Police Employee Data
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Definition
The UCR Program defines law enforcement officers as individuals who
ordinarily carry a firearm and a badge, have full arrest powers, and
are paid from governmental funds set aside specifically for sworn law
enforcement representatives.
User's note
Because of law enforcement's differing service requirements and functions
as well as the varied demographic traits and characteristics of jurisdictions,
use caution when comparing agency staffing levels based upon police employment
data from these tables. The data merely reflect existing staffing levels
and are not preferred officer strengths recommended by the FBI. Please
also note that the totals given for sworn officers for any particular
agency reflect not only the patrol officers on the street but also officers
assigned to various administrative and investigative duties as well as
those assigned to special teams/task forces.
Data collection
Each year, law enforcement agencies across the United States report to
the UCR Program the total number of sworn law enforcement officers
and civilians in their employ as of October 31.
Overview
- In 2007, sworn officers accounted for 68.8 percent of law enforcement
personnel. (Based on Table 74.)
- The rate of full-time law enforcement employees (civilian and sworn)
per 1,000 inhabitants in the Nation for 2007 was 3.6; the rate of sworn
officers was 2.4 per 1,000. (Based on Table 74.) The UCR Program computes
these rates by taking the number of employees, dividing by the population
of the agency's jurisdiction, and multiplying by 1,000.
- Female employees accounted for 61.5 percent of full-time civilian
law enforcement employees in 2007.
- Males accounted for 88.3 percent of full-time sworn law enforcement
officers in 2007.