Assignment: Critique The Attached  Article Instructions: 1) Read the article for clarity. 2) Create a two-page critique of the attached article. 3) Review How

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report NOVEMBER 2022 NCJ 304527

Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2020

Susannah N. Tapp, PhD, and Elizabeth J. Davis, BJS Statisticians

In 2020, an estimated 21% of U.S. residents age 16 or older (about 53.8 million persons) reported experiencing contact with police during the

past 12 months (figure 1), down from 24% in 2018. Approximately 10% of residents had experienced a police-initiated contact in 2020, while 11% experienced a resident-initiated contact and 3% were involved in a traffic accident that led to a police contact.

Findings in this report are based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), with selected data from the 2018 and 2015 PPCS data collections. The PPCS is a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information from a nationally representative sample of persons age 12 or older in U.S. households. The PPCS collects information from persons age 16 or older on nonfatal contacts with police during the 12 months prior to the interview. Police contacts were classified by the year of the survey and not by the year of the contact.

HIGHLIGHTS � About 21% (53.8 million) of U.S. residents age 16 or

older had contact with police in 2020.

� A smaller share of persons had contact with police in 2020 (21%) than in 2018 (24%).

� In 2020, females (12%) were more likely than males (11%) to initiate contact with police, while males (11%) were more likely than females (9%) to experience police-initiated contact.

� Among U.S. residents who initiated their most recent contact with police, almost half (49%) did so to report a possible crime.

� Most residents who initiated police contact (88%) were satisfied with the police response.

� Black (6%) and Hispanic (3%) persons were more likely to experience the threat of force or use of nonfatal force during their most recent police contact in 2020 than white persons (2%).

� The share of persons who said they experienced police misconduct during their most recent contact was not statistically different between 2018 and 2020 (1% each).

� The majority of persons whose most recent police contact was a street stop experienced no enforcement action.

Police contact in the past 12 months

In 2020, U.S. residents were asked about instances in the past 12 months where they contacted police (resident-initiated contacts), instances where police approached or stopped them (police-initiated contacts), and contact related to a traffic accident. Resident-initiated contacts include reporting a possible crime, disturbance, or suspicious activity; reporting a noncrime emergency, such as a medical emergency; reporting or seeking assistance with a nonemergency, such as custody enforcement; participating in a block watch or other anti-crime program; and approaching or seeking help from police for another reason. Police- initiated contacts include being stopped by police while driving or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle (i.e., a traffic stop); being stopped by police while in a public place or parked vehicle (i.e., a street stop); being arrested, excluding arrests due to some other type of police contact; and being stopped or approached by police for some other reason.

2CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

Figure 1 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and reason, 2020

U.S. residents age 16 or older: 260,916,200 100%

Any police contact: 53,836,600 20.6%

Resident-initiated contact: 29,979,700 11.5%

driver: 16,709,200 7.1%

Traffic stop, passenger: 4,918,700 1.9%

Street stop:d 2,626,500 1.0%

Arrested:e 412,500 0.2%

Reported possible crime: 16,177,200 6.2%

Reported noncrime emergency:c 8,573,900 3.3%

Reported nonemergency:a 8,076,900 3.1%

Block watch: 1,639,800 0.6%

Approached, other:g 3,063,400 1.2%

Sought help, other:f 321,600 0.1%

Police-initiated contact: 25,463,700 9.8%

Traffic accident: 7,824,600 3.0%

b Traffic stop,

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and because residents could experience more than one type of contact. See appendix table 1 for standard errors. aIncludes residents who asked for directions, custody enforcement, a court order, or another nonemergency service. bEstimate is based on the driving population, which was 234,321,518 in 2020. cIncludes residents who reported a medical emergency or traffic accident that they witnessed but were not involved in. dIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. eIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of

a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. fIncludes residents who contacted police for some other reason, such as accidentally calling 9-1-1 or setting off an alarm system, for animal control, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. gIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident,s work as a first responder or volunteer. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

Definitions and measures of race and ethnicity In the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) uses the race and ethnicity categories specified by the Office of Management and Budget’s 1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The standards include five categories of race (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and white) and two categories of ethnicity (Hispanic and not Hispanic) for purposes of data collection. Given that NCVS data derive from surveyed respondents, the small sizes of certain demographic groups relative to the overall U.S. population can pose measurement difficulties. In addition, the relatively rare occurrence of certain types of contact with police in a population can compound these measurement challenges, often

leading to even smaller sample sizes for particular demographic groups, including persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, or of two or more races. In accordance with standard statistical analysis methodology for reporting estimates from sample data, BJS may combine demographic categories into an “Other” group to generate valid and reliable estimates or to protect the identity of individuals.

