?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????BJS
SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2001
???????????????????202/307-0784?????????????????
?? FORCE OR THREATENED FORCE USED IN LESS
THAN 1 PERCENT
???????? OF ALL POLICE-PUBLIC INTERACTIONS
?????? Half of all Contacts with Law
Enforcement Officers are in Traffic Stops
WASHINGTON,
D.C. ?? An estimated 43.8 million people
16 years old or older, or about 21 percent of the population of that age, had
contact with the police during 1999, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS) announced today.? The
report on police-public contact noted that more than half of these face-to-face
interactions were in traffic stops.
In the bureau's
most comprehensive analysis of citizen-police contact, the analysis found? that less than 1 percent of these contacts
resulted in police force or threat of force.
An estimated 20 percent of such incidents involved only the threat to
use force.? Approximately 422,000 people
16 years old and older were estimated to have had contact with police in which
force or the threat of force was used during 1999.
Among blacks
and Hispanics, 2 percent reported force or threatened force, compared to just
under 1 percent among whites.
Fifty-seven percent of those involved in a police force situation
reported that they had argued, disobeyed or resisted or had been drinking or
using drugs at the time.
During 1999 an
estimated 10 percent of all licensed drivers, including almost 20 percent of
teenage drivers, were pulled over by law enforcement officers.? Eighty-four percent of the drivers said they
were stopped for a legitimate reason, and 90 percent said the police officers
had behaved properly during the stop.
Interaction
with the police arose for the following reasons in percentages:
Motor vehicle
stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52%*
To report a
crime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
To ask for
assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
To report a
neighborhood problem . .? 9
Involved in a
traffic accident . . . . . .?? 8
Witnessed a
traffic accident. . . . . . .?? 5
Witnessed a
crime. . . . . . . . . . . . . .??? 3
Questioned as a
crime suspect. . . . . . 3
Attended a
crime prevention meeting 1
Served with a
warrant. . . . . . . . . . . .? 1
------------------------------------------------
*Includes drivers
and passengers.? Total sums to more
?than 100 percent because some people cited
more
?than one reason for the contact.
An estimated 51
percent of the stopped drivers said they had been speeding,?
24 percent cited reckless driving, an
illegal turn, going through a red light, tailgating or some other traffic
violation.? An estimated 11 percent said
the police stopped them because of a burned out headlight, a loud muffler or
some other vehicular defect.? Nine
percent said they were stopped so police could check their registration,
insurance coverage, driver?s license or some
other record.? Two percent said they were stopped in a roadside check for drunk
drivers, and another 2 percent said police suspected them of something.
Of the
estimated 19.3 million stopped drivers in 1999, police issued tickets to 54
percent.? Among licensed drivers, an
estimated 10 percent of whites, 12 percent of blacks and 9 percent of Hispanics
were pulled over by police at least once during 1999.?? In 7 percent of the stops the driver or vehicle were searched.? Black and Hispanic motorists (11 percent
each) were more likely than whites (5 percent) to be physically searched or
have their vehicles searched.? In
almost 90 percent of such searches the
police found
no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.? Three
percent of the stops involved the police using handcuffs.
??????????? In 0.7 percent of the stops the
surveyors were told that force was used, and in 0.5 percent the survey
respondents alleged that excessive force was used.
The survey
was carried out during the last six months of 1999 among a nationally
representative sample of U.S. residents aged 16 and older.? More than 80,000 people took part.?? Sampling and interviewing was conducted for
BJS by the Bureau of the Census.
?The report, "Contacts between Police and
the Public--Findings from the 1999 National Survey" (NCJ-184957), was
prepared by BJS statisticians Patrick A. Langan, Lawrence A.
Greenfeld, Steven K. Smith, David J.
Levin and Matthew Durose.? Single copies
may be
obtained from the BJS fax-on-demand
system by dialing 301/519-5550, listening to the complete
menu and
selecting document number 229.
Or call the BJS clearinghouse number: 1-800-732-3277.? Fax orders for mail delivery to 410/792-4358.? The BJS Internet site is:
https://ojp.gov/bjs/
???????????? Additional criminal justice
materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs homepage at:
https://ojp.gov
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BJS01035 (L)??
After hours contact: Stu Smith at
301/983-9354