Article Critique: Police and Public Contact Survey

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report NOVEMBER 2022 NCJ 304527

Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2020

Susannah N. Tapp, PhD, and Elizabeth J. Davis, BJS Statisticians

In 2020, an estimated 21% of U.S. residents age 16 or older (about 53.8 million persons) reported experiencing contact with police during the

past 12 months (figure 1), down from 24% in 2018. Approximately 10% of residents had experienced a police-initiated contact in 2020, while 11% experienced a resident-initiated contact and 3% were involved in a traffic accident that led to a police contact.

Findings in this report are based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), with selected data from the 2018 and 2015 PPCS data collections. The PPCS is a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information from a nationally representative sample of persons age 12 or older in U.S. households. The PPCS collects information from persons age 16 or older on nonfatal contacts with police during the 12 months prior to the interview. Police contacts were classified by the year of the survey and not by the year of the contact.

HIGHLIGHTS � About 21% (53.8 million) of U.S. residents age 16 or

older had contact with police in 2020.

� A smaller share of persons had contact with police in 2020 (21%) than in 2018 (24%).

� In 2020, females (12%) were more likely than males (11%) to initiate contact with police, while males (11%) were more likely than females (9%) to experience police-initiated contact.

� Among U.S. residents who initiated their most recent contact with police, almost half (49%) did so to report a possible crime.

� Most residents who initiated police contact (88%) were satisfied with the police response.

� Black (6%) and Hispanic (3%) persons were more likely to experience the threat of force or use of nonfatal force during their most recent police contact in 2020 than white persons (2%).

� The share of persons who said they experienced police misconduct during their most recent contact was not statistically different between 2018 and 2020 (1% each).

� The majority of persons whose most recent police contact was a street stop experienced no enforcement action.

Police contact in the past 12 months

In 2020, U.S. residents were asked about instances in the past 12 months where they contacted police (resident-initiated contacts), instances where police approached or stopped them (police-initiated contacts), and contact related to a traffic accident. Resident-initiated contacts include reporting a possible crime, disturbance, or suspicious activity; reporting a noncrime emergency, such as a medical emergency; reporting or seeking assistance with a nonemergency, such as custody enforcement; participating in a block watch or other anti-crime program; and approaching or seeking help from police for another reason. Police- initiated contacts include being stopped by police while driving or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle (i.e., a traffic stop); being stopped by police while in a public place or parked vehicle (i.e., a street stop); being arrested, excluding arrests due to some other type of police contact; and being stopped or approached by police for some other reason.

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Figure 1 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and reason, 2020

U.S. residents age 16 or older: 260,916,200 100%

Any police contact: 53,836,600 20.6%

Resident-initiated contact: 29,979,700 11.5%

driver: 16,709,200 7.1%

Traffic stop, passenger: 4,918,700 1.9%

Street stop:d 2,626,500 1.0%

Arrested:e 412,500 0.2%

Reported possible crime: 16,177,200 6.2%

Reported noncrime emergency:c 8,573,900 3.3%

Reported nonemergency:a 8,076,900 3.1%

Block watch: 1,639,800 0.6%

Approached, other:g 3,063,400 1.2%

Sought help, other:f 321,600 0.1%

Police-initiated contact: 25,463,700 9.8%

Traffic accident: 7,824,600 3.0%

b Traffic stop,

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and because residents could experience more than one type of contact. See appendix table 1 for standard errors. aIncludes residents who asked for directions, custody enforcement, a court order, or another nonemergency service. bEstimate is based on the driving population, which was 234,321,518 in 2020. cIncludes residents who reported a medical emergency or traffic accident that they witnessed but were not involved in. dIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. eIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of

a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. fIncludes residents who contacted police for some other reason, such as accidentally calling 9-1-1 or setting off an alarm system, for animal control, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. gIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident,s work as a first responder or volunteer. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

Definitions and measures of race and ethnicity In the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) uses the race and ethnicity categories specified by the Office of Management and Budget’s 1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The standards include five categories of race (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and white) and two categories of ethnicity (Hispanic and not Hispanic) for purposes of data collection. Given that NCVS data derive from surveyed respondents, the small sizes of certain demographic groups relative to the overall U.S. population can pose measurement difficulties. In addition, the relatively rare occurrence of certain types of contact with police in a population can compound these measurement challenges, often

leading to even smaller sample sizes for particular demographic groups, including persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, or of two or more races. In accordance with standard statistical analysis methodology for reporting estimates from sample data, BJS may combine demographic categories into an “Other” group to generate valid and reliable estimates or to protect the identity of individuals.

In this report, NCVS estimates for specific race and ethnicity groups are based on data availability and measures of reliability. Some differences between these estimates that may seem meaningful may not be statistically significant, due to the larger standard errors that typically result from smaller sample sizes. See Methodology.

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Males were more likely than females to have any contact with police

In 2020, males (21%) were more likely than females (20%) to have contact with police in the past 12 months (table 1). While males (11%) were more likely than females (9%) to have police-initiated contact, females (12%) were more likely than males (11%) to initiate contact with police. There was no significant difference between the percentages of males and females who had police contact related to a traffic accident.

Across race and Hispanic origin, white persons (22%) were more likely than black (18%), Hispanic (17%),

or Asian (16%) persons, but less likely than persons of another race (28%), to have contact with police in 2020. White persons (3.0%) were less likely than black persons (3.6%) but more likely than Hispanic persons (2.5%) to have police contact related to a traffic accident.

Persons ages 18 to 24 were the most likely age group to have police-initiated contact (17%) and police contact related to a traffic accident (5%) in 2020. Persons ages 18 to 24 (10%) were more likely to initiate police contact than those ages 16 to 17 (4%). They were less likely than those ages 25 to 44 (13%) or 45 to 64 (12%) to initiate police contact.

Table 1 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

U.S. residents age 16 or older

Any police contact Police-initiated contact

Resident-initiated contact Traffic accident

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 260,916,200 53,836,600 20.6% 25,463,700 9.8% 29,979,700 11.5% 7,824,600 3.0%

Sex Male* 126,524,700 26,751,200 21.1% 13,887,200 11.0% 13,657,500 10.8% 3,886,100 3.1% Female 134,391,500 27,085,400 20.2 † 11,576,500 8.6 † 16,322,300 12.1 † 3,938,500 2.9

Race/Hispanic origin Whitea* 163,405,100 36,677,800 22.4% 16,863,900 10.3% 21,145,600 12.9% 4,959,500 3.0% Blacka 31,382,000 5,656,300 18.0 † 2,895,000 9.2 ‡ 2,747,100 8.8 † 1,115,100 3.6 ‡ Hispanic 44,074,400 7,283,900 16.5 † 3,627,800 8.2 † 3,914,900 8.9 † 1,112,800 2.5 † Asiana 16,192,100 2,595,000 16.0 † 1,275,700 7.9 † 1,202,700 7.4 † 435,500 2.7 Othera,b 5,862,500 1,623,600 27.7 † 801,300 13.7 † 969,500 16.5 † 201,700 3.4

Age 16–17 7,989,100 1,025,400 12.8% † 652,600 8.2% † 357,400 4.5% † 247,400 3.1% † 18–24* 29,497,800 7,513,500 25.5 4,914,300 16.7 2,993,400 10.1 1,438,900 4.9 25–44 86,908,100 20,787,400 23.9 10,630,400 12.2 † 11,425,100 13.1 † 2,864,100 3.3 † 45–64 82,434,400 16,634,300 20.2 † 6,713,100 8.1 † 10,186,100 12.4 † 2,147,200 2.6 † 65 or older 54,086,800 7,876,000 14.6 † 2,553,300 4.7 † 5,017,800 9.3 1,127,100 2.1 †

Household income $49,999 or lessc* 102,251,400 19,507,700 19.1% 9,219,500 9.0% 10,891,500 10.7% 2,769,800 2.7% $50,000–$74,999 46,012,000 9,821,400 21.3 † 4,913,600 10.7 † 5,288,200 11.5 ‡ 1,380,700 3.0 $75,000 or more 112,652,800 24,507,500 21.8 † 11,330,600 10.1 † 13,800,000 12.3 † 3,674,100 3.3 †

Note: The Police-Public Contact Survey collects data on persons age 16 or older living in noninstitutionalized residential settings in the United States. Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of contact. Missing data on annual household income were imputed. From January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022, 24% of persons age 16 or older in the National Crime Victimization Survey sample were missing data on annual household income. For more information on imputation procedures, see National Crime Victimization Survey, 2016: Technical Documentation (NCJ 251442, BJS, December 2017). See appendix table 2 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). bIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. cThe 2020 datafile combines the categories “$24,999 or less” and “$25,000 to $49,999.” These categories are presented separately in 2018. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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Resident contact with police was lower in 2020 than in 2018

In 2020, about 21% of U.S. residents age 16 or older (more than 53.8 million persons) had contact with police in the past 12 months (table 2). This was down from 24% (61.5 million) in 2018 but similar to the 21% (53.5 million) in 2015. The decrease in police contact was driven by a lower percentage of resident-initiated contact in 2020 (11%) than in 2018 (14%).

