the police used or threatened to use force against them during their most recent contact with police

In 2008, which was not statistically different from the percentages reported in 2002 (1.5 percent) and 2005 (1.6 percent). A majority (74 percent) of the people who said that police used or threatened force against them in 2008 said they felt it was excessive.

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