U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Characteristics of Drivers Stopped
by Police, 1999

Erica Leah Schmitt
Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D.  
Matthew R. Durose 

BJS Statisticians

March 2002, NCJ 191548

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This file is text only without graphics and many of the 
tables.  A Zip archive of the tables in this report in
spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including
tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cdsp99.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------

Lawrence A. Greenfeld 
Acting Director

BJS statisticians Erica Leah Schmitt, 
Patrick A. Langan, and Matthew R. Durose 
wrote this report. Tom Hester edited and
produced the report.

Numerous people made possible the development 
and administration of the Police-Public
Contact Survey.  Staff from the U.S. Census 
Bureau facilitated the final construction 
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 survey procedures and 
questionnaire and subsequently issued 
a report on its recommendations. 
Assembled by Mark Cohen, Vanderbilt 
University, the advisory group included 
the following scholars:  James Lynch, 
American University Professor of Justice, 
Law and Society; James Fyfe, Temple 
University Professor of Criminal Justice; 
Dennis Kenney, Director of Research at
the Police Executive Research Forum; 
Stephen Mastrofski, George Mason 
University Professor of Administration 
of Justice; and Joel Garner, Director of 
the Joint Center for Justice Studies. 
 
At the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 
Lee Giesbrecht and David Banks advised BJS 
analysts in use of the 1995 Nationwide
Personal Transportation Survey.

The International Association of Chiefs of 
Police, as well as other law enforcement 
executives and scholars, provided comments 
on the survey procedures and questionnaire.

Data presented in this report can be obtained 
from the National Archive of Criminal Justice 
Data at the University of Michigan, 
1-800-999-0960.  Data in the archive can be 
accessed through the BJS website. 

Electronic versions of this and other reports 
are available from the BJS Internet site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

Contents 

Foreword
Highlights
Characteristics of drivers 
stopped by police
Likelihood of drivers being stopped
Driver opinion on being stopped
Reason for traffic stop
Police searches
Police use of force
Appendix
Methodology

Questionnaire

Foreword

The Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 mandates
an annual report on the topic of
police use of excessive force.  In
partial response to the mandate,
the Bureau of Justice Statistics
initiated the Survey of Police-Public
Contact in 1999.  

In the national study U.S. residents
age 16 or older were asked about any 
face-to-face contacts they may have had 
with police during 1999. The survey was 
carried out to document how many residents 
have such contacts, what the nature of 
these contacts was, whether police used 
force at any time during the contact, and 
(if so) whether the resident considered 
the force to be "excessive."

Based on interviews with a sample of 
80,543 persons (representing just over 
209 million residents nationwide), the 
survey found that 1 in 5 Americans had a
face-to-face contact with police in
1999.  Many of these contacts occurred 
when people went to police to report a 
crime, to get help, or to let police know 
about a problem in their neighborhood.

Among the different reasons why residents 
had contact with police, the most frequent 
one was traffic stops. This report examines 
in some detail the incidence and prevalence 
of traffic stops and the role of traffic 
stops in understanding use of force contacts 
between citizens and law enforcement officers. 

Traffic stops accounted for fully 52% of all 
police contacts in 1999. An estimated 19.3 
million residents -- or about 1 in 10 licensed 
drivers -- were pulled over by police while
driving a motor vehicle.  Just over half of 
all traffic stops were for speeding.

Of all the drivers stopped, 54% were ticketed, 
6.6% were searched, 3% were arrested, seven-
tenths of 1% (an estimated 139,300 stopped 
drivers) had some type of force used against
them by police, and one-half of 1% (an estimated 
100,000 stopped drivers) had "excessive" force 
used against them.

In addition to traffic stops, the survey 
also asked respondents about any police use 
of force which they experienced in other,
non-traffic contacts with police. According 
to the survey, police had used some type of 
force against an estimated 421,700 persons.  
The 421,700 consisted of 139,300 against whom 
the force occurred during a traffic stop 
(33% of the total), plus 282,400 against whom
the force occurred during some other type of 
contact (such as reporting a crime to police, 
being a witness to or involved in a crime,
and so forth). 

Police had used "excessive" force against 
321,000 persons, as estimated from survey 
results.  The 321,000 consisted of 100,000
against whom the "excessive" force occurred 
during a traffic stop (31% of the total), 
plus 221,000 against whom the force occurred
during some other type of face-to-face contact.

Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Acting Director
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Highlights

General characteristics of
drivers stopped by police in
1999

*  The 1999 U.S. population totaled 
209.4 million persons age 16 or older.  
An estimated 89% of the population, or 
186.3 million, were licensed drivers. 
Also in 1999, 19.3 million drivers age 
16 or older, or 10.3% of all drivers, 
were stopped by police.

*  Among drivers age 16-24, blacks 
(17.1%) did not differ significantly 
from either whites (20.1%) or Hispanics 
(15.5%) in the probability of being 
stopped. White drivers age 16-24 were
somewhat more likely than their Hispanic 
counterparts to be pulled over.

*  The average number of stops was greater 
for young black males (2.7) than young 
white males (1.7) and marginally greater 
than for young Hispanic males (1.8).

Drivers' opinions of the
legitimacy of the stops

*  Both blacks (74.0%) and Hispanics (81.6%) 
were less likely than whites (86.0%) to feel
they were stopped by police for a legitimate 
reason.

