Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 1999

• NCJ Number: 191548
• Author(s): Erica Leah Schmitt; Patrick A. Langan Ph.D.; Matthew R. Durose
• Date Published: March 2002
• Length: 20 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Statistics

Annotation

This study provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 1999 Police-Public Contact Survey.

Abstract

Provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 1999 Police-Public Contact Survey. Tables present detailed demographic characteristics of the 19.3 million drivers stopped by police in 1999. Drivers stopped one time over a 12-month period and drivers stopped two or more times are compared across categories of gender, age, and race/ethnicity. The report also examines driver responses regarding the traffic stop, speeding, searches conducted by police, arrest, and use of force.

• Males (70.3%) stopped for speeding were more likely to be ticketed than females (66.5%).
• Approximately 422,000 persons age 16 or older said the police used or threatened to use force against them at least once during 1999.
• In 1999, 6.6% of traffic stops involved a search of the driver, the vehicle, or both.