All types of resident-initiated contact, including reporting a possible crime and participating in a block watch or other anti-crime program, declined between 2018 and 2020.1

1Contacting police to report or seek assistance for a nonemergency (such as asking directions) was added as a reason for police contact beginning with the 2018 PPCS. This type of contact would have been captured as “seeking other help from police” in 2015. Adding this type of contact as its own category in 2018 contributed to a decrease in the "seeking other help" category.

The portion of U.S. residents experiencing any type of police-initiated contact was lower in 2020 (10%) than in 2018 or 2015 (11% each). This reflected a pattern of decline in the percentage of residents experiencing police contact as drivers in traffic stops from 2015 (9%) to 2018 (8%), and to 2020 (7%). A smaller share of residents had contact with police related to a traffic accident in 2020 (3.0%) than in 2018 (3.4%), but there was no statistically significant difference in the percentages between 2015 (3.1%) and 2020.

Table 2 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and reason, 2015, 2018, and 2020

2015 2018 2020* Type of contact and reason Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Any police contact 53,469,300 21.1% 61,542,300 † 23.7% † 53,836,600 20.6 % Police-initiated contact 27,415,900 † 10.8% † 28,880,900 † 11.1% † 25,463,700 9.8 %

Traffic stop, drivera 19,204,500 † 8.6 † 18,666,000 † 8.1 † 16,709,200 7.1 Traffic stop, passenger 5,964,100 † 2.4 † 5,702,600 † 2.2 † 4,918,700 1.9 Street stopb 2,503,700 1.0 3,528,100 † 1.4 † 2,626,500 1.0 Arrestedc 814,800 † 0.3 † 386,000 0.1 412,500 0.2 Approached, otherd 1,946,700 † 0.8 † 3,638,100 † 1.4 † 3,063,400 1.2

Resident-initiated contact 27,060,200 † 10.7% † 35,468,500 † 13.7% † 29,979,700 11.5 % Reported possible crime 16,928,100 6.7 † 19,109,200 † 7.4 † 16,177,200 6.2 Reported noncrime emergencye 8,841,900 3.5 9,971,500 † 3.8 † 8,573,900 3.3 Reported nonemergencyf ... ... 10,068,700 † 3.9 † 8,076,900 3.1 Block watch 2,366,200 † 0.9 † 2,160,900 † 0.8 † 1,639,800 0.6 Sought help, otherg 2,478,400 † 1.0 † 641,200 † 0.2 † 321,600 0.1

Traffic accident 7,950,500 3.1% 8,882,000 † 3.4% † 7,824,600 3.0 % Note: Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of contact. See appendix table 1 for standard errors. *Comparison year. †Difference with comparison year is significant at the 95% confidence level. ...Not available. aEstimates are based on the driving population, which was 223,315,375 in 2015, 231,290,951 in 2018, and 234,321,518 in 2020. bIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. cIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. dIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. eIncludes residents who reported a medical emergency or traffic accident that they witnessed but were not involved in. fIncludes residents who asked for directions, custody enforcement, a court order, or another nonemergency service. gIncludes residents who contacted police for some other reason, such as accidentally calling 9-1-1 or setting off an alarm system, for animal control, or as part of the resident's work as a first responder or volunteer. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2015, 2018, and 2020.

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About 2% of persons experienced the threat of force or nonfatal use of force during any police contact in 2020

U.S. residents age 16 or older who had any police contact in the past 12 months were asked if they experienced the threat of force or nonfatal use of force. While the number of residents experiencing the threat of force or nonfatal use of force was higher in 2018 than 2020, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of residents experiencing the threat or use of force from 2018 to 2020 (2% each) (table 3).

In 2020, a higher percentage of males (3%) than females (1%) experienced the threat of force or use of force. Black persons (4%) and Hispanic persons (2%) were more likely than white persons (1.5%) to experience the threat or use of force. Residents ages 18 to 24 (3%) were more likely to experience the threat of force or use of nonfatal force than those ages 45 to 64 (1%) or age 65 or older (1%). In general, similar shares of residents in most demographic categories experienced the threat or use of force in 2018 and 2020; however, Hispanic persons were more likely to experience the threat or use of force in 2018 than in 2020.

Table 3 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose police contact involved the threat or nonfatal use of force, by demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

Demographic characteristic

2018 2020

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of forcea

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of forcea

Number Percent Number Percent Total 61,542,300 1,254,300 2.0% 53,836,600 1,045,600 1.9%

Sex Male* 30,467,400 917,900 3.0% 26,751,200 721,200 2.7% Female 31,074,900 336,400 † 1.1 † 27,085,400 324,400 † 1.2 †

Race/Hispanic origin Whiteb* 42,525,700 647,100 1.5% 36,677,800 560,200 1.5% Blackb 6,545,700 † 250,700 † 3.8 † 5,656,300 † 241,800 † 4.3 † Hispanic 8,238,400 † 280,100 † 3.4 † 7,283,900 † 172,900 † 2.4 † Asianb 2,419,500 † 30,900 † 1.3 2,595,000 † 26,600 † 1.0 Otherb,c 1,813,000 † 45,500 † 2.5 1,623,600 † 44,000 † 2.7

Age 16–17 1,143,500 † 39,200 † 3.4% 1,025,400 † : : 18–24* 8,859,700 280,000 3.2 7,513,500 229,800 3.1% 25–44 23,518,700 † 625,500 † 2.7 20,787,400 † 513,500 † 2.5 45–64 19,160,700 † 274,400 1.4 † 16,634,300 † 213,500 1.3 † 65 or older 8,859,600 35,200 † 0.4 † 7,876,000 69,200 † 0.9 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Includes residents who had any police contact in the last 12 months. See appendix table 3 for standard errors. *Comparison group. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. aIncludes residents whom police threatened with force, handcuffed, pushed or grabbed, hit or kicked, used chemical or pepper spray, used an electroshock weapon, pointed or fired a gun, or used another type of physical force. bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). cIncludes Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or persons of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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Most recent police contact

Residents who experienced any contact with police were asked more detailed questions about the nature of their most recent contact. This section describes characteristics of the most recent police-initiated contact and findings related to misconduct, threat of force, and nonfatal use of force reported during such contact. Findings from the most recent resident- initiated contact are also included.

Police-initiated contact

Males were more likely than females to be pulled over while driving

In 2020, drivers in traffic stops accounted for the majority (63%) of persons whose most recent police

contact was initiated by police (table 4). Males (68%) were more likely than females (56%) to be the driver in a traffic stop, while females (22%) were more likely than males (11%) to be the passenger.

White persons (63%) were as likely as black persons (62%) but less likely than Asian persons (65%) to be the driver in a traffic stop during their most recent police contact. A smaller percentage of white persons (15%) than Asian persons (18%) or persons identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races (28% collectively) were most recently the passenger in a traffic stop. A smaller share of Hispanic persons (7%) than white persons (9%) most recently had contact with police during a street stop.

Table 4 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was police-initiated, by reason and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

Police-initiated most recent contact

Reason Traffic stop, drivera Traffic stop, passenger Street stopb Arrestedc Approached, otherd

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 21,837,200 100% 13,718,100 62.8% 3,468,300 15.9% 1,918,800 8.8% 268,600 1.2% 2,463,500 11.3%

Sex Male* 12,102,900 100% 8,267,700 68.3% 1,327,200 11.0% 1,077,600 8.9% 190,100 1.6% 1,240,300 10.2% Female 9,734,300 100% 5,450,500 56.0 † 2,141,000 22.0 † 841,200 8.6 78,500 0.8 1,223,200 12.6

Race/Hispanic origin Whitee* 14,376,600 100% 9,031,500 62.8% 2,127,300 14.8% 1,311,500 9.1% 177,300 1.2% 1,728,900 12.0% Blacke 2,484,900 100% 1,537,100 61.9 364,000 14.6 ‡ 252,300 10.2 43,100 1.7 288,300 11.6 Hispanic 3,179,600 100% 2,061,600 64.8 595,900 18.7 221,800 7.0 ‡ 36,100 1.1 264,200 8.3 Asiane 1,162,400 100% 759,900 65.4 † 206,100 17.7 † 79,500 6.8 : : 110,600 9.5 † Othere,f 633,700 100% 328,000 51.8 † 174,900 27.6 † 53,700 8.5 : : 71,500 11.3 †

Age 16–24* 4,742,000 100% 2,663,000 56.2% 1,243,500 26.2% 485,700 10.2% 55,600 1.2% 294,200 6.2% 25–44 8,964,400 100% 6,014,500 67.1 ‡ 1,208,000 13.5 726,900 8.1 126,100 1.4 888,900 9.9 † 45–64 5,839,500 100% 3,731,200 63.9 † 719,100 12.3 † 471,500 8.1 75,800 1.3 † 841,800 14.4 † 65 or older 2,291,400 100% 1,309,500 57.1 † 297,700 13.0 234,700 10.2 † : : 438,600 19.1 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 4 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aEstimates are based on the driving population, which was 234,321,518 in 2020. bIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. cIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. dIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. eExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). fIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Police-Public Contact Survey The 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) was conducted from January through June 2020. As a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the PPCS was administered at the end of the NCVS interview to persons ages 16 or older within households sampled for the NCVS (figure 2).