*  Of drivers stopped more than once, whites 
(84.4%) were more likely than both blacks 
(70.2%) and Hispanics (70%) to feel the stop 
was legitimate.

*  Among male drivers age 16-24, blacks 
(75.7%) were not significantly less likely 
than whites (83.2%) or Hispanics (76.0%) 
to feel the stops were legitimate.

Reason for traffic stop

*  Few drivers were not informed of the 
reason for being stopped by police. No 
significant differences were found between
white (1.5%), black (2.0%), or Hispanic 
(1.2%) drivers in the likelihood of being 
informed by the officer of the reason for 
the traffic stop.

*  Males stopped for speeding were more 
likely to be ticketed (70.3%) than females 
(66.5%).   

*  Drivers age 16-24 who were stopped for 
speeding were ticketed (73.6%) more often
than drivers over 24 (66.8%).

*  Among drivers stopped for speeding, 
blacks (75.7%) and Hispanics (79.4%) were 
more likely than whites (66.6%) to be 
ticketed.

Searches conducted by police
during traffic stops

*  In 1999, 6.6% of traffic stops involved 
a search of the driver, the vehicle, or 
both.

*  Police were more likely to conduct a 
search of the vehicle and/or driver in 
traffic stops involving black male drivers
(15.9%) or Hispanic male drivers (14.2%), 
compared to white male drivers (7.9%).

*  Of the nearly 1.3 million searches of 
vehicles and/or drivers conducted following
traffic stops in 1999, 37% were accompanied 
by an arrest of the driver.  

Police use of force in traffic
stops and in other situations

*  Approximately 422,000 persons age 16 or 
older said the police used or threatened 
to use force against them at least once
during 1999.  

*  Traffic stops accounted for 139,000 
police use of force incidents, 33% of the
422,000 incident total.

*  Of the 139,000 force contacts that occurred 
during a traffic stop, the majority involved a
male driver (98.2% of those contacts). Males 
accounted for 81.4% of the remaining 282,00
force contacts that occurred at times other 
than a traffic stop.

*  Persons under 25 were involved in just 
over half of all force contacts with police 
in 1999.

*  Most (76.1%) of the 422,000 people involved 
in a police use of force incident said the 
force was excessive.

Characteristics of drivers
stopped by police

The 1999 U.S. population totaled 209.4 million 
persons age 16 or older. An estimated 89% of 
the population, or 186.3 million, were licensed 
drivers.

Also in 1999, 19.3 million drivers age 16 or 
older were stopped by police.

Driver gender

The 186.3 million licensed drivers were almost 
evenly split among males (50.4%) and females 
(49.6%).

By contrast, of the 19.3 million drivers stopped 
in 1999, 60.8% were male and 39.2% were female.

Driver age

Persons over 24 years of age were the majority 
of licensed drivers (85.5%), as well as the
majority involved in a traffic stop
(73.5%).

Driver race/ethnicity 

Whites were 76.7% of licensed drivers and 77% 
of drivers stopped by police in 1999. Blacks 
were 9.8% of licensed drivers, but 11.6% of 
stopped drivers, while Hispanics accounted for 
9.9% of licensed drivers and 8.4% of stopped
drivers. An additional 3.6% of licensed drivers 
were persons of other races, who were also 3%
of drivers stopped by police.

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Young white males (those age 16-24) were 5.2% 
of licensed drivers and 12.3% of the 19.3
million drivers pulled over by police. Young 
black males accounted for 0.8% of licensed
drivers and 1.6% of traffic stops, while young 
Hispanic males were 1.1% of licensed drivers
and 2% of stopped drivers. Young males of 
other races formed 0.4% of persons with a
license and 0.6% of drivers involved in a 
traffic stop.

Likelihood of drivers being
stopped

Nationwide, 19.3 million drivers -- 10.3% of 
the 186.3 million licensed drivers -- were 
pulled over by police at least one time in 
1999 while driving a motor vehicle. Of the 
19.3 million drivers stopped by police in
1999, approximately 4 million were pulled 
over 2 or more times. These 4 million drivers
made up 2.1% of the total number of licensed 
drivers in the United States.

Driver gender

Males (12.5%) were more likely than females 
(8.2%) to be stopped at least once, and males 
(2.9%) were also more likely than females 
(1.4%) to be stopped more than once.

Driver age

Compared to drivers over age 24 (8.9%), those 
16 to 24 (18.9%) had a greater overall like-
lihood of being pulled over by police and a 
greater likelihood of being stopped more than 
once (6% of drivers age 16-24 versus 1.5% of 
those over 24).

Driver race/ethnicity

Black drivers were somewhat more likely than 
white drivers to be stopped at least once (12.3%
of blacks versus 10.4% of whites).  Blacks were
significantly more likely than both Hispanics 
(8.8%) and drivers of other races (8.7%) to
be stopped at least once.  There was also some 
indication that black drivers (3.0%) were more
likely than both white drivers (2.1%) and Hispanic 
drivers (2%) to be stopped more than
once.

------------------------------------
Racial differences in traffic stops 
may not signal racial profiling 

To form evidence of racial profiling, 
the survey would have to show (all 
other things being equal) -- 

Blacks and/or Hispanics were no more 
likely than whites to violate traffic 
laws, and Police pulled over blacks 
and/or Hispanics at a higher rate than
whites.

