Census takers see rise in violence

Brian Rosenthal
The Orange County Register
August 11, 2010

WASHINGTON

U.S. Census Bureau officials said Tuesday that the count is $1.6 billion under budget, but also acknowledged that there have been about 700 incidents of violence against census workers – nearly four times the amount during the last once-a-decade survey of the U.S. population.

About 250 of the incidents involved guns, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said. That includes census workers who were shot at or threatened with some type of gun while attempting to get information from residents.

There were an estimated 180 total violent incidents during the 2000 census. Officials said they don't know the reason for the increase.

Many of the incidents involved residents with "No Trespassing" signs on their property, Groves said. Census takers are legally allowed to knock on doors, he added.

Workers are trained to retreat immediately in all cases of violence, but eventually "somebody has to return to that house," Groves said.

The acknowledgment about the violence came in an interview after a news conference that focused on the census's cost savings.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was on hand to announce the $1.6 billion savings, about 22 percent of the census's $7 billion 2010 budget. Locke does not usually attend the monthly census briefings.

"This is an accomplishment that we're very proud of," he said. "We ran a tight ship ... and stretched every taxpayer dollar."

The overall budget for the 2010 census was $14.7 billion. About half of the savings came because an emergency fund for natural disasters and other major operational problems was not used, Locke said. Most of the rest was due to a higher-than-expected mail-in survey return rate.

Though much of the savings came from not using an emergency fund, Groves said it is important.

"Congress allocated that amount," he said. "And that money is going back to the American taxpayers, unambiguously."

A more experienced workforce also helped, due to a high level of unemployment in the private sector, officials said.

Officials returned $305 million after the 2000 census. The 1990 census cost more than budgeted.

The count, which will be used to determine House redistricting and to allocate $400 billion in federal aid, must be finalized and sent to President Barack Obama by Dec. 31.