In this report, NCVS estimates for specific race and ethnicity groups are based on data availability and measures of reliability. Some differences between these estimates that may seem meaningful may not be statistically significant, due to the larger standard errors that typically result from smaller sample sizes. See Methodology.

3CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

Males were more likely than females to have any contact with police

In 2020, males (21%) were more likely than females (20%) to have contact with police in the past 12 months (table 1). While males (11%) were more likely than females (9%) to have police-initiated contact, females (12%) were more likely than males (11%) to initiate contact with police. There was no significant difference between the percentages of males and females who had police contact related to a traffic accident.

Across race and Hispanic origin, white persons (22%) were more likely than black (18%), Hispanic (17%),

or Asian (16%) persons, but less likely than persons of another race (28%), to have contact with police in 2020. White persons (3.0%) were less likely than black persons (3.6%) but more likely than Hispanic persons (2.5%) to have police contact related to a traffic accident.

Persons ages 18 to 24 were the most likely age group to have police-initiated contact (17%) and police contact related to a traffic accident (5%) in 2020. Persons ages 18 to 24 (10%) were more likely to initiate police contact than those ages 16 to 17 (4%). They were less likely than those ages 25 to 44 (13%) or 45 to 64 (12%) to initiate police contact.

Table 1 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

U.S. residents age 16 or older

Any police contact Police-initiated contact

Resident-initiated contact Traffic accident

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 260,916,200 53,836,600 20.6% 25,463,700 9.8% 29,979,700 11.5% 7,824,600 3.0%

Sex Male* 126,524,700 26,751,200 21.1% 13,887,200 11.0% 13,657,500 10.8% 3,886,100 3.1% Female 134,391,500 27,085,400 20.2 † 11,576,500 8.6 † 16,322,300 12.1 † 3,938,500 2.9

Race/Hispanic origin Whitea* 163,405,100 36,677,800 22.4% 16,863,900 10.3% 21,145,600 12.9% 4,959,500 3.0% Blacka 31,382,000 5,656,300 18.0 † 2,895,000 9.2 ‡ 2,747,100 8.8 † 1,115,100 3.6 ‡ Hispanic 44,074,400 7,283,900 16.5 † 3,627,800 8.2 † 3,914,900 8.9 † 1,112,800 2.5 † Asiana 16,192,100 2,595,000 16.0 † 1,275,700 7.9 † 1,202,700 7.4 † 435,500 2.7 Othera,b 5,862,500 1,623,600 27.7 † 801,300 13.7 † 969,500 16.5 † 201,700 3.4

Age 16–17 7,989,100 1,025,400 12.8% † 652,600 8.2% † 357,400 4.5% † 247,400 3.1% † 18–24* 29,497,800 7,513,500 25.5 4,914,300 16.7 2,993,400 10.1 1,438,900 4.9 25–44 86,908,100 20,787,400 23.9 10,630,400 12.2 † 11,425,100 13.1 † 2,864,100 3.3 † 45–64 82,434,400 16,634,300 20.2 † 6,713,100 8.1 † 10,186,100 12.4 † 2,147,200 2.6 † 65 or older 54,086,800 7,876,000 14.6 † 2,553,300 4.7 † 5,017,800 9.3 1,127,100 2.1 †

Household income $49,999 or lessc* 102,251,400 19,507,700 19.1% 9,219,500 9.0% 10,891,500 10.7% 2,769,800 2.7% $50,000–$74,999 46,012,000 9,821,400 21.3 † 4,913,600 10.7 † 5,288,200 11.5 ‡ 1,380,700 3.0 $75,000 or more 112,652,800 24,507,500 21.8 † 11,330,600 10.1 † 13,800,000 12.3 † 3,674,100 3.3 †

Note: The Police-Public Contact Survey collects data on persons age 16 or older living in noninstitutionalized residential settings in the United States. Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of contact. Missing data on annual household income were imputed. From January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022, 24% of persons age 16 or older in the National Crime Victimization Survey sample were missing data on annual household income. For more information on imputation procedures, see National Crime Victimization Survey, 2016: Technical Documentation (NCJ 251442, BJS, December 2017). See appendix table 2 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). bIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. cThe 2020 datafile combines the categories “$24,999 or less” and “$25,000 to $49,999.” These categories are presented separately in 2018. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

4CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

Resident contact with police was lower in 2020 than in 2018

In 2020, about 21% of U.S. residents age 16 or older (more than 53.8 million persons) had contact with police in the past 12 months (table 2). This was down from 24% (61.5 million) in 2018 but similar to the 21% (53.5 million) in 2015. The decrease in police contact was driven by a lower percentage of resident-initiated contact in 2020 (11%) than in 2018 (14%).