Because the survey has information only 
on how often persons of difference races 
are stopped, not on how often they actually 
break traffic laws, analysis of data from 
the 1999 Police-Public Contact Survey
cannot determine whether or to what extent 
racial profiling exists
------------------------------------------

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Among persons age 16-24 -- 

*  blacks (17.1%) did not differ significantly 
from either whites (20.1%) or Hispanics (15.5%) 
in the probability of being stopped

*  whites (20.1%) were somewhat more likely than
Hispanics (15.5%) to be pulled over

*  no significant differences by race were found 
in the probability of being stopped more than 
once.

Among persons over age 24 --

*  blacks (11.2%) were significantly more likely 
than whites (8.9%) to be pulled over and somewhat 
more likely than Hispanics (7.8%)

*  blacks (2.2%) were significantly more likely 
than Hispanics (1.3%) and somewhat more likely 
than whites (1.5%) to be stopped more than once 
by police.     

Among male drivers over age 24 --

*  blacks (13.8%) were more likely than 
whites (10.7%) and Hispanics (10%) to be 
stopped by police in 1999 

*  blacks (3.2%) were more likely than whites 
(2%) and somewhat more likely than Hispanic 
(1.8%) to be stopped more than one time.

Among female drivers over age 24--

*  whites (7.1%) and blacks (8.7%) were more 
likely than Hispanics (5.4%) to be pulled
over at least once 

*  blacks (8.7%) were more likely to be stopped 
than whites (7.1%)

*  the likelihood of being stopped more than 
once during 1999 did not differ significantly 
between the races.

Average number of traffic
stops

Police stopped an estimated 19.3 million 
drivers at least once in 1999, and some of the 
19.3 million were stopped more than once. The 
19.3 million drivers experienced altogether 27
million traffic stops during the year. On 
average, 1.4 traffic stops per stopped driver
occurred in 1999.

The average number of stops was --

*  greater for males (1.5) than females

*  greater for 16-24 year-olds (1.7)

*  greater for young black males (2.7) than 
young  white males (1.7)

*  marginally greater for young black males 
(2.7) than young Hispanic males (1.8.).

Driver opinion on being
stopped

An estimated 84% of drivers stopped by police, 
or 16.2 million drivers, felt they were pulled 
over for a legitimate reason.  While the 
majority of drivers felt the police were
justified in stopping them, opinion was not 
uniform across different segments of the
population.

Driver gender  

Males (82.3%) were less likely than females 
(87.3%) to feel the stop was for a legitimate 
reason.

Males who were stopped once (83.7%) were more 
likely to feel the stop was legitimate than
males stopped more than one time during 1999 
(78.2%).

Driver opinion on being stopped did not differ 
significantly for females stopped once (87.2%)
and females stopped more than once (87.7%).

Driver age

The percentage of drivers who felt they were 
stopped for a legitimate reason did not differ
significantly between those 16-to-24 years of 
age (83.5%) and those over 24 (84.6%).

Drivers under age 25 and stopped multiple times 
(78.2%) were less likely than drivers over
24 (83.5%) to feel the stop was legitimate.

Among persons age 16-24 --

*  drivers stopped once (86.2%) were more 
likely to feel the stop was legitimate than 
those stopped more than one time (78.2%).

Among persons over age 24 -- 

*  the opinion of drivers stopped once 
(84.8%) did not differ significantly from 
those stopped two or more times (83.5%).

Driver race/ethnicity

Both blacks (74.0%) and Hispanics (81.6%) were 
less likely than whites (86%) to feel they were 
stopped by police for a legitimate reason. Drivers 
of other races (84.6%) were not less likely than 
whites to feel the stop was legitimate.

There was no significant difference in driver 
opinion between blacks stopped once (75.1%) and 
blacks stopped more than once (70.2%).  

Of drivers stopped one time --

*  blacks (75.1%) were less likely than whites 
(86.5%), Hispanics (84.9%) and drivers of other 
races (85%) to report feeling that the stop was
legitimate.

Of drivers stopped more than once --

*  whites (84.4%) were more likely than both 
blacks (70.2%) and Hispanics (70%) to feel the
stop was legitimate

*  drivers of other races (84.4%) were somewhat 
more likely to report that the stop was 
legitimate than black (70.2%) drivers.

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Among male drivers age 16-24 --

*  blacks (75.7%) were not significantly less 
likely than whites (83.2%) or Hispanics (76.0%) 
to feel the stop was legitimate 

*  a marginally greater percentage of whites 
(83.2%) felt the stop was legitimate than
Hispanics (76%)

*  Hispanics stopped more than one time (62.7%) 
were somewhat less likely to feel the stop was 
legitimate than whites (78.7%).

Among male drivers over age 24 --

*  the opinions of blacks (73.1%) did not differ 
significantly from Hispanics (79.4%)

*  whites (84.3%) were significantly more likely 
to feel the stop was legitimate than blacks 
(73.1%)

*  whites (84.3%) had a somewhat better opinion 
of the traffic stop than Hispanics (79.4%)

*  black (68%) and Hispanic (65.3%) drivers 
stopped two or more times were less likely to
feel the stop was legitimate than white 
drivers (83.5%) stopped two or more times. 

Reason for traffic stop

Drivers not informed of reason 
for traffic stop

A relatively small percentage of stopped 
drivers (1.6%) said that police did not give 
them a reason for pulling them over. 

Driver gender

The percentage of males and females (1.6% each) 
who were not given a reason for the traffic
stop did not differ.