Households selected for the NCVS remain in the sample for 3.5 years, and eligible persons in these households are interviewed every 6 months, for a total of seven NCVS interviews. As part of standard procedures, new households entering the panel (incoming sample) are interviewed in person (personal visits). Households that have already been interviewed at least once (returning sample) are interviewed either in person or over the phone.

Due to increasing risks related to COVID-19, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau (who administers the survey for BJS), suspended all incoming sample interviews and shifted all returning sample interviews to telephone calls starting in mid-March 2020. Under normal circumstances, NCVS field representatives try to interview returning households by telephone first, and more returning households generally complete the survey by phone than in person. During data collection for the PPCS, since incoming sample interviews were suspended between mid March and June, most respondents were from returning households. Any effects from changing the mode of interview to telephone-only were minimal.

For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on the NCVS in 2020, see Criminal Victimization, 2020 (NCJ 301775, BJS, October 2021).

Figure 2 Police–Public Contact Survey Field Operations procedures, 2020

Jan ’20 Jun ’20May ’20Apr ’20Mar ’20Feb ’20

Suspended interviews for incoming sample

Phone-only interviews (returning sample) Normal field operations

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020

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Female drivers were more likely to be given a warning than male drivers

In 2020, about 10% of drivers in traffic stops experienced no enforcement action by police, while about 43% were given a warning and 43% were given a ticket (table 5). There were no statistically significant changes in outcomes for drivers in traffic stops from 2018 to 2020.

Female drivers (45% in 2018 and 46% in 2020) were more likely than male drivers (40% in 2018 and 41% in 2020) to be given a warning during a traffic stop, while male drivers (7% in 2018 and 6% in 2020) were more

likely than female drivers (2% each year) to be searched or arrested. There were no statistically significant differences by sex in the percentage of drivers who were given a ticket or experienced no enforcement action in 2018 and 2020.

In 2020, black drivers (15%) were more likely than white drivers (9%) to experience no enforcement action during their most recent traffic stop. Among those who did experience an action, white drivers (45% in 2018 and 47% in 2020) were more likely to be given a warning than drivers of any other race or Hispanic origin in 2018 and 2020. A higher percentage

Table 5 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was as a driver in a traffic stop, by enforcement action and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018a 2020b

Demographic characteristic Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Warningd Ticket Search/ arreste Warningd Ticket

Search/ arreste

Total 100% 9.4% 41.8% 44.1% 4.7% 100% 9.6% 43.2% 42.8% 4.3% Sex

Male* 100% 9.0% 39.7% 44.7% 6.7% 100% 10.2% 41.1% 43.1% 5.6% Female 100% 10.0 44.9 † 43.2 1.9 † 100% 8.9 46.4 † 42.4 2.4 †

Race/Hispanic origin Whitef* 100% 9.6% 45.5% 41.3% 3.6% 100% 9.0% 47.2% 39.9% 3.9% Blackf 100% 14.1 † 35.7 † 44.0 6.2 † 100% 14.7 † 34.3 † 45.4 5.6 Hispanic 100% 5.7 † 32.7 † 52.3 † 9.2 † 100% 8.4 36.4 † 49.6 † 5.6 Otherf,g 100% 7.2 36.7 † 52.5 † 3.6 100% 9.9 35.3 † 50.9 † 3.9

Age 16–24* 100% 6.5% 38.9% 48.2% 6.3% 100% 7.2% 44.3% 43.0% 5.5% 25–44 100% 8.6 ‡ 39.6 46.5 5.3 100% 8.4 41.1 45.4 5.1 45–64 100% 11.4 † 43.1 ‡ 41.6 † 3.9 † 100% 11.2 † 42.4 42.4 3.1 ‡ 65 or older 100% 12.9 † 54.0 † 31.8 † 1.4 † 100% 15.8 † 50.6 ‡ 31.6 † 2.0 †

Income $49,999

or less* 100% 9.6% 39.1% 44.4% 6.8% 100% 8.6% 44.2% 41.4% 5.8% $50,000–

$74,999 100% 12.6 † 43.1 ‡ 39.7 † 4.6 † 100% 11.5 ‡ 37.6 † 46.0 † 5.0 $75,000

or more 100% 7.7 † 43.7 † 45.8 2.8 † 100% 9.6 44.9 42.5 3.0 † Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and because enforcement action was unknown for some residents. See appendix table 5 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aDenominator excludes about 1.1% of residents in 2018 for whom enforcement action during the traffic stop was unknown. bDenominator excludes about 1.3% of residents in 2020 for whom enforcement action during the traffic stop was unknown. cThe most serious enforcement action was counted for residents who experienced more than one action. A warning was designated as the least serious, a ticket as the next most serious, and search or arrest as the most serious. dIncludes residents who received a written or verbal warning. e“Search” refers to residents who experienced a personal or vehicle search. fExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). gIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. hThe “$24,999 or less” category used in 2018 was combined with the “$25,000 to $49,999” category in 2020. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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of Hispanic persons (52% in 2018 and 50% in 2020) and persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races (52% in 2018 and 51% in 2020) received a ticket than white persons (41% in 2018 and 40% in 2020). Persons with household incomes of $49,000 or less were more likely to be searched or arrested in 2018 and 2020 than persons with household incomes of $75,000 or more.

The majority of persons whose most recent police contact was a street stop experienced no enforcement action

In 2020, the majority (75%) of U.S. residents whose most recent police contact was a street stop experienced no resulting enforcement action (table 6). Residents who did experience an enforcement action most often received a warning (16%), while being searched or arrested (5%) or given a ticket (3%) was

Table 6 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was a street stop, by enforcement action and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018a 2020b

Demographic characteristic Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Warningd Ticket Search/ arreste Warningd Ticket

Search/ arreste

Total 100% 72.2% 12.2% 2.7% 12.8% 100% 75.1% 16.3% 3.4% 5.2% Sex

Male* 100% 67.9% 11.8% 3.0% 17.3% 100% 68.3% 19.3% 3.8% 8.6% Female 100% 78.3 † 12.8 2.3 6.6 † 100% 83.2 † 12.8 † : :

Race/Hispanic origin Whitef* 100% 79.0% 11.0% 2.7% 7.4% 100% 77.4% 15.9% 3.7% 3.0% Blackf 100% 58.2 † 13.5 : 26.5 † 100% 63.4 ‡ 16.8 5.6 14.2 ‡ Hispanic 100% 62.5 † 13.7 : 19.7 † 100% 70.3 19.6 0.7 † : Otherf,g 100% 63.3 16.7 : 18.2 100% : : : :

Age 16–24* 100% 59.0% 19.8% 3.8% 17.4% 100% 62.8% 26.6% 5.8% 4.8% 25–44 100% 73.3 † 9.0 † 1.7 16.0 100% 78.6 † 9.9 † 3.2 8.3 45–64 100% 81.5 † 9.6 † 3.1 5.8 † 100% 82.1 † 14.1 † : 3.2 65 or older 100% 84.2 † 9.4 † : : 100% 76.1 ‡ 19.1 : :

Income $49,999 or

lessh* 100% 71.1% 9.1% 2.4% 17.4% 100% 72.3% 14.2% 4.9% 8.6% $50,000–

$74,999 100% 72.9 12.5 : 12.7 100% 76.0 21.7 ‡ : : $75,000 or

more 100% 73.5 16.6 † 3.6 6.2 † 100% 78.2 16.8 2.1 2.9 † Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and because enforcement action was unknown for some residents. See appendix table 6 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aDenominator excludes about 5.1% of residents in 2018 for whom enforcement action during the street stop was unknown. bDenominator excludes about 7.5% of residents in 2020 for whom enforcement action during the street stop was unknown. cThe most serious enforcement action was counted for residents who experienced more than one action. A warning was designated as the least serious, a ticket as the next most serious, and search or arrest as the most serious. dIncludes residents who received a written or verbal warning. e“Search” refers to residents who experienced a personal or vehicle search. fExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). gIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. hThe “$24,999 or less” category used in 2018 was combined with the “$25,000 to $49,999” category in 2020. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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less common. About 5% of residents were searched or arrested during their street stop in 2020, marking a nearly 60% decline from the 13% searched or arrested in 2018.

