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Law Enforcement Statistics

State and Local Law Enforcement Statistics

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Summary findings

• Personnel
• Operating expenditures
• 9-1-1 participation
• Computers and information systems
• Video Cameras
• Police public contact
• Law Enforcement Training Academies

Personnel

• As of September 2004, State and local law enforcement agencies had 1,076,897 full-time personnel, 5.6% more than the 1,019,496 employed in 2000. From 2000 to 2004 the number of full-time sworn personnel increased from 708,022 to 731,903.
• As of June 2003, local police departments had 580,749 full-time employees including about 451,737 sworn personnel. Sheriffs' offices had 330,274 full-time employees, including about 174,251 sworn personnel.
• From 1987 to 2003 minority representation among local police officers increased from 14.6% to 23.6%. In sheriffs' offices, minorities accounted for 18.8% of sworn personnel in 2003 compared to 13.4% in 1987.
• From 1996 to 2000, total employment by local police departments was up an average of 2.1% per year. Sheriffs' offices increased their number of employees by 3.5% per year.

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Operating Expenditures

• In 2003, local police departments cost about $93,300 per sworn officer and $200 per resident to operate for the year. Sheriffs' offices cost about $124,400 per officer and $82 per resident for the year.

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9-1-1 participation

• In 2003, 92% of local police departments and 94% of sheriffs' offices participated in an emergency 9-1-1 system. Seventy-three percent of local police departments and 71% of sheriffs' offices had enhanced 9-1-1 systems, capable of automatically displaying information such as a caller's phone number, address, and special needs.

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Computers and Information Systems

• Thirty-one percent of local police departments in 2003, and 34% of sheriffs' offices, used computers for interagency information sharing. This includes more than half of all local departments serving 25,000 or more residents, and more than half of all sheriffs' offices serving 250,000 or more residents.
  
  
• In 2003, 83% of local police officers and 81% of sheriffs' officers worked for an agency that used in-field computers or terminals, compared to 30% and 28% in 1990.
  
  
• In 2003, 55% of local police departments and 58% of sheriffs' offices used paper reports as the primary means to transmit criminal incident field data to a central information system, down from 86% and 87% in 1997. During the same time period, use of computer and data devices for this purpose increased from 9% to 38% in local police departments and from 7% to 33% in sheriffs' offices.

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Video Cameras

• In 2003, sixty percent of all local police departments and 66% of all sheriffs' offices used video cameras on a regular basis. The most common use of video cameras was in patrol cars, with 55% of local police departments and 58% of sheriffs' offices using video cameras in this application.
  
  
• A total of 48,800 in-car cameras were used by local police departments, and 17,700 by sheriffs' offices.
  

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Police-Public Contact

In a nationwide survey conducted in 2005--

• Speeding was the most common reason for being pulled over, accounting for 53.3% of all traffic stops in 2005.
• The majority of drivers stopped by police felt they had been stopped for legitimate reason (86.2%).
• About 1% of the 17.8 million drivers pulled over by police in 2005 felt police had used or threatened excessive force against them.

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Law Enforcement Training Academies

• As of yearend 2002 a total of 626 State and Local law enforcement academies operating in the United States offered basic law enforcement training to individuals recruited or seeking to become law enforcement officers.
• An estimated 53,302 trainees successfully completed or graduated from their training program.
• An estimated 17% of recruits who completed training in 2002 were female and 27% were members of a racial or ethnic minority.

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BJS Publications

This list is in order of the most recent publication first. Additional titles are listed on other topical pages and a comprehensive list is contained on the BJS publications page. To see a full abstract of a publication with links to electronic versions of the publication, click on the title below.