Driver age

A slightly larger percentage of drivers age 25 
or older (1.7%) were not informed of the reason
for the stop than drivers under 25 (1.2%).

Driver race/ethnicity

No significant differences were found between 
white (1.5%), black (2.0%) or Hispanic (1.2%)
drivers in the likelihood of being informed of 
the reason for the traffic stop.

-----------------------------------------
Driver opinion and reason 
for traffic stop  

In the 1999 survey, stopped drivers 
were asked whether, in their opinion, 
they had been stopped for a legitimate 
reason. Survey results indicate that
driver opinion on the legitimacy
of the traffic stop often depended 
on the reason the police gave for 
stopping the vehicle.    

Drivers stopped for speeding
(51.2% of all stopped drivers)
and drivers pulled over for a
record/roadside check (11.5% of
stopped drivers) were more likely 
to say they felt the traffic
stop was legitimate (89.7% and
89.1%, respectively) than drivers 
stopped for other reasons.  

Drivers stopped for a vehicle
defect (11.4% of traffic stops)
were less likely to feel the stop
was legitimate (84.4%) than those 
stopped for speeding or a record/
roadside check.

Persons pulled over for some other 
traffic offense (seat belt violation, 
illegal turn, running a red light, 
etc.) constituted 22.7% of drivers 
stopped.  These drivers were less 
likely (73.1%) than those stopped for
speeding, a record/roadside check, or 
a vehicle defect to hold the opinion 
that the stop was legitimate.

Relatively few drivers (3.2%) reported 
"Other" as the reason for the stop, 
which includes those who stated that 
police were providing a service, police
were investigating a crime, they were 
being harassed by police, and other 
miscellaneous reasons.  A smaller 
percentage of drivers in this category
(57.5%) felt the traffic stop was
legitimate.

                                     Drivers who felt
                                     traffic stop was
Reason police gave for               legitimate
traffic stop                Percent
 
Total                       100.0%         84.3%
 
Speeding                     51.2%         89.7%
Roadside/record check        11.5          89.1
Vehicle defect               11.4          84.4
Other traffic offense        22.7          73.1
Other                         3.2          57.5
-----------------------------------------------

Speeding

The majority of drivers (51.2%) reported 
speeding as the reason they were stopped by 
police in 1999.  These 9.9 million drivers 
constitute 5.3% of the 186.3 million licensed 
drivers in the United States.  

Of the 9.9 million drivers stopped for 
speeding --

*  males constituted 58.6% of stopped speeders, 
and females were 41.4%

*  drivers age 16-24 were 27.9% of stopped 
speeders, and those over age 24, the remaining
72.1% 
  
*  white drivers accounted for 80.5% of persons 
stopped for speeding; blacks, 9.8%; and Hispanics, 
6.9%. (These findings are not shown in a table.)

Driver gender  

Of the Nation's 93.8 million male drivers, 6.2% 
were stopped for speeding.  That percentage is
greater than the 4.4% of the Nation's 92.2 
million female drivers. 

Female drivers pulled over by police were more 
likely to report that speeding was the reason
for the traffic stop than stopped male drivers.  
Of the 7.5 million female drivers stopped by
police, more than half (54.1%) said speeding was 
the reason. This percentage is greater than the 
figure for the 11.7 million male drivers stopped 
by police (49.4% or 5.8 million).

Driver age  

Of the 27.1 million licensed drivers between ages 
16 and 24, 10.2% were stopped for speeding.  
That percentage is greater than the 4.5% of 
the 159.3 million licensed drivers age 25 or 
older.

Younger drivers were more likely to report 
being stopped for speeding than drivers over 
24. Of the 27.1 million drivers under 25, 5.1 
million were pulled over by police in 1999. 
Of the 5.1 million stopped drivers, 53.9%
(2.8 million) said speeding was the reason. 
This percentage is greater than the comparable
figure for stopped drivers over age 24 (50.3% 
of the 14.2 million stopped drivers, or 7.1
million).

Driver race/ethnicity

Of the 18.3 million licensed drivers who are 
Hispanic, 3.7% were stopped for speeding. 
That percentage is less than the 5.6% of the 
142.8 million licensed white drivers and the
5.3% of the 18.1 million licensed black drivers 
in the United States.

Of the 14.8 million white drivers stopped by 
police, 53.7% gave "speeding" as the reason. 
That percentage is greater than the 43.4% of 
the 2.2 million black drivers stopped, and 
marginally greater than the 42.1% of the
1.6 million Hispanic drivers stopped.

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Among drivers age 16-24 --

*  Of the 9.8 million younger white male 
drivers, 12.6% were stopped for speeding.  
That percentage does differ significantly 
from the 9.8% of the 9.3 million younger 
white female drivers stopped for speeding.

*  White female drivers stopped by police 
(62.5%) were more likely to report being 
stopped for speeding than stopped white
male drivers (51.7%)

*  White male drivers (12.6%) had a greater 
likelihood of being stopped for speeding than
Hispanic male drivers (7.9%). This difference 
also exists for white female drivers (9.8%)
compared to Hispanic female drivers (5.3%)

*  White male (51.7%) and white female 
(62.5%) drivers stopped by police were more 
likely than their respective Hispanic male
(40.3%) and Hispanic female (48.1%) 
counterparts to report speeding as the reason 
for being stopped.

