Citizen Perceptions of Law Enforcement.

An article in Law Enforcement Today (October 12, 2018) "Police-Initiated Contacts Fall By 8 million" has some interesting statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics concerning police contacts and citizen perceptions of law enforcement.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the US Department of Justice asked residents about instances when they sought help from police (resident-initiated contacts) and when police approached or stopped them (police-initiated contacts), thus the following could be seen as a report card as to citizen perceptions of law enforcement.

From 2011 to 2015, the number of persons who had contact that was police-initiated fell by 8 million, and the number of persons who initiated contact with police fell by 6 million. Every form of police-initiated traffic and criminal stops (including arrests) fell considerably.

Being a driver in a traffic stop was the most common form of police-initiated contact. Of the 223.3 million U.S. drivers age 16 or older, 8.6% experienced a stop as the driver of a motor vehicle.

Sixty percent of residents who were stopped by police in a street stop thought the reason was legitimate, and 81% believed police behaved properly.

Residents’ perceptions of the legitimacy of the street stop and whether police behaved properly varied by demographic characteristics. Females (69%) were more likely than males (55%) to perceive the street stop as legitimate. Females (88%) were also more likely than males (77%) to believe that police behaved properly.

A greater percentage of whites (68%) than blacks (50%) and Hispanics (44%) indicated the street stop was legitimate. Whites (89%) were also more likely than Hispanics (73%) and blacks (59%) to believe police behaved properly.

Among those who had contact with police, two percent experienced a nonfatal threat or use of force by police. The majority of those who experienced a threat of force (84 percent) perceived the action to be excessive, as did most of those who were pushed, grabbed, hit or kicked (78 percent), or had a gun pointed at them (65 percent) by police.

More than 9 in 10 (91%) residents who contacted police to request assistance said they were more or as likely to contact police again in the future. The vast majority (83%) of residents were satisfied with the police response during their most recent contact and felt that police responded promptly (83%) and behaved properly (89%). More than half (59%) indicated that police improved the situation.
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In both police initiated contacts (81%) and calls for police assistance (89%) the vast majority of people reported that the police "behaved properly" during the contact with the community. While we too often see reports in the media of 'police misconduct' the BJS study shows that overall police officers act appropriately and professionally during their contacts with the public.

It is interesting to note that in 40% of police initiated contacts, the individuals did not believe that the stop was legitimate and in 41% of cases where the police were called for assistance their presence did not improve the situation. Or put another way, around 60% of the time police contacts in the community are perceived as legitimate and helpful.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 



Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.