Females (78% in 2018 and 83% in 2020) were more likely than males (68% in both years) to experience no enforcement action during their street stop. A higher percentage of white persons (77%) than black persons (63%) experienced no enforcement action during their street stop in 2020. In both 2018 and 2020, persons ages 16 to 24 were less likely than any other age group to experience no enforcement action during a street stop.

Misconduct and threat or use of force

White persons were less likely than persons of any other race or Hispanic origin to experience police misconduct

U.S. residents who had police contact, except as part of a block watch or other anti-crime program, were asked if police behaved properly during their most recent contact. Residents who reported that police behaved improperly were asked follow-up questions about police behavior, including whether police called them a slur or degrading name, seemed motivated by prejudice or bias toward them, or spoke to or touched them in a sexual manner.

In 2020, about 1% of U.S. residents experienced such misconduct during their most recent contact with police (table 7). One percent felt police behaviors were motivated by prejudice or bias, and 0.1% said police called them a slur or degrading name. White persons (less than 1%) were less likely than black persons (5%), Hispanic persons (1%), or persons of another race (2%) to experience any type of police misconduct in 2020. A larger share of Hispanic (2%) and white (0.6%) persons experienced misconduct in 2018 than in 2020 (1% of Hispanic persons and 0.4% of white persons).There were no significant differences in the percentage of persons in 2018 and 2020 reporting that police called them a slur or degrading name or treated them with bias or prejudice.

Table 7 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact involved misconduct, by demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020 Any misconduct 1.2% 1.1%

Slura 0.2 0.1 Biasb 1.1 1.0 Sexual misconductc 0.1 :

Sex Male* 1.5% 1.2% Female 0.9 † 0.9

Race/Hispanic origin Whited* 0.6% 0.4% Blackd 4.4 † 4.7 † Hispanic 1.6 † 1.0 † Otherd,e 1.3 † 2.0 †

Age 16–24* 1.9% 1.4% 25–44 1.4 1.5 45–64 0.9 † 0.7 65 or older 0.3 † 0.3 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of misconduct. Includes residents who had any type of most recent police contact for any reason except as part of a block watch or other anti-crime program. Denominator includes about 0.2% of residents in 2018 and 0.2% in 2020 for whom police misconduct was missing. See appendix table 7 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aIncludes residents whom police called a slur or degrading name. bIncludes residents who felt that any police behavior during the contact was motivated by prejudice or bias due to their actual or perceived race or Hispanic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. cIncludes residents whom police made a sexual comment to, touched in a sexual way, or had any physical contact with that was sexual in nature. dExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). eIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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In 2020, black and Hispanic persons were more likely than white persons to experience the threat of force or nonfatal use of force by police

U.S. residents whose most recent contact was police- initiated or related to a traffic accident were asked whether the contact involved police shouting, cursing, or threatening the use of force or using nonfatal force. The use of force includes handcuffing, pushing or grabbing, hitting or kicking, using a chemical or pepper spray, using an electroshock weapon, pointing or shooting a gun, or using some other type of physical force.2,3 Threat of force, handcuffing, pushing or grabbing, hitting or kicking, and using a weapon were combined in this report to create overall estimates of the threat or use of force. 2Responses to questions about whether police threatened residents with a ticket or arrest were excluded from this report. 3Responses about use of chemical or pepper spray, an electroshock weapon, and some other type of physical force were combined during data processing due to disclosure concerns.

In 2020, approximately 4% of residents experienced some type of police action during their most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact, with 3% experiencing the threat or use of force (table 8). Persons most commonly experienced handcuffing (2.1%) or shouting (1.6%) by police. Residents were more likely to report that police displayed or used a weapon in 2018 than in 2020.

Black persons (7%) and Hispanic persons (5%) were more likely to experience at least one type of police action than white persons (3%) in 2020. Black (6%) and Hispanic (3%) persons were also more likely than white persons (2%) to experience the threat or use of force. Black persons (3%) were more likely to be shouted at by police than white persons (1%).

Table 8 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was police-initiated or related to a traffic accident, by race or Hispanic origin and police action, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020 Race/Hispanic origin Race/Hispanic origin

Total Whitea* Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Total Whitea* Blacka Hispanic Othera,b

Any police actionc,d 3.7% 2.7% 6.8% † 5.9% † 2.5% 3.7% 3.0% 7.0% † 4.5% † 2.6% Shouting 1.7% 1.2% 2.9% † 3.0% † 1.5% 1.6% 1.4% 3.1 % † 1.6% 1.4% Cursing 0.6% 0.5% 1.7% † 0.7% : 0.6% 0.5% 1.4% : : Threat/nonfatal use of forcee 2.8% 2.0% 5.3% † 4.8% † 1.9% 2.7% 2.1% 5.5 % † 3.4 % † 1.8%

Threat of force 0.7 0.5 2.0 † 1.2 ‡ : 0.6 0.3 2.2 † 0.8 ‡ : Handcuffingf 2.3 1.6 4.4 † 3.5 † 1.9 2.1 1.9 2.9 2.8 ‡ 1.7 Pushing/grabbing/hitting/

kicking 0.7 0.4 1.6 † 1.4 † 0.8 0.7 0.5 1.6 † 0.7 : Using weapon/other forceg 0.4 0.2 0.9 † 0.8 ‡ : 0.2 0.1 : 0.0h :

Note: Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of police action. See appendix table 8 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). bIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. cDenominator includes about 0.6% of residents in 2018 and 0.6% in 2020 for whom police action was missing. dIncludes shouting, cursing, threat of force, or use of nonfatal force. eIncludes residents whom police threatened with use of force, handcuffed, pushed or grabbed, hit or kicked, used a weapon on, or used any other physical force on. fWith or without arrest. gIncludes residents whom police used chemical or pepper spray on, used an electroshock weapon on, pointed or fired a gun at, or used some other type of physical force on. hValue indicates 95% statistical confidence that 0.00% to 0.36% of the Hispanic population experienced police use of a weapon, based on the sample of Hispanic respondents to the Police-Public Contact Survey. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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Hispanic persons were more likely than white persons to be handcuffed in both 2018 and 2020. There was no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of black (3%) and white (2%) persons being handcuffed in 2020, while black persons (4%) were more likely than white persons (2%) to be handcuffed in 2018. There were no other significant differences between 2018 and 2020 in the percentage of persons experiencing any type of police action.

Almost half of residents who experienced the threat or use of force felt police used excessive force

In both 2018 and 2020, about 3% of U.S. residents experienced the threat or use of force during their most recent police-initiated contact or contact related to a

traffic accident (table 9). The threat or use of force was more commonly experienced by those who were male (4%) than female (1%) in both years. It was also more commonly experienced by persons who were black (5% in 2018 and 6% in 2020) or Hispanic (5% in 2018 and 3% in 2020) than persons who were white (2% in both years). Persons ages 16 to 24 (4%) were twice as likely as those age 45 or older (2%) to report the threat or use of force in 2018 and 2020.

In 2020, about 31% of residents who were most recently involved in a police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact perceived police's threat or use of force as necessary, while 46% saw it as excessive. These percentages were not statistically different from 2018.

Table 9 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact involved the threat or nonfatal use of force, by perceptions of force and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020

Demographic characteristic

Police-initiated/ traffic accident- related contact

With threat/ nonfatal use of forcea

Perceived force asb— Police-initiated/ traffic accident- related contact

With threat/ nonfatal use of forcea

Perceived force asb— Necessaryc Excessived Necessaryc Excessived

Total 31,089,300 2.8% 27.5% 50.9% 27,961,700 2.7% 30.6% 45.9% Sex

Male* 16,569,300 4.2% 26.0% 52.9% 15,139,200 3.7% 30.4% 44.1% Female 14,520,000 1.1 † 34.0 42.5 12,822,500 1.4 † 31.5 51.4

Race/Hispanic origin

Whitee* 20,560,500 2.0% 31.7% 44.3% 18,302,000 2.1% 38.9% 37.7% Blacke 3,713,800 5.3 † 25.8 62.9 † 3,360,900 5.5 † : : Hispanic 4,534,400 4.8 † 16.9 † 53.7 3,979,700 3.4 † : : Othere,f 2,280,600 1.9 : : 2,319,100 1.8 : :

Age 16–24* 6,761,300 3.6% 18.3% 59.8% 5,921,900 3.8% : : 25–44 12,292,200 3.6 30.9 † 46.8 ‡ 11,150,400 3.1 38.6% 35.1% 45 or older 12,035,800 1.5 † 31.6 † 48.9 10,889,400 1.7 † 20.9 56.1

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 9 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aIncludes residents whom police threatened with use of force, handcuffed, pushed or grabbed, hit or kicked, used chemical or pepper spray on, used an electroshock weapon on, pointed or fired a gun at, or used some other type of physical force on. Denominator includes about 0.6% of residents in 2018 and 0.6% in 2020 for whom use of force was missing. bResidents could respond “yes” to the two survey questions about whether the force seemed necessary or excessive, “no” to both questions, or “yes” to one question and “no” to the other. cDenominator includes about 5.7% of residents in 2018 and 9.3% in 2020 who did not know if the force was necessary. dDenominator includes about 3.6% of residents in 2018 and 7.0% in 2020 who did not know if the force was excessive. eExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). fIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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Males were more likely than females to engage in at least one action toward police

U.S. residents were also asked about their own conduct or actions during their most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact. Those actions included complaining to the officer(s); verbal actions such as disobeying or verbally interfering, arguing with, cursing at, insulting, or verbally threatening the police officer(s); and physical actions such as trying to get away; resisting being handcuffed, searched, or arrested; or physically doing anything else to police.