Drivers                   Percent of --
age 16-24
stopped for         All drivers   All licensed
speeding            stopped        drivers
 
Males
 White               51.7%           12.6%
 Black               50.6            10.1
 Hispanic            40.3             7.9
Females
 White               62.5%            9.8%
 Black               64.7             9.4
 Hispanic            48.1             5.3

Drivers stopped for speeding
who were ticketed

Overall, 54.2% of stopped drivers were issued 
a ticket. Among drivers stopped for speeding, 
the percentage ticketed was greater: 68.7%. 
This percentage does not necessarily indicate 
that speeders who were ticketed were actually 
ticketed for speeding.  The 1999 Police-Public 
Contact Survey did not ask respondents who
were ticketed to identify the specific reason 
for receiving the ticket.

A driver could have been stopped for speeding, 
yet was ticketed for a different reason, such 
as a broken headlight or failure to wear a seat 
belt. The analysis can only determine the reason 
a ticketed driver was pulled over, not the 
reason the police had for issuing the ticket.

Driver gender   

Males (70.3%) stopped for speeding were more 
likely to be ticketed than females (66.5%). 

Driver age   

Drivers age 16-24 (73.6%) who were stopped for 
speeding were ticketed more often than drivers
over 24 (66.8%).

Driver race/ethnicity   

Black (75.7%) and Hispanic (79.4%) drivers 
stopped for speeding were more likely than
white (66.6%) speeders to be ticketed.

Put another way: Blacks were 9.8% of drivers 
stopped for speeding but 10.8% of ticketed
speeders. Hispanics were 6.9% of those pulled 
over for speeding but 7.9% of ticketed
speeders.  Whites were 80.5% of drivers stopped 
for speeding and 78.0% of ticketed speeders. 
(These findings are not shown in a table.)

------------------------------------------
Issuing tickets to young male 
and young female drivers

Overall, male drivers stopped for speeding 
were more likely to receive a traffic ticket 
from police than female speeders. However, 
among drivers age 16 to 24 stopped for 
speeding, males were not more likely than
females to be ticketed.

Among drivers age 16-24 --

*  White male speeders (71.2%) were not more 
likely than white female speeders (72.5%) to 
be ticketed

*  Black male speeders (81.5%) were not more 
likely than black female speeders (79.9%) to 
be issued a ticket.

*  Hispanic male drivers (92.4%) stopped for 
speeding were more likely to be ticketed than
Hispanic female speeders (69.1%).

Drivers age
16-24 stopped      Percent who
for speeding       were ticketed
 
Males
 White                 71.2%
 Black                 81.5
 Hispanic              92.4
 
Females
 White                 72.5%
 Black                 79.9
 Hispanic              69.1
------------------------------------------

During a traffic stop, the police sometimes 
conduct a search of the vehicle, the driver, 
or both the vehicle and the driver. In 1999, 
6.6% of traffic stops involved a search of 
the driver, the vehicle, or both. Of the
nearly 1.3 million drivers searched, 35% 
experienced a search of the vehicle only, 
20% experienced a search of the driver only, 
and the remaining 45% experienced a search of
both the vehicle and the driver.

Searching the driver, vehicle,
or both

Driver gender

Stopped male drivers (9.4%) were more likely to 
undergo a vehicle and/or personal search than 
stopped females (2.3%).

Driver age

Drivers age 16-24 (10.8%) stopped by police were 
more likely to have their vehicle and/or person 
searched than stopped drivers over age 24 (5.1%).

Driver race/ethnicity

Stopped black (11%) and stopped Hispanic (11.3%)
drivers were more likely to undergo one or both 
forms of search than stopped white (5.4%) drivers 
or drivers of other races (6.5%).

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Police were more likely to conduct a search of 
the vehicle and/or driver in traffic stops
involving male drivers who were black (15.9%) 
or of Hispanic origin (14.2%), compared to white 
male drivers (7.9%). (Not shown in a table.)

Among male drivers age 16-24--

*  the percentage of stopped blacks (17.2%) who 
had their vehicle and/or person searched did not 
differ significantly from either whites (13.7%) 
or Hispanics (19.7%)

*  Hispanic drivers (19.7%) stopped by police 
were somewhat more likely to undergo one or both 
forms of search than whites (13.7%).

Among male drivers over age 24 --

*  both stopped blacks (15.5%) and stopped 
Hispanics (11.1%) were more likely to be 
searched than stopped whites (5.8%)

*  black and Hispanic drivers were 5.3% and 
3.7%, respectively, of all drivers stopped by 
police and accounted for 12.5% and 6.1%,
respectively, of drivers who had their vehicle 
and/or person searched

                      Percent of--
Drivers        All drivers       All driver
over age       stopped by        or vehicle
24             police in 1999    searches
Males
  White            34.0%           29.9%
  Black             5.3            12.5
  Hispanic          3.7             6.1
 
*  white drivers were 34% of stopped drivers 
and 29.9% of those searched.

Searching the driver

Driver gender

Males (6.4%) were more likely than females 
(1.2%) to be physically searched during a
traffic stop.

Police searches

Driver age

Drivers age 25 or older stopped by police 
(3.3%) were less likely to experience a 
personal search than stopped drivers under 
25 years old (7.2%).

Driver race/ethnicity

Stopped whites (3.5%) were less likely to 
be personally searched than either blacks
(8%) or Hispanics (7%).

