Summary
“Findings described in this report are based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2015 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS collects information from a nationally representative sample of persons age 12 or older in U.S. households. The PPCS was designed to collect information from those 16 or older on contact with police during the 12 months prior to the interview. Residents were asked about instances when they sought help from police (resident-initiated contacts) and when police approached or stopped them (police-initiated contacts). Resident-initiated contacts with police included reporting a crime, disturbance, or suspicious activity; reporting a non-crime emergency, such as a medical emergency; participating in a block watch or other anti-crime programs; or approaching or seeking help from police for another reason. Police-initiated contacts included being stopped by police while in a public place or a parked vehicle (i.e., street stop), being stopped by police while driving a motor vehicle (i.e., traffic stop), riding as a passenger in a car that was stopped by police, being arrested, or being stopped or approached by police for some other reason. The PPCS also collected data on contacts resulting from a traffic accident.”--Pages 1-2.