Friday, July 09, 2010
Census officials must have mixed feelings about this year’s national headcount. On the one hand, more Americans have filled out surveys than during the 2000 Census. On the other hand, more Americans are assaulting U.S. Census Bureau employees than before.
The direct response rate for the 2010 Census was 72%, up from 67% a decade ago. Americans are also responding with more threats or acts of violence towards census takers who have gone door-to-door to get information from households that did not return surveys by the spring deadline.
The Census Bureau has recorded about 500 attacks so far—almost a three-fold jump from the 2000 Census, when 180 incidents occurred. Of the 500 assaults, 132 have been threats involving a weapon. In 88 cases the census taker was physically attacked, and about a dozen were held against their will.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Attacks on Census Workers Nearly Triple Since 2000 (by Agence France-Presse)
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