Summary
"The percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older who had face-to- face contact with police declined from 2002 (21.0%) to 2005 (19.1%) and declined again in 2008 (16.9%). An estimated 9 out of 10 residents who had contact with police in 2008 felt the police acted properly. The most common reason for contact with police in 2008 was being a driver in a traffic stop (44.1%). White (8.4%), black (8.8%), and Hispanic (9.1%) drivers were stopped by police at similar rates in 2008. Male drivers (9.9%) were stopped at higher rates than female drivers (7.0%). In 2008 about 5% of traffic stops led to a search. Police were more likely to search male drivers than female drivers. Black drivers were about three times as likely as white drivers and about two times as likely as Hispanic drivers to be searched during a traffic stop. During traffic stops in 2008, about 57.7% of searches of the driver only and 60.0% of searches of the vehicle only were conducted with the driver’s consent. About 36.1% of drivers who were only physically searched and 20.7% of drivers who only had their vehicle searched believed police had a legitimate reason to do so. Among persons who had contact with police in 2008, an estimated 1.4% had force used or threatened against them during their most recent contact, which was not statistically different from the percentages in 2002 (1.5%) and 2005 (1.6%). A majority of the people who had force used or threatened against them said they felt it was excessive."--Page 1.