Cybercrime against Businesses, 2005, 9/08. Presents the nature and prevalence of computer security incidents among 7,818 businesses in 2005. This is the first report to provide data on monetary loss and system downtime resulting from cyber incidents. NCJ 221943

Cybercrime against Businesses: Pilot Testing Results, 2001 Computer Security Survey, 3/04. NCJ 200639

Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2005, 07/08. Presents findings from the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2005. NCJ 222181

Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2002, 02/05.NCJ 207205

Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2004. 6/07. Reports the results of a census, conducted every four years, of all State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide. NCJ 212749

Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2000. 10/02. NCJ 194066

Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1996. 6/98 NCJ 164618

Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1992. 7/93. NCJ 142972

Medical Examiners and Coroners' Offices, 2004, 06/07. Presents key findings from the 2004 Census of Medical Examiners and Coroners’ (ME/C) Offices. NCJ 216756

Contacts between Police and the Public, 2005, 4/07. Presents data over a 12-month period on the nature and characteristics of face-to-face contacts between residents of the U.S. and the police. The report also provides demographic and other characteristics of residents involved in traffic stops and use of force incidents. NCJ 215243

Contacts between Police and Public: Findings from the 2002 National Survey, 4/05. NCJ 207845

Contacts between Police and Public: Findings from the 1999 National Survey, 2/01. NCJ 184957

Citizen Complaints about Police Use of Force, 6/06. Presents data on citizen complaints about police use of force received by large, general purpose State and local law enforcement agencies as well as on complaint dispositions. NCJ 210296

Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 2002, 6/06. Provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 2002 Police-Public Contact Survey, a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. NCJ 211471

Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 1999, 03/02. NCJ 191548

Local Police Departments 2003, 4/06. Presents data collected from a representative sample of local police departments nationwide on a variety of agency characteristics based on the 2003 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. NCJ 210118

Local Police Departments 2000, 01/03. NCJ 196002
Local Police Departments, 1999, 5/01. NCJ 186478
Local Police Departments, 1997
Full report: NCJ 173429, 2/00.
Executive Summary: NCJ 178934, 10/99.
Local Police Departments 1993, 4/96.
Executive Summary: NCJ 160802
Full report: NCJ 148822

Sheriffs' Offices 2003, 04/06. Presents data collected from a representative sample of sheriffs' offices nationwide on a variety of agency characteristics based on the 2003 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. NCJ 211361

Sheriffs' Offices 2000, 01/03. NCJ 196534
Sheriffs' Offices 1999, 5/01. NCJ 186479
Sheriffs' Departments 1997
Full report: 2/00. NCJ 173428
Executive Summary: 10/99. NCJ 179011
Sheriffs' Departments 1993, 6/96. NCJ 148823

Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country, 2002, 12/05. Presents detailed information gathered on tribal law enforcement agencies, tribal courts and services, and criminal record systems from the 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in American Indian Jurisdictions. NCJ 205332

Hate Crimes Reported by Victims and Police, 11/05. Provides information on the number of hate crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and their characteristics. NCJ 209911

Traffic Stop Data Collection Policies for State Police, 2004, 6/05. Presents findings from the 2004 Survey of State Police Agencies on policies and procedures for collecting race and ethnicity data regarding motorists involved in traffic stops. NCJ 209156

Traffic Stop Data Collection Policies for State Police, 2001, 12/01. NCJ 191158

Traffic Stop Data Collection Policies for State Police, 1999. 2/00 NCJ 180776

State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2002, 1/05. Presents data on personnel, facilities and resources, trainees, and training curricula of law enforcement academies in the United States, from the 2002 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies. NCJ 204030

American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002, 12/04. Reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians and summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system. NCJ 203097

Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program, 1996-2004, 09/04. Outlines how the formulas are calculated under the LLEBG Program to make funds available to local governments for reducing crime and improving public safety. NCJ 203096

50 Largest Crime Labs, 2002, 09/04. Reports on the workload, backlog, and estimated resources needed to meet the demand for forensic services in the Nation's 50 largest publicly funded crime labs. NCJ 205988

Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers, 04/04. Compiled from the 2000 LEMAS survey, this report presents agency-specific data collected from more than 755 local agencies and 49 State agencies that employed 100 or more sworn officers. NCJ 203350

• Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1999: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers, 11/01. NCJ 184481
• Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1997: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers 4/99. NCJ 171681
• Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers 9/95. NCJ 148825

Reporting Crime to the Police, 03/03. Presents National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data from 1992 to 2000 on non-lethal crimes against persons age 12 or older that were reported to police. NCJ 195710

Assessing Measurement Techniques for Identifying Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: Observation-Based Data Collection in Airports and at Immigration Checkpoints., 01/03. Reports on data collected about demographic characteristics of persons observed by Federal law enforcement officers. NCJ 196855

Tribal Law Enforcement, 2000, 01/03. Presents information on the characteristics of tribally operated law enforcement agencies in the United States, including personnel, services, and functions. NCJ 197936

Local Police Departments 2000, 01/03. Based on the 2000 LEMAS survey, this report presents data collected from a representative sample of the more than 13,000 general-purpose local police departments nationwide. NCJ 196002

Local Police Departments, 1999, 5/01. NCJ 186478
Local Police Departments, 1997
Full report: NCJ 173429, 2/00.
Executive Summary: NCJ 178934, 10/99.
Local Police Departments 1993, 4/96.
Executive Summary: NCJ 160802
Full report: NCJ 148822

Sheriffs' Offices 2000, 01/03. Based on the 2000 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, this report presents data collected from a representative sample of the nearly 3,000 sheriffs' departments operating nationwide. NCJ 196534

Sheriffs' Offices 1999, 5/01. NCJ 186479 Sheriffs' Departments 1997
Full report: 2/00. NCJ 173428
Executive Summary: 10/99. NCJ 179011
Sheriffs' Departments 1993, 6/96. NCJ 148823

Police Departments in Large Cities, 1990-2000, 05/02. Describes trends from 1990 to 2000 among local police departments serving U.S. cities with 250,000 or more residents. NCJ 175703

Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by Police, 1999, 03/02. Provides data on the nature and characteristics of traffic stops, as collected in the 1999 Police-Public Contact Survey. NCJ 191548

Survey of DNA Crime Laboratories, 2001, 1/02. Reports findings from a survey of publicly operated forensic crime labs that perform Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing. NCJ 191191

Survey of DNA Crime Laboratories, 1998, 2/00. NCJ 179104

Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of Police by Felons, 03/01. Presents annual trends from 1976 to 1998 in two types of homicide: justifiable homicides of felons by police, and murders of police officers by felons. NCJ 180987

Community Policing in Local Police Departments, 1997 and 1999, 2/01. Focuses on changes in the prevalence of community oriented policing policies, programs, and activities. NCJ 184794

Use of Force By Police: Overview of National and Local Data, 11/99 This joint report by the National Institute of Justice and BJS presents findings on the extent and nature of police use of force, discusses the difficulties in establishing measurement guidelines, illuminates circumstances under which force is applied, and provides a general framework for future research on excessive displays of force. NCJ 176330

Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 Cities, 1998, 6/99. Presents survey data from 12 cities regarding criminal victimization and residents' attitudes toward their neighborhood, their city, and the local policing services. NCJ 173940

Police Use of Force, 11/97. Reports the results of the Police-Public Contact Survey and describes a project to acquire use of force data from law enforcement agencies. NCJ 165040

National Data Collection on Police Use of Force, 7/96. Summarizes prior research on police use of force and lists the difficulties inherent in collecting use-of-force data, including definitional problems, reluctance of police agencies to provide reliable data, concerns about the misapplication of reported data, and the degree of detail needed on individual incidents. NCJ 160113

Performance Measures for the Criminal Justice System, 10/93 . This compendium of Discussion Papers represents the work of the BJS-Princeton University Study Group on Criminal Justice Performance Measures. NCJ 143505

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Related sites

• Community Oriented Policing Office, U.S. Department of Justice
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
• National Sheriffs' Association
• "Changing America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being by Race and Hispanic Origin", a Council of Economic Advisors chartbook from the Government Printing Office

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Page last revised on September 17, 2008