BJS Report Examines Perceptions of Police Conduct During Most Recent Contact

The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) 2011 Police- Public Contact Survey (PPCS) collects information on contact with police during a 12- month period. This survey examines involuntary contacts with police that occurred when the person was the driver of a motor vehicle (i.e., traffic stops) or when the person was stopped by the police while in a public place  (i.e., street stops), as well as variations in perceptions of police behavior and police legitimacy during traffic and street stops. A new report from the BJS examines findings from the PPCS. Specifically, the report found the following:

  • A greater percentage of black drivers (13%) than white (10%) and Hispanic (10%) drivers were pulled over in a traffic stop during their most recent contact with police.
  • Individuals involved in street stops were less likely (71%) than drivers in traffic stops (88%) to believe police behaved properly.
  • Of those individuals who were stopped by police, a smaller percentage of blacks than whites believed the police behaved properly during the stop.
  • Drivers were more likely to believe the reason for a traffic stop was legitimate if they were pulled over by an officer of the same race or ethnicity.
  • Black and Hispanic drivers were ticketed and searched at higher rates than White drivers.
  • The majority of persons who were searched or frisked during street stops did not believe the police had a legitimate reason for the search.

Read the full report here.