Police-Public Contact Survey

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is an annual survey that collects data on crime against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative, stratified, multistage cluster sample of U.S. households. The Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS)is a supplement to the NCVS, administered to NCVS respondents age 16 or older. The Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) provides detailed information on the characteristics of persons who had some type of contact with police during the year, including those who contacted the police to report a crime or were pulled over in aa traffic stop. The PPCS interviews a nationally representative sample of residents age 16 or older as a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. The survey enables BJS to examine the perceptions of police behavior and response during these encounters.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Record creation timestamp 2025-12-30 18:23 UTC
Record last modification timestamp 2026-06-26 19:07 UTC
Agency dataset ID 333
Alternative title(s)
    Program
    Program Title
    Preferred citation
    Source(s) Census Bureau
    Other Source(s)
    URL(s) for general survey info
    1. https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/police-public-contact-survey-ppcs
    Co-Reviewer(s)
    Authorizer(s)
    • Bureau of Justice Statistics
    • Census Bureau
    Other Authorizer(s)
    Funder(s)/Sponsor(s) Bureau of Justice Statistics
    Other Funder(s)/Sponsor(s)
    Additional information about restricted dataset
    DOI
    Earliest Year of Data Available 2011
    Most Recent Year of Data Available 2022
    Smallest geographic unit Nation
    Smallest geographic unit (other)
    Universe
    1. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) respondents age 16 or older interviewed during the last six months of 2018. The universe of the NCVS is all persons in the United States age 12 and older.
    Spatial coverage
    1. National (50 States, DC)
    Classification Crime
    Unit of observation Individual
    Unit of observation (other)
    Sample

    Stratified multistage cluster sample. The Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) interviews a nationally representative sample of households about their contacts with police during the previous 12 months. The PPCS is conducted as a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey.
    Frequency of data collection Every three years
    Frequency of data collection (other)
    Method of data collection Survey (self- or interviewer-administered)
    Method of data collection (other)
    Reference date Last year/last 12 months
    Reference date (other)
    Data collection notes

    BJS conducted a pilot test of the Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) in 1996 as a supplement to the NCVS. A revised version of the PPCS was fielded in 1999 among a national sample nearly 15 times as large as the 1996 pilot sample. Since 1999, the PPCS typically has been administered every 3 years as a supplemental survey to all persons age 16 or older within households sampled for the NCVS. The 2015 PPCS was delayed a year.

    The U.S. Census Bureau fielded the 2018 PPCS questionnaire, processed the survey data, and provided estimation specifications. The 2018 PPCS was cognitively tested from June through November of 2017 and conducted between July 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018. Respondents were asked about their contacts with police during the past 12 months. For instance, persons interviewed in July 2018 were asked about contacts that occurred between August 2017 and July 2018. Those interviewed in August 2014 were asked about contacts between September 2013 and August 2014.

    PPCS questionnaire was revised for the 2015 cycle to better capture contacts with police. BJS made three substantive improvements to the PPCS instrument prior to the upcoming administration. The first was the addition of a verification question following multiple screener items that ask about various types of contact with the police. The new verification question allows interviewers to confirm they accurately understand all incidents reported. The other two substantive changes were two questions added to the questionnaire - one aiming to address perceptions of verbal and/or sexual harassment by police and one aiming to address perceptions that police behaviors were motivated by prejudice or bias against the respondent. Several minor instrument changes were also implemented as a result of previous administrations of the PPCS and cognitive testing.
    Number of cases Dependent on sample size for any given year
    Number of variables
    Linkage capabilities

    Person Record Sequence Number; Person Record Sequence Number
    Linkage variables Other (see Linkage Capabilities description)
    Where to apply https://www.census.gov/about/adrm/fsrdc.html
    Fees

    Possible seat fee dependent on consortium membership. URL for more information: https://www.census.gov/about/adrm/fsrdc/about/fsrdc-network-fees.html
    Access modality FSRDC
    Usage restrictions

    Census Bureau restricted-use data must be used for statistical purposes and cannot be used for purposes of enforcing laws or regulations or for profit.
    Public Use File available
    Public-use version
    Summary of differences
    Geography differs from restricted-use file (RUF)
    Variable detail differs from Restricted Use File (RUF)
    FTI flag
    Trust level Trust Level 4
    Provisioned by state
      Provisioned by other geographic unit
        Provisioned by month
          Provisioned year(s)
          1. 2011
          2. 2015
          3. 2018
          4. 2020
          5. 2022
          Provisioned by other time unit
            Provisioning units other than time or geography
              Can non-citizens apply Yes, if residency requirements are met
              Variable selection requirement
              Supporting documentation
              Documentation for application