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Stopped white male drivers were less likely 
than their black and Hispanic counterparts to 
be physically searched during a traffic stop.

Among male drivers age 16-24--

*  Stopped Hispanics (15.5%) were significantly 
more likely to experience a physical search by
police than whites (8.8%)

*  Stopped blacks (12.8%) did not differ 
significantly from whites (8.8%) or Hispanics
(15.5%) in the likelihood of experiencing a 
personal search

*  Stopped Hispanics were 2% of stopped motorists 
but 7.3% of those who experienced personal 
searches.

                        Percent of--
                 All drivers      All
Drivers          stopped by       driver
age 16- 24       police in 1999   searches
 
Males
  White              12.3%          25.0%
  Black               1.6            4.7
  Hispanic            2.0            7.3

Among male drivers over age 24--

*  black drivers (11.4%) were more likely to be 
personally searched during a traffic stop than 
either white (4.0%) or Hispanic (5.8%) motorists

*  blacks in this age category were 5.3% of all 
traffic stops and experienced 13.9% of all
physical searches; whites were 34% of stopped 
drivers and 31.8% of those searched.

                    Percent of--
                All drivers      All
Drivers         stopped by       driver
over age 24     police in 1999   searches
Males
  White             34.0%         31.8%
  Black              5.3          13.9
  Hispanic           3.7           4.9

Searching the vehicle

Driver gender

Stopped females (1.9%) were less likely to 
have their vehicle searched than males (7.5%).

Driver age

Stopped drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 
(8.9%) were more likely to experience a
vehicle search than drivers over the age 
of 24 (4%).

Driver race/ethnicity

Stopped blacks (8.5%) and Hispanics (9.7%) 
were more likely to have their vehicle 
searched than stopped whites (4.3%). Hispanics 
were also more likely than drivers of other 
races (5.4%) to experience a vehicle search.

Driver gender, age, and
race/ethnicity

Stopped Hispanic drivers between ages 16 and 
24 (14.5%) were more likely than young white 
drivers (8%) and somewhat more likely than
young black drivers (8.8%) to experience a 
vehicle search.

Among stopped male drivers 
age 16-24--

*  Hispanics (18.1%) were more likely to have 
their vehicle searched than whites (11.5%)

* no significant differences in the prevalence 
of vehicle searches were found between white
(11.5%) and black (11.8%), nor between Hispanic 
(18.1%) and black (11.8%) drivers.

Both black (8.4%) and Hispanic (7%) drivers 
over age 24 were more likely than white (3.1%) 
drivers over 24 to have their vehicle searched.

Among stopped male drivers 
over age 24 --

*  white drivers (4.4%) had their vehicles 
searched less frequently than both black
(12.4%) and Hispanic (8.8%) motorists

*  black and Hispanic drivers were 5.3% and 
3.7%, respectively, of drivers pulled over by 
police, and accounted for 12.5% and 6.0% of 
vehicle searches.

                     Percent of--
               All drivers       All
Drivers        stopped by        vehicle
over age 24    police in 1999    searches
Males              34.0%          28.1%
  White             5.3           12.5
  Black             3.7            6.0
  Hispanic

Searches in connection 
with an arrest

Of the nearly 1.3 million searches conducted in 
1999, 37% were done in connection with an arrest.  
Whether the search preceded the arrest or
followed it cannot be determined from the survey.

Driver gender

Stopped males who were searched (37.5%) were not
more likely than stopped females (32.6%) to be 
arrested.

Driver age

Stopped drivers age 25 or older (42.5%) who were 
searched were significantly more likely to be 
arrested than their younger counterparts (29.4%).

Driver race/ethnicity

Of all drivers searched during a traffic stop, 
the chance of arrest did not differ significantly
between white (37.3%), black (41.5%) and Hispanic 
(30.8%) drivers.

Among searched male drivers --

*  blacks (42.7%) were somewhat more likely 
than Hispanics (28.8%) to be searched and 
arrested

*  whites (38.0%) who were stopped and searched 
were not significantly less likely to be 
arrested than blacks (42.7%) or Hispanics (28.8%).

Searches of arrested and
nonarrested drivers

In many jurisdictions, police officers are 
required to search the vehicle, the driver, or 
both when making an arrest during a traffic 
stop.  Consequently, drivers who were arrested 
may have experienced a vehicle and/or personal 
search as a procedural step during the arrest
process.

Of all drivers arrested during a traffic stop, 
82.7% experienced a vehicle and/or a personal
search.  By contrast, 4.3% of nonarrested 
drivers were searched by police.

Driver gender

Stopped male drivers, both arrested and 
nonarrested (88.0% and 6.1%), were more
likely to be searched than stopped females 
(56.6% and 1.5%).

Driver age

Arrested and nonarrested drivers age 25 or 
older (78.8% and 3.0%) were less likely to 
be searched than stopped drivers under 25 
(91.3% and 7.8%). 

Driver race/ethnicity

Among arrested motorists --

*  whites (80.1%), blacks (87.6%) and Hispanics 
(85.6%) did not differ significantly in their
likelihood of being searched.

Among nonarrested motorists --

*  whites (3.5%) were less likely to undergo a 
search than blacks (6.8%) and Hispanics (8.2%)

*  black males (9.9%) and Hispanic males (10.6%) 
were more likely to be searched than white males 
(5.1%)

*  the likelihood of a black female being searched 
(2.5%) did not differ significantly from the 
likelihoods for both white and Hispanic females 
(1.1% and 3.2%, respectively).  
     
