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Police and citizens often come into contact with each other for reasons other than criminal investigation. In addition to enforcing criminal law, police officers often engage in community service. Community service may include providing information and/or assistance to people in need, as well as offering youth education and coordinating community outreach efforts. In many communities, police officers network to establish partnerships between residents and the law enforcement agency. Community-oriented policing seeks to address the causes of crime and to reduce fear of social disorder through problem-solving strategies and police-community partnerships. Typically, it involves a greater use of foot and bicycle patrols and frequent meetings with community groups.

Data Collections & Surveys

• City-Level Survey of Crime Victimization and Citizen Attitudes
• Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)
• Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS)

Publications & Products

Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2018 - Statistical Tables This report is the twelfth in a series that began in 1996. It examines the nature and frequency of residents' contact with police by residents' demographic characteristics, types of contact, perceptions of police behaviors, and police threats or use of nonfatal force.
	Full report (PDF 675K) | Data tables (Zip format 14K) Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series
Local Police Departments: Policies and Procedures, 2016 This report presents statistics on selected policies and procedures of local police departments, based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey.
	Full report (PDF 460K) | Data tables (Zip format 20K) Part of the Local Police Departments Series
Sheriffs' Offices: Policies and Procedures, 2016 This report presents statistics on selected policies and procedures of sheriffs' offices, based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey.
	Full report (PDF 403K) | Data tables (Zip format 21K) Part of the Sheriffs' Office Series
Local Police Departments, 2016: Personnel Provides personnel information on the approximately 12,300 local police departments in the United States.
	Summary (PDF 550K) | Full report (PDF 854K) | Data tables (Zip format 33K) Part of the Local Police Departments Series
Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2015 Presents data on the nature and frequency of contact between police and U.S. residents age 16 or older, including demographic characteristics of residents, the reason for and outcomes of the contact, police threats or use of nonfatal force, and residents' perceptions of police behavior during the contact.
	Press Release (95K) | Summary (PDF 124K) | Full report (PDF 577K) | Data table (Zip format 49K) Part of the Contacts between Police and the Public Series
Sheriffs' Office Personnel, 1993-2013 Presents data on persons employed by the nation's sheriffs' offices on January 1, 2013, and employment trends since 1993.
	Press Release | Summary (PDF 233K) | Full report (PDF 801K) | ASCII file (28K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 22K) Part of the Sheriffs' Office Series
Average base starting salary for entry-level officers in local police departments, 2000 and 2003 Figure 7 from Local Police Departments, 2003
	Download CSV file (Data Table 1 KB)
Local Police Departments, 2003 Full-time employment by local police departments, 1987-2003 Local Police Departments, 2003 Full-time employment by local police departments, 1987-2003
	Spreadsheet (1K)
State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2006 Presents findings from the 2006 BJS Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies, updating the results of the initial census conducted in 2002.
	Press Release | Full report (PDF 163K) | ASCII file (31K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 27K) Part of the State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies Series
Contacts between Police and the Public, 2005 "Police stop white, black and Hispanic drivers at similar rates according to Department of Justice report"
	Press Release | More information about this release

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