Provides detailed information on the nature and characteristics of face-to-face contacts between police and the public, including the reason for and outcome of the contact. The PPCS interviews a nationally representative sample of more than 60,000 residents age 16 or older as a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. The survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of a driver being pulled over in a traffic stop and the percentage of all contacts that involve the use of force by police.
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Police Public Contact Survey: A Supplement to the NCVS | ||
2008 PDF (83K) | 2005 PDF (136K) | 2002 PDF (169K) | 1999 PDF |
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The 2008 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) was conducted for the Bureau of Justice Statistics during the last 6 months of 2008 by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In 2008 the PPCS interviewed 57,978 of the 72,566 eligible individuals in the NCVS sample.
Among the PPCS interviews, 22,301 (38.5%) were conducted in person and 35,677 (61.5%) were by telephone. A total of 14,588 nonrespondents who were excluded from the 2008 PPCS as non-interviews or as proxy interviews. Non-interviews (12,803) included respondents not available for the interview, those who refused to participate, and non-English speaking respondents. (Unlike the NCVS interviews, PPCS interviews are conducted only in English.) The remaining 1,785 were proxy interviews representing household members who were unable to participate for physical, mental, or other reasons. After adjustment for nonresponse, the sample cases in 2008 were weighted to produce a national population estimate of 236,511,832 persons age 16 or older.
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Data Tables
Press Releases
Contacts between Police and the Public, 2008 Presents findings from a nationally representative survey of nearly 60,000 residents age 16 or older about their contact with police during the 12 months prior to the interview. | |
Press Release | PDF (932K) | ASCII file (48K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 51K) | Codebooks and Datasets Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series |
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Contacts between Police and the Public, 2005 Presents data over a 12-month period on the nature and characteristics of face-to-face contacts between residents of the U.S. and the police. The report also provides demographic and other characteristics of residents involved in traffic stops and use of force incidents. | |
Press Release | PDF (305K) | ASCII file (32K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 21K) | To order paper version Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series |
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Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 2002 Provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 2002 Police-Public Contact Survey, a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. | |
PDF (337K) | ASCII file (34K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 60K) | To order paper version |
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Contacts between Police and Public: Findings from the 2002 National Survey Presents data on the nature and characteristics of contacts between residents of the U.S. and the police over a 12-month period. | |
PDF (886K) | ASCII file (62K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 25K) | To order paper version Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series |
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Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 1999 Provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 1999 Police-Public Contact Survey. | |
PDF (198K) | ASCII file (48K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 145K) | Codebooks and Datasets |
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Contacts between Police and Public: Findings from the 1999 National Survey Presents data on the nature and characteristics of citizen contacts with the police over a 12-month period. | |
Press Release | PDF (451K) | ASCII file (100K) | Spreadsheet (549K) | Codebooks and Datasets Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series |
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