Bureau of Justice Statistics

 U.S. Department of Justice

 Office of Justice Programs 

Sheriffs’ Departments

1997

 

Under 25,000 25,000-99,999 100,000-499,999 500,000 or more

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percent of sheriffs' departments

Population served

1990

1993

1997

using computers or terminals in the f ield
 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Sheriffs’ Departments

1997

Andrew L. Goldberg

and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statisticians

February 2000, NCJ 173428
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

Andrew L. Goldberg and Brian A.

Reaves prepared this report. Timothy

C. Hart provided statistical review.

Tom Hester and Tina Dorsey edited

the report. Jayne Robinson provided

final production for printing.

Debra Cohen, Joseph B. Kuhns III,

Tammy Rinehart, Karin Schmerler, and

Meg Townsend of the Department of

Justice’s Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services (COPS) developed

the community policing content of the

1997 LEMAS questionnaire. Funding

for the community policing section of

the questionnaire was provided by the

COPS Office. Additional information

on the COPS Office is available on the

Internet at: http://www.usdoj.gov/cops.

The 1997 LEMAS data were collected

and processed by the Governments

Division of the Bureau of the Census

under the supervision of Stephanie

Brown and Stephen Owens. Census

Bureau project staff included Carolyn

Gates, Henrietta Herrin, Martha Haselbush, Martha Greene, and Patricia

Torreyson. Sample selection and

imputation procedures were done by

Yukiko Ellis and Suzanne Dorinski of

the Economic Statistical Methods and

Procedures Division of the Census

Bureau under the supervision of

Carma Hogue.

Data presented in this report may be

obtained from the National Archive of

Criminal Justice Data at the University

of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The

report and data are available on the

Internet at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

Highlights iii

The LEMAS survey 1

Personnel 1

Expenditures and pay 6

 Operations 9

Community policing 16

Equipment 21

Computers and information systems 25

Methodology 29

ii Sheriffs' Departments 1997
Personnel

• As of June 1997, sheriffs’ departments had an estimated 263,427 fulltime employees, including about

175,000 sworn personnel. Total

employment was up by an average

4.4% per year since 1993, compared

to 3.1% per year from 1987 to 1993. 

• Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 19% of full-time sworn officers

in sheriffs’ departments in 1997. This

compared to 16.9% in 1993, 15.5% in

1990, and 13.4% in 1987.

• Nearly all officers worked for departments that used criminal record checks

(99%), background investigations

(98%), driving record checks (95%),

and medical exams (92%) to screen

applicants. Psychological (75%),

aptitude (69%), and physical agility

(59%) tests were also widely used. 

• In 1997, 1% of departments required

a 4-year degree of new deputy recruits

and 7% a 2-year degree. Overall, 11%

of departments required new deputy

recruits to have completed at least

some college course work in 1997, up

from 7% in 1993.

• Field and classroom training requirements for new deputy recruits

averaged more than 800 hours combined. Three-fourths of departments

required deputies to complete inservice training as well, with a median

annual requirement of 20 hours.

Expenditures and pay

• Sheriffs’ departments had total

operating expenditures of $13.1 billion

during fiscal 1997, 10% more than in

1993 after adjusting for inflation.

Expenditures averaged $73,000 per

sworn officer, and $49 per resident.

• Starting salaries for deputies

averaged about $26,000, ranging from

an average of $19,400 in the smallest

counties to $30,200 in the largest.

Nationwide, 48% of sheriffs’ deputies

worked for a department that authorized collective bargaining.

Operations

• A large percentage of sheriffs’ departments performed basic law enforcement functions such as providing

routine patrol services (98%), responding to citizen calls for service (95%),

investigating crimes (91%), and enforcing traffic laws (84%). 

• Most sheriffs’ departments had drug

enforcement responsibilities (87%),

and just over half of them, employing

80% of all officers, had drug asset

forfeiture receipts during fiscal 1997.