All types of resident-initiated contact, including reporting a possible crime and participating in a block watch or other anti-crime program, declined between 2018 and 2020.1

1Contacting police to report or seek assistance for a nonemergency (such as asking directions) was added as a reason for police contact beginning with the 2018 PPCS. This type of contact would have been captured as “seeking other help from police” in 2015. Adding this type of contact as its own category in 2018 contributed to a decrease in the "seeking other help" category.

The portion of U.S. residents experiencing any type of police-initiated contact was lower in 2020 (10%) than in 2018 or 2015 (11% each). This reflected a pattern of decline in the percentage of residents experiencing police contact as drivers in traffic stops from 2015 (9%) to 2018 (8%), and to 2020 (7%). A smaller share of residents had contact with police related to a traffic accident in 2020 (3.0%) than in 2018 (3.4%), but there was no statistically significant difference in the percentages between 2015 (3.1%) and 2020.

Table 2 U.S. residents age 16 or older who had police contact, by type of contact and reason, 2015, 2018, and 2020

2015 2018 2020* Type of contact and reason Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Any police contact 53,469,300 21.1% 61,542,300 † 23.7% † 53,836,600 20.6 % Police-initiated contact 27,415,900 † 10.8% † 28,880,900 † 11.1% † 25,463,700 9.8 %

Traffic stop, drivera 19,204,500 † 8.6 † 18,666,000 † 8.1 † 16,709,200 7.1 Traffic stop, passenger 5,964,100 † 2.4 † 5,702,600 † 2.2 † 4,918,700 1.9 Street stopb 2,503,700 1.0 3,528,100 † 1.4 † 2,626,500 1.0 Arrestedc 814,800 † 0.3 † 386,000 0.1 412,500 0.2 Approached, otherd 1,946,700 † 0.8 † 3,638,100 † 1.4 † 3,063,400 1.2

Resident-initiated contact 27,060,200 † 10.7% † 35,468,500 † 13.7% † 29,979,700 11.5 % Reported possible crime 16,928,100 6.7 † 19,109,200 † 7.4 † 16,177,200 6.2 Reported noncrime emergencye 8,841,900 3.5 9,971,500 † 3.8 † 8,573,900 3.3 Reported nonemergencyf … … 10,068,700 † 3.9 † 8,076,900 3.1 Block watch 2,366,200 † 0.9 † 2,160,900 † 0.8 † 1,639,800 0.6 Sought help, otherg 2,478,400 † 1.0 † 641,200 † 0.2 † 321,600 0.1

Traffic accident 7,950,500 3.1% 8,882,000 † 3.4% † 7,824,600 3.0 % Note: Details may not sum to totals because residents could experience more than one type of contact. See appendix table 1 for standard errors. *Comparison year. †Difference with comparison year is significant at the 95% confidence level. …Not available. aEstimates are based on the driving population, which was 223,315,375 in 2015, 231,290,951 in 2018, and 234,321,518 in 2020. bIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. cIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. dIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. eIncludes residents who reported a medical emergency or traffic accident that they witnessed but were not involved in. fIncludes residents who asked for directions, custody enforcement, a court order, or another nonemergency service. gIncludes residents who contacted police for some other reason, such as accidentally calling 9-1-1 or setting off an alarm system, for animal control, or as part of the resident's work as a first responder or volunteer. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2015, 2018, and 2020.

5CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

About 2% of persons experienced the threat of force or nonfatal use of force during any police contact in 2020

U.S. residents age 16 or older who had any police contact in the past 12 months were asked if they experienced the threat of force or nonfatal use of force. While the number of residents experiencing the threat of force or nonfatal use of force was higher in 2018 than 2020, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of residents experiencing the threat or use of force from 2018 to 2020 (2% each) (table 3).

In 2020, a higher percentage of males (3%) than females (1%) experienced the threat of force or use of force. Black persons (4%) and Hispanic persons (2%) were more likely than white persons (1.5%) to experience the threat or use of force. Residents ages 18 to 24 (3%) were more likely to experience the threat of force or use of nonfatal force than those ages 45 to 64 (1%) or age 65 or older (1%). In general, similar shares of residents in most demographic categories experienced the threat or use of force in 2018 and 2020; however, Hispanic persons were more likely to experience the threat or use of force in 2018 than in 2020.