------------------------------------------
Likelihood of finding criminal evidence  
in a traffic stop search

During a traffic stop, it is common 
practice for police to search the driver, 
vehicle or both when making an arrest. 
However, few searches uncover criminal 
evidence, such as illegal weapons or 
drugs.

Of the nearly 1.3 million drivers
searched during a traffic stop,
37% (470,000) were also arrested.

Of the 470,000 drivers who were
searched and arrested, criminal
evidence was found in 21.5% of
the searches conducted. 

A significantly smaller percentage 
(8.6%) of the remaining 800,000 
searched drivers who were not 
arrested said that criminal evidence 
was found during a vehicle and/or
personal search.

                          Drivers who were searched
Criminal            Arrested drivers       Nonarrested drivers
evidence             Number    Percent      Number    Percent
 
Total                469,472    100.0%      802,810    100.0%
 
Evidence found       100,936     21.5%       69,042      8.6 %
No evidence found    368,536     78.5       733,768     91.4
------------------------------------------

Police use of force

In addition to gathering information on 
contacts between the police and the public 
during motor vehicle stops, the 1999
Police-Public Contact Survey also gathered 
data regarding other face-to-face contacts 
with police.  Other face-to-face contacts 
include situations in which both the respondent
contacted the police and the police contacted 
the respondent. A respondent may have contacted 
the police to report a crime or to ask for 
assistance, among other reasons. The police 
may have initiated contact with a respondent 
to investigate a crime, serve a warrant, or
disseminate crime prevention information, 
among other reasons.

Based on survey findings, nearly 44 million 
people had some type of face-to-face contact 
with police during 1999.  Of that 44 million, 
19.3 million were drivers in a traffic stop, 
and 24.5 million were involved in other forms 
of contact with police. (Those who had both 
types of contact were counted as stopped 
drivers in this report.) 

One purpose of the survey was to gather 
information about police use of force during 
both traffic stops and other face-to-face 
contacts between the police and the public. 
Specifically, respondents were asked whether 
the police officer(s) used or threatened to
use force against them. Of the nearly 44 
million people who had a face-to-face 
contact with police, approximately 1% said
that police used force during the encounter 
(hereafter, "use of force" includes force 
and threat of force).**Note: 1 in 5 force
encounters involved a threat only.**

A smaller percentage of persons who were 
drivers involved in a traffic stop reported 
that police used force against them than
persons involved in other face-to-face 
contacts with police.  Of the 19.3 million
drivers involved in a traffic stop, 0.7% 
said police used force against them, compared 
to a larger percentage (1.2%) of the 24.5 
million persons who had other face-to-face 
contacts with police.

Approximately 422,000 persons age 16 or 
older said the police used or threatened to 
use force against them at least once during 
1999. Force involving a driver during a 
traffic stop accounted for 33% of all police
use of force incidents; force occurring 
during other (nondriver) face-to-face encoun-
ters accounted for the rest (67%).  

Use of force during traffic stops

Driver gender

Of the 422,000 force contacts, 367,000 
involved males.  Of the total number of 
males who said that force was used against
them, more than a third (37.3%) said the 
incident occurred during a traffic stop.  
Traffic stops accounted for a much smaller
percentage (4.6%) of the 55,000 force 
contacts involving females.

Driver age

Of the estimated 189,000 persons age 25 or 
older who said force was used against them 
in 1999 during a contact with police, 38% 
said the incident occurred during a traffic
stop. Traffic stops accounted for 29% of the 
233,000 force contacts involving younger
drivers (ages 16 to 24). The difference 
between the two age categories is not 
significant. 

Driver race/ethnicity

Approximately a third (34.3%) of the 249,000 
force contacts involving whites took place
during a traffic stop, based on when 
respondents were drivers. This does not 
differ significantly from the percentage for 
blacks (33.7% of the 95,000 force contacts 
involving blacks occurred during a traffic 
stop) or for Hispanics (33.5% of the 66,000 
force contacts involving Hispanics occurred 
during a traffic stop).

Use of force during traffic stops 
and other face-to-face contacts

Based on respondent reports, police used or 
threatened force against approximately 
139,000 drivers during a traffic stop in
1999.  An additional 282,000 persons are 
estimated to have experienced force during 
other types of face-to-face contacts with 
police.

Driver gender

Males made up 53% of all those with at 
least one face-to-face contact with police 
in 1999. That same year 87% of all police 
use-of-force incidents also involved a male.   
Of the 139,000 force contacts against a
driver estimated to have occurred during a 
traffic stop, the majority involved a male
driver (98.2%).  Males accounted for 81.4% 
of the 282,000 cases of force occurring 
outside of traffic stops. 

Driver age

Of the 139,000 drivers estimated to have 
had force used against them during a
traffic stop, 48.6% involved persons under 
age 25. Similarly, the same age group
accounted for 58.6% of the 282,000 force 
contacts which occurred during other face-
to-face contacts with police.  

Overall, younger persons age 16-24 were 
approximately a quarter of all persons 
estimated to have face-to-face contact 
with police in 1999.  However, younger 
persons were about half of all contacts 
with police involving force.