About a third had officers assigned fulltime to a drug enforcement unit, and

half had officers assigned to a multiagency drug task force. 

• In addition to traditional law enforcement duties, nearly all sheriffs’ departments were responsible for performing

court-related functions such as serving

civil process (98%) and providing court

security (95%). Eighty percent

operated a jail.

• About 5 in 6 sheriffs’ departments

participated in a 9-1-1 emergency

telephone system during 1997,

compared to 4 in 6 during 1993. In

1997, 51% of departments had

enhanced 9-1-1 systems (capable of

pinpointing the source of a call

automatically) compared to 36% in

1993. 

Community policing

• Thirty-four percent of sheriffs’ departments serving a population of 250,000

or more had a formal written community policing plan. Overall, about 3 in 4

sheriffs’ officers worked for a department with some type of community

plan.

• Thirty-five percent of departments

serving a population of 100,000 or

more had a community policing unit

with full-time personnel. Another 16%

had personnel who were designated to

perform community policing activities

but were not part of a separate unit.

• During the 3-year period ending June

30, 1997, about half of sheriffs’ departments trained at least some of their

in-service officers (55%) and new

officer recruits (47%) in community

policing. Twenty-nine percent reported

all new recruits received such training.

• About 5 in 6 sheriffs’ departments

met with community groups during the

12-month period ending June 30,

1997. More than a fourth had formed

problem-solving partnerships through

written agreements (29%). 

• An estimated 38% of sheriffs’ departments, employing 63% of all officers,

had deputies assigned full-time as

school resource officers. Nationwide, 

about 2,900 deputies worked as school

resource officers during 1997. 

Highlights

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 iii

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Percent of full-time

*Includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

sworn personnel

1987

1990 1993

1997

Minority sheriffs' officers, 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

All minorities* Black Hispanic
Equipment

• Ninety-five percent of sheriffs’ departments, employing 98% of all sheriffs’

officers, authorized the use of semiautomatic sidearms in 1997. These

percentages represented increases

over the 1993 figures of 82% and 91%.

• In 1997 nearly all sheriffs’ departments authorized the use of nonlethal

weapons by officers. From 1993 to

1997, the percentage authorizing

pepper spray increased from 56% to

87% while the percentage authorizing

batons remained at about 80%. 

• Thirty-nine percent of sheriffs’ departments required all of their regular field

officers to wear protective body armor

while on duty in 1997, up from 30% in

1993.

 

• Nationwide, sheriffs’ departments

operated approximately 100,000 cars

during 1997, or about 54 per 100

officers. About a third of these cars

were unmarked.

• Nearly a third of sheriffs’ departments were using boats in 1997,

including about half of those serving a

population of 50,000 or more. Small

percentages used airplanes (4%) or

helicopters (4%).

Computers and information systems

• Ninety-three percent of sheriffs’

departments used computers in 1997,

compared to 82% in 1993. In 1997,

29% of departments, employing 66% of

all officers, used mobile computers or

terminals in the field compared to 17%

and 50% in 1993.

• In 1997, about 3 in 4 sheriffs’ departments maintained computerized information on warrants (75%), arrests

(74%) and incident reports (74%).

About 3 in 5 had files on calls for

service (60%), criminal histories (60%),

and stolen property (59%).

• In nearly 1 in 8 departments, at least

some officers could access vehicle and

driving records by computer while in the

field. This was the case in about half of

the departments serving a population of

250,000 or more. 

• About 7 in 8 sheriffs’ departments

transmitted criminal incident field data 

to a central information system through

paper reports in 1997. The remainder

used other methods such as laptop

download, disk transfer, wireless transmission, or telephone lines. 

Written policy directives

• Nearly all sheriffs’ departments (93%)

had a written policy on pursuit driving.

Most (57%) limited vehicle pursuits

according to specific criteria such as

speed or offense. About 30% had a

policy that left the decision to the

officer’s discretion. Five percent

discouraged all vehicle pursuits.