An estimated 5% of residents engaged in at least one action toward police in 2020 (table 10). The most common action was complaining to police (4%), followed by verbal action (2%) and physical action (0.3%). Males (6%) were more likely than females (4%) and black persons (7%) were more likely than white persons (4%) to engage in at least one action toward police. Persons ages 16 to 24 (4%) were less likely than those ages 25 to 44 or ages 45 to 64 (5% each) to engage in an action toward police.

Table 10 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older who engaged in action toward police during their most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact, by demographic characteristics, 2020

Percent Any resident actiona 4.7%

Complaining 3.9 Verbal actionb 1.7 Physical actionc 0.3

Sex Male* 5.6% Female 3.6 †

Race/Hispanic origin Whited* 4.5% Blackd 7.0 † Hispanic 3.9 Otherd,e 4.0

Age 16–24* 3.5% 25–44 4.9 ‡ 45–64 5.2 † 65 or older 4.6

Note: Details may not sum to totals because residents could engage in more than one type of conduct or action toward police. See appendix table 10 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aDenominator includes 0.3% of residents for whom action toward police was missing. bIncludes residents who argued with, cursed at, insulted, verbally threatened, disobeyed, or verbally interfered with the officer(s) at any point during the contact. cIncludes residents who tried to get away; pushed or grabbed the officer(s); hit or kicked the officer(s); resisted being handcuffed, searched, or arrested; or physically did anything else at any point during the contact. dExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). eIncludes persons who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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Resident-initiated contact

Among U.S. residents who initiated their most recent contact with police in 2020, almost half (49%) did so to report a possible crime (table 11). Nearly a quarter (23%) did so to report a noncrime emergency, about another quarter (24%) did so to report a nonemergency or seek help for another reason, and 4% participated in a block watch or other anti-crime program.

Males (25%) were more likely than females (23%) to contact police to report a nonemergency or seek help for another reason. There were no other significant differences by sex in resident-initiated contact with

police. Black persons (51%) and Hispanic persons (56%) were more likely than white persons (47%) to have had their most recent resident-initiated contact with police be reporting of a crime. White persons (23%) were more likely than Hispanic persons (22%) to contact police to report a noncrime emergency. Persons ages 16 to 24 were more likely to have had their most recent resident-initiated contact with police to be reporting a possible crime (51%) than those ages 45 to 64 (49%) or those age 65 or older (41%).

Table 11 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was resident-initiated, by reason and demographic characteristics, 2020

Reason

Demographic characteristic

Resident-initiated most recent contact

Reported possible crime

Reported noncrime emergencya

Reported nonemergency/ sought help, otherb Block watch

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 25,798,200 100% 12,546,700 48.6% 6,003,200 23.3% 6,099,900 23.7% 1,148,400 4.4%

Sex Male* 11,582,400 100% 5,580,800 48.2% 2,623,800 22.7% 2,852,400 24.6% 525,400 4.5% Female 14,215,800 100% 6,965,900 49.0 3,379,400 23.8 3,247,500 22.8 † 623,000 4.4

Race/Hispanic origin Whitec* 18,309,500 100% 8,616,600 47.1% 4,263,200 23.3% 4,570,900 25.0% 858,800 4.7% Blackc 2,289,200 100% 1,172,000 51.2 ‡ 566,900 24.8 418,800 18.3 131,500 5.7 Hispanic 3,302,300 100% 1,837,400 55.6 † 735,100 22.3 † 663,400 20.1 † 66,500 2.0 † Asianc 1,065,100 100% 537,300 50.4 186,600 17.5 279,900 26.3 61,300 5.8 Otherc,d 832,000 100% 383,500 46.1 251,500 30.2 166,900 20.1 † 30,200 3.6 †

Age 16–24* 2,612,900 100% 1,333,100 51.0% 589,400 22.6% 630,000 24.1% 60,300 2.3% 25–44 9,608,200 100% 4,923,100 51.2 2,240,800 23.3 2,202,800 22.9 241,400 2.5 † 45–64 9,001,300 100% 4,413,100 49.0 † 1,975,400 21.9 † 2,131,200 23.7 † 481,600 5.4 † 65 or older 4,575,700 100% 1,877,300 41.0 † 1,197,500 26.2 † 1,135,900 24.8 † 365,000 8.0 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Denominator includes about 0.1% of residents whose most recent contact was missing due to recoding of contacts originally classified as “other-specify.” See Methodology. See appendix table 11 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aIncludes residents who reported a medical emergency or traffic accident that they witnessed but were not involved in. bIncludes residents who asked for directions, custody enforcement, a court order, or another nonemergency service and residents who contacted police for some other reason, such as accidentally calling 9-1-1 or setting off an alarm system, for animal control, or as part of the resident,s work as a first responder or volunteer. cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). dIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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The majority of residents who initiated police contact were satisfied with the police response

Residents who initiated their most recent contact with police (except as part of a block watch or other anti- crime program) were asked about their perception of police. Approximately 88% reported that they were satisfied with the police response, with 93% saying they would be more or as likely to contact police again in the future (table 12). About 84% of residents reported that police responded promptly. Males (93%) were more likely than females (90%) to report that police behaved properly.

White persons (89%) were the most likely racial or ethnic group to report being satisfied with the police

response. A higher percentage of white persons (94%) said they would be more or as likely to contact police in the future than black persons (89%) or persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races (87%).

The majority of residents (64%) reported that police improved the situation. Asian persons (56%) and persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races (53%) were less likely than white persons (64%) to believe that police improved the situation.

Table 12 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was resident-initiated for any reason excluding block watch, by perceptions of response and demographic characteristics, 2020

Resident-initiated most recent contact excluding block watch

Perceived police asa— Resident wasa— Demographic characteristic

Responding promptlyb

Improving the situationc

Behaving properlyd

Satisfied with police responsee

More/as likely to contact police in futuref

Total 9.5% 84.4% 63.6% 91.6% 88.1% 92.7% Sex

Male* 8.7% 85.0% 63.5% 93.1% 88.6% 93.0% Female 10.1 † 83.9 63.7 90.4 † 87.7 92.4

Race/Hispanic origin Whiteg* 10.7% 85.5% 63.8% 92.1% 89.4% 93.7% Blackg 6.9 † 85.0 67.3 90.5 86.1 † 89.1 † Hispanic 7.3 † 81.4 † 65.4 91.9 86.2 † 91.7 Asiang 6.2 † 80.9 ‡ 55.7 † 89.9 83.1 † 90.2 Otherg,h 13.7 † 76.8 † 52.5 † 85.1 † 78.9 † 86.9 †

Age 16–24* 6.8% 84.3% 65.5% 93.7% 88.7% 90.4% 25–44 10.8 † 83.7 62.1 90.5 † 86.9 92.3 45–64 10.4 † 84.7 63.6 91.7 88.5 93.0 65 or older 7.8 † 85.5 66.0 92.6 89.7 94.2 †

Note: Includes residents whose most recent police contact was resident-initiated for any reason except as part of a block watch or other anti-crime program. See appendix table 12 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aDenominator includes about 0.1% of residents whose perceptions of police were missing due to recoding of contacts originally classified as “other-specify.” See Methodology. bDenominator includes 2.9% of residents who did not know if the police responded promptly and 0.3% of residents for whom whether the police responded promptly was unknown. cDenominator includes 20.5% of residents who did not know if the situation improved and 0.4% of residents for whom whether the situation improved was unknown. dDenominator includes 3.8% of residents who did not know if the police behaved properly and 0.1% of residents for whom whether the police behaved properly was unknown. eDenominator includes 0.7% of residents who did not know if they were satisfied with the police response and 0.4% for whom satisfaction with the police was unknown. fDenominator includes 1.8% of residents who did not know if they would be more likely, less likely or just as likely to contact the police in the future and 0.4% of residents for whom contacting the police in the future was unknown. gExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). hIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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Methodology Data collection

The Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) is a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which the U.S. Census Bureau carries out for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS collects data on nonfatal crimes against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The NCVS sample includes persons living in group quarters (such as dormitories, rooming houses, and religious-group dwellings) and excludes persons living in military barracks and institutional settings (such as correctional or hospital facilities) and homeless persons.4

4For more information, see Methodology in Criminal Victimization, 2020 (NCJ 301775, BJS, October 2021).

