Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Contacts between Police
and the Public
Findings from the 1999 National Survey
In 1999 C
21% of U.S. residents had a contact with police
52% of contacts were in traffic stops
19% of contacts were to report a crime
Under 1% of contacts involved police use of force
10% of white drivers were stopped
12% of black drivers were stopped
9% of Hispanic drivers were stopped
84% of drivers considered stop legitimate
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20531
John Ashcroft
Attorney General
Office of Justice Programs
World Wide Web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov
Bureau of Justice Statistics
World Wide Web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
For information contact:
BJS Clearinghouse
1-800-732-3277
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Contacts between Police
and the Public
Findings from the 1999 National Survey
Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Steven K. Smith, Ph.D.
Matthew R. Durose
David J. Levin
BJS Statisticians
February 2001, NCJ 184957
U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Justice Statistics
BJS statisticians Patrick A. Langan, Lawrence A. Greenfeld,
Steven K. Smith, Matthew R. Durose, and David J. Levin
wrote this report. Mike Wajda, BJS student intern, coded
data from the interviewers’ forms. Robert J. Kaminski
provided information on the programs at the National Insti-
tute of Justice. Tom Hester and Ellen Goldberg edited and
produced the report. Maureen Henneberg provided review.
Numerous people made possible the development and
administration of the Police-Public Contact Survey. Staff
from the U.S. Census Bureau facilitated the final construc-
tion of the questionnaire, managed the field aspect of the
data collection, processed the data, and provided the
estimation specifications.
In addition, a panel of the American Statistical Association
met to review and discuss the