• Ninety-one percent of sheriffs’ departments, employing 99% of all officers,

had a written policy on the use of

deadly force. Eighty-four percent,

employing 89% of all officers, had a

policy on the use of nonlethal force. 

Eighty-five percent of sheriffs’ departments had a policy on handling domestic disputes. Most also had a policy on

handling juveniles (83%) and mentally

ill persons (67%). 

iv Sheriffs' Departments, 1997

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

1993

1997

Population served

Sheriffs' departments using in-field computers

Percent of agencies

or terminals, 1993 and 1997

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Sheriffs' departments authorizing the use of pepper spray

by officers, 1993 and 1997

Percent of agencies

1997

Population served

1993
The LEMAS survey

During 1997, the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics (BJS), as a part of its Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program,

surveyed a nationally representative

sample of the nearly 19,000 State and

local law enforcement agencies 

operating nationwide. Previous LEMAS

surveys were conducted in 1987, 1990,

and 1993.

This report presents data from the

1997 survey describing the more than

3,000 sheriffs' departments and offices

operating in the United States in terms

of their personnel, expenditures and

pay, operations, community policing

initiatives, equipment, computers and

information systems, and written

policies. Comparisons are made with

prior years where appropriate.

Sheriffs’ departments are operated by

county or independent city governments. Because sheriffs are typically

elected officials, some agencies are

known as offices. The term departments is used universally in this report

as a matter of convenience.

The 1997 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,597 State and local law

enforcement agencies, including all 968

agencies with 100 or more sworn

officers (see Methodology for a description of the sample). The overall

response rate was 94.9%. Among

sheriffs’ departments, 915 of 1,001

surveys were returned for a 91.4%

response rate. 

This report and its companion report

(Local Police Departments 1997

NCJ-173429), summarize data

collected from agencies of all sizes.

Detailed agency-by-agency tabulations

from the 1997 LEMAS survey were 

previously published for agencies 

with 100 or more officers (see Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1997, NCJ-171681).

Personnel

As of June 30, 1997, sheriffs' departments had an estimated 263,427 fulltime employees (table 1). They

employed an additional 20,025 persons

on a part-time basis. About 175,000, or

66%, of full-time sheriffs' department

employees were sworn officers.

Sheriffs’ departments employed a

fourth of all State and local sworn

officers nationwide. Their 88,754

nonsworn employees comprised about

a third of all nonsworn State and local

law enforcement employees.

There were about 39,000, or 17.4%,

more full-time employees in sheriffs'

departments in 1997 than in 1993.

(figure 1). For all State and local law

enforcement agencies, the increase in

number of employees from 1993 to

1997 was about 107,000, or 12.8%. 

When only sworn personnel are considered, employment by sheriffs' departments increased by 19,000, or 12.1%,

from 1993 to 1997. Overall, the

number of sworn personnel employed

by State and local law enforcement

agencies in 1997 was up by 68,000, or

10.9%, compared to 1993.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 1

Note: Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 1997. Consolidated police-sheriff

agencies are included under local police category. Table excludes agencies created since 

June 30, 1996. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

*State and local agencies with a limited jurisdictional area or limited enforcement responsibilities.

Texas constable 751 2,068 1,838 230 664 600 64

Special police* 1,332 61,022 44,509 16,513 15,234 4,502 10,732

State police 49 82,261 54,206 28,055 895 70 825

Sheriff 3,088 263,427 174,673 88,754 20,025 10,633 9,392

Local police 13,540 531,496 420,152 111,345 62,373 31,079 31,294

Total 18,760 940,275 695,378 244,897 99,191 46,884 52,307

agency agencies Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Type of Number of Full-time Part-time

Number of employees

Table 1. Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies 

in the United States, 1997

1987 1990 1993 1997 1987 1990 1993 1997

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

All State

and local

 Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies,

Full-time employees Full-time officers

1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Number of employees

Sheriffs'

departments

only

Figure 1
Nationwide, 363 sheriffs’ departments

employed at least 100 sworn personnel

(11.8%), including 17 with 1,000 or

more officers (0.6%) (table 2). Nearly

900 departments employed fewer than

10 officers (28.4%), including 35 with

just one sworn officer (1.1%). 