Since 1999, the PPCS has been administered on a recurring basis. The 2015 PPCS was administered from July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015; the 2018 PPCS, from July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018; and the 2020 PPCS, from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. For the 2020 PPCS, persons age 16 or older in sampled NCVS households who successfully completed their NCVS interview by self-response received the PPCS at the end of the NCVS interview. The NCVS allows for proxy interviews in which another person can answer questions for a household member who is unable to participate in the interview due to a physical, mental, or other reason. NCVS proxy interviews are considered a response for the NCVS but are ineligible for the PPCS and are therefore considered PPCS nonresponses. For more information on proxy respondents, see National Crime Victimization Survey, 2016: Technical Documentation (NCJ 251442, BJS, December 2017).

Beginning with the 2015 PPCS, persons who completed their NCVS interview in a language other than English could complete the PPCS in the same language. All NCVS and PPCS interviews were conducted using computer-assisted personal interviewing by telephone or personal visit. Of the 125,900 NCVS-eligible respondents age 16 or older in 2020, approximately 95,300 completed the PPCS questionnaire, representing a response rate of 76%.

The combined unweighted PPCS unit response rate for NCVS households, NCVS persons, and PPCS persons was 50.8% (50.3% unweighted). PPCS

nonrespondents consisted of persons within an interviewed NCVS household who did not respond to the NCVS, NCVS proxy interviewees, persons who refused to participate in the PPCS, persons who were unavailable to complete the PPCS, and other nonrespondents. There were approximately 30,600 nonrespondents in 2020. Among all weighted persons age 16 or older in responding households, 21.1% did not self-respond to the NCVS and another 3.3% self-responded to the NCVS but did not respond to the PPCS. Because of the level of nonresponse, a bias analysis was conducted to compare distributions of respondents and nonrespondents and nonresponse estimates across various household and demographic characteristics. The analysis also examined the impact of any differences on key PPCS estimates.

The nonresponse bias analysis found significant differences in response rates and in respondent and nonrespondent distributions among different demographic subgroups. However, nonresponse weighting adjustments were expected to minimize these differences as the demographic subgroups were used in creating the adjustment. Model-based predicted estimates showed no evidence of nonresponse bias in any of the key estimates before or after nonresponse weighting adjustments. For more information on nonresponse bias analysis, see Source and Accuracy Statement for the 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey in the PPCS 2020 Codebook (https://www.icpsr.umich. edu/web/NACJD/series/95). For more information on weighting in the NCVS, see Nonresponse and weighting adjustments in this report and in National Crime Victimization Survey, 2016: Technical Documentation (NCJ 251442, BJS, December 2017).

To produce national estimates on police-public contacts, sample weights designed for the PPCS were applied to PPCS data so that respondents represented the entire population, including nonrespondents. PPCS weights were generated starting with the final NCVS person-weights for each sample case. A nonresponse adjustment was applied to PPCS respondents to reduce the effects of PPCS nonresponse. The nonresponse adjustment was based on characteristics believed to be correlated with police contacts, such as respondents’ place of residence, sex, race or Hispanic origin, age, and response propensities. The 2020 PPCS is the second implementation of the PPCS after the NCVS national weighting methods changed to produce weights for state-level estimates for the largest 22 states.

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The 2020 PPCS nonresponse weighting adjustment also adjusted weights within the largest 22 states or, for the remaining states, within the census region. The sample cases in 2020 were weighted by the PPCS weights to produce a national population estimate of 228,278,000 persons age 16 or older.

The 2020 NCVS weights included another adjustment to address the impact of modified field operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on modified field operations, see Criminal Victimization, 2020 (NCJ 301775, BJS, October 2021). Because supplements to the NCVS usually start with final NCVS person-weights as base weights, the weighting adjustments implemented for the core NCVS also affected the PPCS. Analysis conducted in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau determined that the PPCS estimates were comparable to past administrations of this supplement and any significant differences observed were due to a true change in the estimate rather than an impact of the data collection changes in the NCVS. The mean final PPCS weight was 2,072.

For more information on the weighting adjustments used for the NCVS and applied to the PPCS in 2020, see Source and Accuracy Statement for the 2020 National Crime Victimization Survey in the NCVS 2020 Codebook (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NACJD/ studies/38090/datadocumentation), Source and Accuracy Statement for the 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey in the PPCS 2020 Codebook (https://www.icpsr. umich.edu/web/NACJD/series/95), and National Crime Victimization Survey, 2016: Technical Documentation (NCJ 251442, BJS, December 2017).

Disclosure assessment

Prior to release of the PPCS data file, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Disclosure Review Board conducts a disclosure assessment to ensure that the file’s contents do not violate any disclosure avoidance measures. In coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau, BJS conducts a disclosure assessment prior to releasing the public-use file for the PPCS.

Race, age, and household income data come from the NCVS and are collapsed in the PPCS for disclosure reasons. Place size (population) categories are available in the 2015 PPCS data file but not the 2018 and 2020 PPCS data files. In addition, data that may have provided geographic information by inference were suppressed for purposes of confidentiality.

Imputation of household income

The U.S. Census Bureau’s sequential hot-deck procedure is used to impute missing or rejected values for household income of interviewed persons. For each missing value, the procedure assigns a value reported for a person with similar characteristics, also known as a donor record, or based on other known information about the individual. In addition, variables on the incident report may be allocated based on consistency edits with other variables. In 2020, the imputation rate for household income was 25.4%. For more information, see the Source and Accuracy Statement for the 2020 National Crime Victimization Survey in the NCVS 2020 Codebook (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ web/NACJD/studies/38090/datadocumentation).

Standard error computations

When national estimates are derived from a sample, as with the NCVS, caution must be used when comparing one estimate to another or when comparing estimates over time. Although one estimate may be larger than another, estimates based on a sample have some degree of sampling error. The sampling error of an estimate depends on several factors, including the amount of variation in responses and sample size. When the sampling error around an estimate is taken into account, estimates that appear different may not be statistically significant.

One measure of the sampling error associated with an estimate is the standard error. The standard error may vary from one estimate to the next. Generally, an estimate with a small standard error provides a more reliable approximation of the true value than an estimate with a larger standard error. Estimates with relatively large standard errors are associated with less precision and reliability and should be interpreted with caution.

For surveys with complex sample designs, such as the NCVS, there are several methods that can be used to generate standard errors around a point estimate (e.g., a number, percentage, or rate). In this report, the Taylor Series Linearization (TSL) method was used for variance estimation. The TSL method directly estimates variances through a linearized function by combining variance estimates from the stratum and primary sampling units (PSUs) used to sample households and

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persons.5 In the PPCS, the design parameters used for computing TSL variances were PSSTRATA (PSU stratum) and SECUCODE (self-representing strata).

BJS conducted statistical tests to determine whether differences in estimated numbers, percentages, and rates in this report were statistically significant once sampling error was taken into account. Using statistical analysis programs developed specifically for the NCVS, all comparisons in the text were tested for significance. The primary test procedure was the Student’s t-statistic, which tests the difference between two sample estimates. Findings described in this report as higher, lower, or different passed a test at either the 0.05 level (95% confidence level) or 0.10 level (90% confidence level) of significance. Tables in this report should be referenced for testing on specific findings.

Estimates and standard errors of the estimates provided in this report may be used to generate a confidence interval around the estimate as a measure of the margin of error. The following example illustrates how standard errors may be used to generate confidence intervals:

Based on the 2020 PPCS, an estimated 11.0% of male U.S. residents age 16 or older experienced some type of police-initiated contact during the year. (See table 1.) Using the TSL method of direct variance, a standard error of 0.27% was determined for the estimate. (See appendix table 2.) A confidence interval around the estimate was generated by multiplying the standard error by ± 1.96 (the t-score of a normal, two-tailed distribution that excludes 2.5% at either end of the distribution). Therefore, the 95% confidence interval around the 11.0% estimate is 11.0 ± (0.27 × 1.96), or (10.45% to 11.50%). In other words, if BJS used the same sampling method to select different samples and computed an interval estimate for each sample, it would expect the true population parameter (the percentage of males who experienced some type of police-initiated contact) to fall within the interval estimates 95% of the time.