Persons age 25 or older were neither more 
nor less likely to be involved in force 
incident when stopped by police than during 
a nontraffic contact.  This age group 
accounted for 51.4% of the force contacts 
involving drivers during a traffic stop and
41.4% of persons in incidents of force 
occurring during other contacts with police 
in 1999. 

Driver race/ethnicity

White drivers were involved in 61.1% of the 
139,000 force contacts which occurred during
a traffic stop.  Whites also accounted for 
57.8% of the 282,000 force contacts which
occurred during other contacts with police.  
In total, whites were 78.2% of persons who 
had a face-to-face contact with police in 
1999 and were 58.9% of those persons who 
experienced force.
 
Black persons were 10.6% of all contacts 
with police in 1999 and accounted for 22.4% 
of all persons who indicated that police 
used force against them. Just over 8% of 
police-public contacts involved a person of
Hispanic origin, and these same persons were 
involved in 15.5% of all force contacts with 
police in 1999. Of both blacks and Hispanics 
who experienced force, the force was not 
more likely to occur during a traffic stop 
than during other types of contact with 
police.        

Use of excessive force

In the 1999 survey, persons who said they 
had a contact with police in which force 
was used were asked whether, in their
opinion, the force used was "excessive."  
Of the estimated 43.8 million persons who 
had a face-to-face contact with police,
0.7% said that police had used what they 
felt was excessive force. About half of 1% 
of the 19.3 million drivers involved in a
traffic stop in 1999 felt they had
excessive force used against them. The 
likelihood of experiencing a force contact
which was considered "excessive" was higher 
for persons involved in other types of 
face-to-face contact with police (0.9%). 

Of the estimated 422,000 persons involved 
in a force contact, most (76.1%) said the
force was excessive.  Of the estimated 
139,000 drivers who had force used against 
them during a traffic stop, 71.7% said the 
force was excessive.  Of the remaining 
282,000 force contacts that occurred during
other contacts with police, 78.3% reported 
that the force used was excessive.    

Methodology

Sampling

In 1999 the PPCS respondents included all 
NCVS respondents age 16 or older, with the
questionnaire administered following the 
NCVS screener and incident forms.  

During the last 6 months of 1999 in which 
interviews were conducted, the NCVS sample
consisted of 94,717 individuals age 16 or 
older. Of these, 10,424, or 11%, were NCVS
non-interviews, though someone else in the 
household was interviewed.  In addition to 
those not interviewed for the NCVS, 986 
persons either refused to participate in 
the PPCS or said they were not available 
for the interview or the interviewer
failed to indicate the specific reason 
for non-interview.  

By far the largest reason for not 
completing the PPCS in 1999, accounting 
for 2,764 respondents, was the exclusion
of the proxy interviews conducted for 
the NCVS when a person was unable, for 
physical, mental, or other reasons, to
participate.  BJS staff determined that 
caregivers and other proxy interviewees 
would have difficulty describing the
details of any contacts between police 
and the sampled respondent.

The PPCS failed to interview 14,174 persons 
and interviewed 80,543; this translates into 
an 85% response rate for the PPCS, compared 
to an overall response rate of 89% for the
NCVS.  Among the PPCS interviews 
conducted, 24,829 (31%) were in person 
and 55,672 (69%) were by telephone.  

The PPCS national sample, after adjustment 
for non-response, weights to a national 
estimate of 209,350,600 persons age 16 or 
older.  Distributions by gender, race,
ethnicity, and age parallel the resident 
population projections (middle-series)
published by the Census Bureau
(http://www.census.gov /population/
projections/nation/de tail /d1999_00.pdf) 
reflecting the accuracy of the case-level
adjustments to the weights:

                         Resident population                     
Charac-                  Census Bureau PPCS
teristic                 projection  sample
Gender
Male                        48.2%     48.2%
Female                      51.8      51.8
 
Race/ethnicity
White                       74.1%     74.1%
Black                       11.4      11.7
Hispanic                    10.2      10.2
White                        9.3       9.8
Black                        0.6       0.2
Other*                       0.3       0.1
Other                        4.3       4.0
 
Age
16-17                        3.8%      3.9%
18-19                        3.8       3.8
20-24                        8.6       8.7
25-29                        8.7       8.8
30-34                        9.4       9.5
35-39                       10.7      10.8
40-49                       19.8      20.0
50 or older                 35.3      34.5
 
Total                  210,604,000   209,350,600
    
*Other includes Asians, Pacific Islanders, 
Native Hawaiians, American Indians, and 
Alaska Natives.

Other information on survey 
methodology

Unless indicated otherwise, differences 
documented in this report were significant at 
the .05-level.  Certain differences were not 
significant at the .05-level but were significant 
at the .10- level. The terms "somewhat" and 
"marginally" refer to differences significant 
at the .10-level.

Regarding racial designations given in the 
report, "white" refers to non- Hispanic whites, 
"black" refers to non- Hispanic blacks, and 
"other races" refers to non-Hispanics in the 
"other races" category.  White Hispanics, black 
Hispanics, and Hispanics of "other races" are
categorized in the report under the heading 
"Hispanic." Due to small samples and concerns 
about confidentiality, the report does not 
provide separate statistics on each of the 
racial categories that make up "other races" 
(Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians,
Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives).

Related reading

Data used in this report were previously used 
in the BJS report (Contacts between Police
and the Public: Findings from the 1999 National 
Survey, NCJ 184957, February 2001).

End of file
03/06/02 ih