Table 3 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose police contact involved the threat or nonfatal use of force, by demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

Demographic characteristic

2018 2020

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of forcea

Any police contact

With threat/nonfatal use of forcea

Number Percent Number Percent Total 61,542,300 1,254,300 2.0% 53,836,600 1,045,600 1.9%

Sex Male* 30,467,400 917,900 3.0% 26,751,200 721,200 2.7% Female 31,074,900 336,400 † 1.1 † 27,085,400 324,400 † 1.2 †

Race/Hispanic origin Whiteb* 42,525,700 647,100 1.5% 36,677,800 560,200 1.5% Blackb 6,545,700 † 250,700 † 3.8 † 5,656,300 † 241,800 † 4.3 † Hispanic 8,238,400 † 280,100 † 3.4 † 7,283,900 † 172,900 † 2.4 † Asianb 2,419,500 † 30,900 † 1.3 2,595,000 † 26,600 † 1.0 Otherb,c 1,813,000 † 45,500 † 2.5 1,623,600 † 44,000 † 2.7

Age 16–17 1,143,500 † 39,200 † 3.4% 1,025,400 † : : 18–24* 8,859,700 280,000 3.2 7,513,500 229,800 3.1% 25–44 23,518,700 † 625,500 † 2.7 20,787,400 † 513,500 † 2.5 45–64 19,160,700 † 274,400 1.4 † 16,634,300 † 213,500 1.3 † 65 or older 8,859,600 35,200 † 0.4 † 7,876,000 69,200 † 0.9 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Includes residents who had any police contact in the last 12 months. See appendix table 3 for standard errors. *Comparison group. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. aIncludes residents whom police threatened with force, handcuffed, pushed or grabbed, hit or kicked, used chemical or pepper spray, used an electroshock weapon, pointed or fired a gun, or used another type of physical force. bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). cIncludes Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or persons of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2018 and 2020.

6CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

Most recent police contact

Residents who experienced any contact with police were asked more detailed questions about the nature of their most recent contact. This section describes characteristics of the most recent police-initiated contact and findings related to misconduct, threat of force, and nonfatal use of force reported during such contact. Findings from the most recent resident- initiated contact are also included.

Police-initiated contact

Males were more likely than females to be pulled over while driving

In 2020, drivers in traffic stops accounted for the majority (63%) of persons whose most recent police

contact was initiated by police (table 4). Males (68%) were more likely than females (56%) to be the driver in a traffic stop, while females (22%) were more likely than males (11%) to be the passenger.

White persons (63%) were as likely as black persons (62%) but less likely than Asian persons (65%) to be the driver in a traffic stop during their most recent police contact. A smaller percentage of white persons (15%) than Asian persons (18%) or persons identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races (28% collectively) were most recently the passenger in a traffic stop. A smaller share of Hispanic persons (7%) than white persons (9%) most recently had contact with police during a street stop.

Table 4 U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was police-initiated, by reason and demographic characteristics, 2020

Demographic characteristic

Police-initiated most recent contact

Reason Traffic stop, drivera Traffic stop, passenger Street stopb Arrestedc Approached, otherd

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 21,837,200 100% 13,718,100 62.8% 3,468,300 15.9% 1,918,800 8.8% 268,600 1.2% 2,463,500 11.3%

Sex Male* 12,102,900 100% 8,267,700 68.3% 1,327,200 11.0% 1,077,600 8.9% 190,100 1.6% 1,240,300 10.2% Female 9,734,300 100% 5,450,500 56.0 † 2,141,000 22.0 † 841,200 8.6 78,500 0.8 1,223,200 12.6

Race/Hispanic origin Whitee* 14,376,600 100% 9,031,500 62.8% 2,127,300 14.8% 1,311,500 9.1% 177,300 1.2% 1,728,900 12.0% Blacke 2,484,900 100% 1,537,100 61.9 364,000 14.6 ‡ 252,300 10.2 43,100 1.7 288,300 11.6 Hispanic 3,179,600 100% 2,061,600 64.8 595,900 18.7 221,800 7.0 ‡ 36,100 1.1 264,200 8.3 Asiane 1,162,400 100% 759,900 65.4 † 206,100 17.7 † 79,500 6.8 : : 110,600 9.5 † Othere,f 633,700 100% 328,000 51.8 † 174,900 27.6 † 53,700 8.5 : : 71,500 11.3 †