5Woodruff, R. S. (1971). A simple method for approximating the variance of a complicated estimate. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 66(334), 411–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/01 621459.1971.10482279

For this report, BJS also calculated a coefficient of variation (CV) for all estimates, representing the ratio of the standard error to the estimate. CVs (not shown in tables) provide another measure of reliability and a means for comparing the precision of estimates across measures with differing levels or metrics.

Missing data for most recent contact

The PPCS screener was divided into two sections, with the first series of questions covering types of resident- initiated contact and the second covering types of police-initiated contact. For more information, see the questionnaire (https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ police-public-contact-survey-ppcs). After each series of questions, respondents were given the opportunity to report any other contacts that they were not already asked about. U.S. Census Bureau field representatives recorded all of these responses as “other-specify” text responses even though a large portion of them fit into preexisting categories. This process could have affected how respondents answered questions about the most recent contact. For the analysis of the 2015, 2018, and 2020 data, other-specify responses were recoded into the correct screener categories by U.S. Census Bureau data analysts when possible. Also, in some instances, respondents should have been administered the questions about the nature of their traffic or street stop but were skipped out of that series of questions. These respondents were counted in the total number of persons who experienced a traffic stop, but their answers were missing on all traffic stop questions, such as whether they were given a ticket. Missing data accounted for 2.8% of the most recent contacts in 2020.

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appendix Table 1 Standard errors for figure 1 and table 2: U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and reason, 2015, 2018, and 2020

2015 2018 2020 Type of contact and reason Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Any police contact 998,696 0.30% 1,073,740 0.30% 920,147 0.30% Police-initiated contact 617,902 0.20% 593,005 0.18% 604,274 0.21%

Traffic stop, driver 447,052 0.16 443,859 0.16 429,694 0.17 Traffic stop, passenger 223,034 0.08 186,564 0.07 199,780 0.07 Street stop 131,084 0.05 148,721 0.06 141,449 0.05 Arrested 67,043 0.03 43,045 0.02 52,277 0.02 Approached, other 106,102 0.04 151,032 0.05 146,034 0.05

Resident-initiated contact 560,931 0.19% 694,308 0.21% 559,191 0.19% Reported possible crime 383,674 0.13 412,694 0.13 344,493 0.12 Reported noncrime emergency 259,485 0.09 249,595 0.09 251,290 0.09 Reported nonemergency ~ ~ 286,859 0.10 256,140 0.09 Block watch 117,969 0.05 98,499 0.04 98,638 0.04 Sought help, other 105,856 0.04 49,544 0.02 32,151 0.01

Traffic accident 216,355 0.08% 232,308 0.08% 237,009 0.08% ~Not applicable. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2015, 2018, and 2020.

appendix Table 2 Standard errors for table 1: U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

U.S. residents age 16 or older

Any police contact Police-initiated contact

Resident-initiated contact Traffic accident

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 2,792,128 920,147 0.30% 604,274 0.21% 559,191 0.19% 237,009 0.08%

Sex Male 1,469,965 484,335 0.33% 361,207 0.27% 283,096 0.21% 158,328 0.12% Female 1,448,278 518,765 0.33 320,482 0.22 355,583 0.24 149,412 0.11

Race/Hispanic origin White 2,350,365 748,283 0.36% 470,181 0.25% 471,324 0.23% 176,080 0.10% Black 1,004,787 244,790 0.70 172,483 0.51 139,850 0.43 94,572 0.30 Hispanic 1,025,280 278,902 0.51 178,185 0.35 181,760 0.37 90,632 0.19 Asian 396,089 119,591 0.60 88,784 0.48 77,586 0.47 52,057 0.31 Other 276,507 130,626 1.58 88,313 1.24 82,872 1.10 40,587 0.66

Age 16–17 303,602 93,380 1.17% 75,748 0.94% 57,511 0.71% 44,600 0.56% 18–24 766,515 332,052 0.92 261,336 0.76 174,607 0.56 115,287 0.37 25–44 1,102,139 391,866 0.37 294,814 0.30 243,533 0.25 122,606 0.13 45–64 920,472 315,320 0.33 196,261 0.23 227,345 0.24 92,398 0.11 65 or older 700,177 210,441 0.33 102,095 0.19 165,935 0.27 64,142 0.11

Household income $49,999 or less 1,620,710 459,710 0.42% 312,262 0.29% 302,798 0.28% 132,033 0.13% $50,000–$74,999 886,471 286,358 0.01 212,001 0.42 192,036 0.35 74,126 0.16 $75,000 or more 1,558,933 525,141 0.36 318,682 0.24 320,723 0.24 158,859 0.13

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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appendix Table 3 Standard errors for table 3: U.S. residents age 16 or older whose police contact involved the threat or nonfatal use of force, by demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

Demographic characteristic

2018 2020

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of force

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of force

Number Percent Number Percent Total 1,073,740 81,519 0.13% 920,147 82,480 0.15%

Sex Male 594,950 68,306 0.22% 484,335 70,061 0.25% Female 575,107 34,660 0.11 518,765 41,171 0.15

Race/Hispanic origin White 882,891 50,964 0.12% 748,283 61,158 0.16% Black 242,562 34,872 0.54 244,790 47,044 0.77 Hispanic 276,436 34,110 0.41 278,902 25,920 0.34 Asian 116,720 12,620 0.51 119,591 10,863 0.42 Other 112,298 13,854 0.73 130,626 16,159 0.94

Age 16–17 69,978 13,215 1.15% 93,380 : : 18–24 305,767 47,055 0.53 332,052 48,640 0.62% 25–44 510,340 54,278 0.23 391,866 48,806 0.22 45–64 397,820 28,088 0.15 315,320 27,475 0.16 65 or older 219,460 8,182 0.09 210,441 15,919 0.20

:Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

appendix Table 4 Standard errors for table 4: U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was police-initiated, by reason and demographic characteristics, 2020

Police-initiated most recent contactDemographic

characteristic

Reason Traffic stop, driver Traffic stop, passenger Street stop Arrested Approached, other

Number Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 517,087 370,325 0.91% 163,843 0.63% 121,681 0.52% 42,716 0.19% 127,021 0.50%

Sex Male 318,002 254,042 1.03% 88,167 0.65% 75,423 0.59% 34,805 0.28% 90,264 0.71% Female 268,270 181,477 1.23 116,957 1.03 76,768 0.74 18,396 0.19 80,687 0.71

Race/Hispanic origin White 386,370 286,081 0.95% 105,157 0.68% 88,153 0.55% 34,651 0.24% 90,614 0.55% Black 156,686 109,835 2.11 44,865 1.55 37,850 1.48 15,609 0.62 49,470 1.77 Hispanic 164,107 130,557 2.07 62,160 1.59 31,333 1.03 10,600 0.34 38,272 1.12 Asian 83,571 72,856 3.51 33,858 2.66 21,134 1.79 : : 21,762 1.87 Other 78,279 41,227 5.42 48,318 5.33 15,217 2.46 : : 16,457 2.06

Age 16–24 253,676 165,663 1.84% 104,697 1.84% 61,355 1.17% 24,158 0.50% 56,586 1.09% 25–44 263,589 206,753 1.26 78,425 0.78 70,443 0.73 24,523 0.27 66,973 0.68 45–64 172,979 127,150 1.21 52,774 0.78 41,934 0.67 14,941 0.25 59,326 0.95 65 or older 95,984 66,887 1.88 28,884 1.13 32,668 1.28 : : 37,315 1.46

:Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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appendix Table 5 Standard errors for table 5: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was as a driver in a traffic stop, by enforcement action and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

Demographic characteristic

2018 2020 No enforcement action

Enforcement action No enforcement action

Enforcement action

Warning Ticket Search/ arrest Warning Ticket

Search/ arrest

Total 0.43% 0.83% 0.88% 0.34% 0.54% 0.89% 0.93% 0.39% Sex

Male 0.54% 0.90% 1.01% 0.55% 0.71% 1.20% 1.28% 0.57% Female 0.74 1.41 1.42 0.28 0.78 1.44 1.51 0.50

Race/Hispanic origin White 0.48% 1.02% 1.08% 0.31% 0.59% 1.03% 1.10% 0.43% Black 1.76 2.30 2.35 1.23 1.87 3.15 3.27 1.59 Hispanic 0.89 2.03 2.19 1.51 1.64 2.65 2.36 1.01 Other 1.63 3.05 3.11 1.08 1.86 2.95 3.14 1.38

Age 16–24 0.92% 2.22% 2.20% 1.01% 1.34% 2.56% 2.76% 1.15% 25–44 0.71 1.14 1.14 0.56 0.70 1.40 1.39 0.66 45–64 0.83 1.50 1.59 0.55 0.89 1.46 1.35 0.54 65 or older 1.33 2.22 2.26 0.47 1.61 2.53 2.40 0.77

Income $49,999 or less 0.69% 1.32% 1.46% 0.67% 0.82% 1.49% 1.70% 0.75% $50,000–$74,999 1.19 1.82 1.83 0.84 1.38 2.04 2.15 1.18 $75,000 or more 0.58 1.20 1.14 0.40 0.77 1.36 1.28 0.42

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

appendix Table 6 Standard errors for table 6: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was a street stop, by enforcement action and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020

Demographic characteristic

No enforcement action

Enforcement action No enforcement action

Enforcement action

Warning Ticket Search/ arrest Warning Ticket

Search/ arrest

Total 1.76% 1.09% 0.57% 1.55% 2.09% 1.54% 0.90% 1.37% Sex

Male 2.61% 1.56% 0.73% 2.26% 2.96% 2.23% 0.99% 2.36% Female 2.75 1.85 0.86 1.66 2.60 2.01 : :

Race/Hispanic origin White 1.68% 1.35% 0.68% 1.07% 2.12% 1.61% 1.26% 0.96% Black 6.33 3.60 : 6.68 7.73 5.80 1.81 6.08 Hispanic 5.50 4.10 : 4.93 8.24 6.23 0.08 : Other 9.92 3.62 : 8.72 : : : :

Age 16–24 4.07% 3.01% 1.33% 3.66% 4.98% 3.34% 2.80% 2.33% 25–44 2.99 1.85 0.73 2.46 3.44 1.96 1.12 2.89 45–64 2.71 2.12 1.28 1.45 3.46 3.40 : 1.12 65 or older 4.27 3.28 : : 5.45 5.09 : :

Income $49,999 or less 3.17% 1.35% 0.85% 2.87% 3.64% 2.53% 1.65% 2.61% $50,000–$74,999 3.81 2.18 : 3.32 4.06 3.72 : : $75,000 or more 2.66 2.50 0.84 1.39 3.13 3.10 1.01 1.10

:Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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appendix Table 7 Standard errors for table 7: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact involved misconduct, by demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020 Any misconduct 0.09% 0.11%

Slur 0.03 0.03 Bias 0.09 0.11 Sexual misconduct 0.03 :

Sex Male 0.15% 0.18% Female 0.10 0.12

Race/Hispanic origin White 0.07% 0.06% Black 0.61 0.82 Hispanic 0.26 0.23 Other 0.33 0.44

Age 16–24 0.33% 0.44% 25–44 0.15 0.21 45–64 0.12 0.11 65 or older 0.08 0.12

:Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

appendix Table 8 Standard errors for table 8: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was police- initiated or related to a traffic accident, by race or Hispanic origin and police action, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020 Race/Hispanic origin Race/Hispanic origin

Total White Black Hispanic Other Total White Black Hispanic Other Any police action 0.22% 0.22% 0.93% 0.78% 0.75% 0.28% 0.31% 1.28% 0.63% 0.70%

Shouting 0.16% 0.15% 0.56% 0.51% 0.57% 0.17% 0.20% 0.79% 0.40% 0.51% Cursing 0.11% 0.09% 0.58% 0.28% : 0.11% 0.12% 0.59% : : Threat/nonfatal use

of force 0.21% 0.20% 0.86% 0.72% 0.69% 0.25% 0.27% 1.20% 0.55% 0.61% Threat of force 0.12 0.10 0.62 0.39 : 0.11 0.07 0.68 0.31 : Handcuffing 0.19 0.17 0.79 0.65 0.69 0.22 0.26 0.74 0.51 0.60 Pushing/grabbing/

hitting/kicking 0.11 0.09 0.56 0.39 0.47 0.11 0.11 0.57 0.29 : Using weapon/

other force 0.09 0.06 0.33 0.31 : 0.08 0.05 : : : :Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

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appendix Table 9 Standard errors for table 9: U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact involved the threat or nonfatal use of force, by perceptions of force and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018 2020

Demographic characteristic

Police-initiated/ traffic accident- related contact

With threat/ nonfatal use of force

Perceived force as— Police-initiated/ traffic accident- related contact

With threat/ nonfatal use of force

Perceived force as— Necessary Excessive Necessary Excessive

Total 585,206 0.21% 2.40% 2.99% 601,390 0.25% 3.17% 3.50% Sex

Male 380,333 0.35% 2.61% 3.45% 367,019 0.39% 4.34% 4.86% Female 290,205 0.17 5.33 5.50 311,302 0.23 2.38 3.27

Race/Hispanic origin White 485,481 0.20% 3.08% 3.35% 448,981 0.27% 3.61% 3.50% Black 160,283 0.86 4.91 5.44 196,072 1.20 : : Hispanic 202,465 0.72 5.84 8.60 190,271 0.55 : : Other 99,888 0.69 : : 141,979 0.61 : :

Age 16–24 243,049 0.61% 4.32% 6.99% 282,661 0.75% : : 25–44 315,257 0.36 3.44 3.46 296,976 0.33 5.37% 4.65% 45 or older 263,432 0.19 4.34 4.57 240,408 0.24 4.65 5.53

:Not calculated. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

appendix Table 10 Standard errors for table 10: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older who engaged in action toward police during their most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact, by demographic characteristics, 2020

Percent Any resident action 0.26%

Complaining 0.23 Verbal action 0.15 Physical action 0.07

Sex Male 0.43% Female 0.32

Race/Hispanic origin White 0.30% Black 1.00 Hispanic 0.64 Other 0.86

Age 16–24 0.59% 25–44 0.42 45–64 0.51 65 or older 0.63

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

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appendix Table 11 Standard errors for table 11: U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was resident-initiated, by reason and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

Reason

Resident-initiated most recent contact

Reported possible crime

Reported noncrime emergency

Reported nonemergency/ sought help, other Block watch

Number Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 459,679 251,749 0.69% 195,496 0.57% 190,105 0.55% 84,715 0.32%

Sex Male 234,453 152,814 1.06% 120,268 0.89% 119,188 0.84% 48,880 0.42% Female 311,805 194,440 0.88 118,287 0.64 127,452 0.71 54,652 0.38

Race/Hispanic origin White 391,569 203,778 0.72% 163,403 0.65% 161,079 0.68% 73,221 0.39% Black 111,845 80,973 2.19 46,035 1.61 42,153 1.79 24,242 1.00 Hispanic 157,804 103,759 1.93 62,908 1.47 60,806 1.59 16,237 0.47 Asian 71,734 51,780 3.71 29,027 2.36 36,682 3.02 15,755 1.39 Other 75,699 50,936 4.13 44,447 3.83 26,911 3.28 9,831 1.27

Age 16–24 164,758 111,162 2.82% 70,372 2.36% 64,783 1.97% 27,382 1.01% 25–44 199,752 140,784 1.07 96,540 0.80 94,124 0.87 34,649 0.36 45–64 210,341 140,682 1.19 89,901 0.84 104,703 0.95 45,143 0.50 65 or older 153,669 79,440 1.20 72,650 1.21 62,379 1.06 34,711 0.73

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

appendix Table 12 Standard errors for table 12: Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was resident-initiated for any reason excluding block watch, by perceptions of response and demographic characteristics, 2020

Resident-initiated most recent contact excluding block watch

Demographic characteristic

Perceived police as— Resident was— Responding promptly

Improving the situation

Behaving properly

Satisfied with police response

More/as likely to contact police in future

Total 0.16% 0.54% 0.61% 0.35% 0.45% 0.38% Sex

Male 0.17% 0.77% 0.94% 0.46% 0.64% 0.51% Female 0.21 0.68 0.87 0.51 0.63 0.46

Race/Hispanic origin White 0.19% 0.55% 0.68% 0.36% 0.50% 0.39% Black 0.32 1.85 2.28 1.35 1.62 1.43 Hispanic 0.33 1.59 1.93 1.11 1.41 1.28 Asian 0.42 2.62 3.71 2.20 2.91 2.29 Other 1.10 3.79 4.08 3.02 3.84 2.65

Age 16–24 0.40% 1.95% 2.54% 1.08% 1.59% 1.52% 25–44 0.22 0.83 0.99 0.70 0.81 0.60 45–64 0.23 0.75 1.03 0.51 0.65 0.49 65 or older 0.24 1.05 1.43 0.66 0.80 0.61

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.

This report was written by Susannah N. Tapp and Elizabeth J. Davis. Alexandra Thompson and Stephanie Mueller verified the report.

David Fialkoff and Brigit Baron edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced the report.

November 2022, NCJ 304527

Office of Justice Programs Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice

www.ojp.gov