Age 16–24* 4,742,000 100% 2,663,000 56.2% 1,243,500 26.2% 485,700 10.2% 55,600 1.2% 294,200 6.2% 25–44 8,964,400 100% 6,014,500 67.1 ‡ 1,208,000 13.5 726,900 8.1 126,100 1.4 888,900 9.9 † 45–64 5,839,500 100% 3,731,200 63.9 † 719,100 12.3 † 471,500 8.1 75,800 1.3 † 841,800 14.4 † 65 or older 2,291,400 100% 1,309,500 57.1 † 297,700 13.0 234,700 10.2 † : : 438,600 19.1 †

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 4 for standard errors. *Comparison group. †Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level. ‡Difference with comparison group is significant at the 90% confidence level. :Not shown. Sample size is below the minimum threshold, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aEstimates are based on the driving population, which was 234,321,518 in 2020. bIncludes residents who were approached by police while in a public place or parked vehicle. cIncludes residents who reported an arrest outside of the context of a traffic stop, street stop, or traffic accident as the sole type of police contact. A contact that involved arrest as an outcome of another type of contact is counted in the initial type. dIncludes residents who reported police-initiated contact for some other reason, such as for information about a crime, to inform the resident about issues in the neighborhood or perform a wellness check, police accidentally went to the wrong address, police were looking for a lost pet, or as part of the resident’s work as a first responder or volunteer. eExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons). fIncludes persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Police-Public Contact Survey, 2020.

7CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Police-Public Contact Survey The 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) was conducted from January through June 2020. As a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the PPCS was administered at the end of the NCVS interview to persons ages 16 or older within households sampled for the NCVS (figure 2).

Households selected for the NCVS remain in the sample for 3.5 years, and eligible persons in these households are interviewed every 6 months, for a total of seven NCVS interviews. As part of standard procedures, new households entering the panel (incoming sample) are interviewed in person (personal visits). Households that have already been interviewed at least once (returning sample) are interviewed either in person or over the phone.

Due to increasing risks related to COVID-19, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau (who administers the survey for BJS), suspended all incoming sample interviews and shifted all returning sample interviews to telephone calls starting in mid-March 2020. Under normal circumstances, NCVS field representatives try to interview returning households by telephone first, and more returning households generally complete the survey by phone than in person. During data collection for the PPCS, since incoming sample interviews were suspended between mid March and June, most respondents were from returning households. Any effects from changing the mode of interview to telephone-only were minimal.

For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on the NCVS in 2020, see Criminal Victimization, 2020 (NCJ 301775, BJS, October 2021).

Figure 2 Police–Public Contact Survey Field Operations procedures, 2020

Jan ’20 Jun ’20May ’20Apr ’20Mar ’20Feb ’20

Suspended interviews for incoming sample

Phone-only interviews (returning sample) Normal field operations

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020

8CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE PUBLIC, 2020 | NOVEMBER 2022

Female drivers were more likely to be given a warning than male drivers

In 2020, about 10% of drivers in traffic stops experienced no enforcement action by police, while about 43% were given a warning and 43% were given a ticket (table 5). There were no statistically significant changes in outcomes for drivers in traffic stops from 2018 to 2020.

Female drivers (45% in 2018 and 46% in 2020) were more likely than male drivers (40% in 2018 and 41% in 2020) to be given a warning during a traffic stop, while male drivers (7% in 2018 and 6% in 2020) were more

likely than female drivers (2% each year) to be searched or arrested. There were no statistically significant differences by sex in the percentage of drivers who were given a ticket or experienced no enforcement action in 2018 and 2020.

In 2020, black drivers (15%) were more likely than white drivers (9%) to experience no enforcement action during their most recent traffic stop. Among those who did experience an action, white drivers (45% in 2018 and 47% in 2020) were more likely to be given a warning than drivers of any other race or Hispanic origin in 2018 and 2020. A higher percentage

Table 5 Percent of U.S. residents age 16 or older whose most recent police contact was as a driver in a traffic stop, by enforcement action and demographic characteristics, 2018 and 2020

2018a 2020b

Demographic characteristic Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Total

No enforcement action

Enforcement actionc

Warningd Ticket Search/ arreste Warningd Ticket

Search/ arreste

Total 100% 9.4% 41.8% 44.1% 4.7% 100% 9.6% 43.2% 42.8% 4.3% Sex

Male* 100% 9.0% 39.7% 44.7% 6.7% 100% 10.2% 41.1% 43.1% 5.6% Female 100% 10.0 44.9 † 43.2 1.9 † 100% 8.9 46.4 † 42.4 2.4 †

Race/Hispanic origin Whitef* 100% 9.6% 45.5% 41.3% 3.6% 100% 9.0% 47.2% 39.9% 3.9% Blackf 100% 14.1 † 35.7 † 44.0 6.2 † 100% 14.7 &