About a third of all full-time sheriffs'

officers were employed by a department with 500 or more officers, and

about two-thirds were employed by one

with at least 100 officers. Sheriffs'

departments that employed fewer than

10 officers accounted for 2.4% of all

sheriffs' officers nationwide. 

2 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

*Includes both full-time and part-time employees. 

--Less than .5%.

1 35 1.1 35 --

2-4 304 9.8 932 0.5

5-9 539 17.4 3,269 1.9

10-24 958 31.0 12,912 7.4

25-49 539 17.5 17,622 10.1

50-99 348 11.3 21,151 12.1

100-249 230 7.5 32,447 18.6

250-499 83 2.7 27,605 15.8

500-999 33 1.1 21,377 12.2

1,000 or more 17 0.6% 37,322 21.4%

 Total 3,088 100.0% 174,673 100.0%

Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time 

 Agencies sworn personnel

Number

of sworn

personnel*

Table 2. Sheriffs' departments, 

by number of sworn personnel, 1997

As of June 1997, the largest sheriff’s

department was the Los Angeles

County (CA) Sheriff’s Department

with 8,021 full-time sworn personnel.

About half of these officers were

assigned to the area of law enforcement field operations, making it at

least 4 times larger than any other

law enforcement operation among

sheriffs’ departments. The agency

had about 2,200 officers working in

its jails and about 1,400 assigned to

court-related duties. The agency also

had about 4,500 full-time civilian

employees. 

Cook County (IL) operated the

second largest sheriff’s department;

however, just 11% of its officers were

assigned to law enforcement field

operations. Just over half worked in

jail-related positions, and slightly

more than a third primarily performed

court-related duties.

Among the 25 largest sheriffs’ departments, 10 had more officers assigned

to field operations than any other

function, while 15 had the largest

number assigned to jail operations.

Seventeen agencies had officers

assigned to court operations, with the

percentage ranging from 4% to 36%.

Note: Detail may not add to 100% because some functional areas were excluded 

from the table. The table excludes agencies from Clark County (NV) (1,709 full-time sworn) and

Duval County (FL) (1,438 full-time sworn) because they are consolidated police-sheriff

departments that serve as the police departments for metropolitan Las Vegas and Jacksonville,

respectively. They are classified as local police in the LEMAS survey. 

*Data are for 1996.

Hampden Co. (MA) 747 0 54 0

Monroe Co. (NY) 757 34 50 12

Wayne Co. (MI) 764 15 60 18

Orleans Par. (LA)* 800 4 80 15

Alameda Co. (CA) 800 25% 53% 15%

Polk Co. (FL) 813 51 41 5

Travis Co. (TX) 818 26 69 0

Suffolk Co. (NY) 847 23 74 0

Hamilton Co. (OH) 951 21 48 5

Nassau Co. (NY) 1,018 5% 93% 0%

Orange Co. (FL) 1,117 86 0 8

Fulton Co. (GA) 1,125 5 53 5

Sacramento Co. (CA) 1,173 54 32 9

Riverside Co. (CA) 1,179 71 16 10

San Bernardino Co. (CA) 1,246 62% 28% 0%

Orange Co. (CA) 1,303 49 44 0

Bexar Co. (TX) 1,315 19 68 9

Pinellas Co. (FL) 1,425 41 43 12

Palm Beach Co. (FL) 1,615 50 40 8

Hillsborough Co. (FL) 1,743 47% 39% 4%

San Diego Co. (CA) 1,861 46 42 0

Broward Co. (FL) 1,906 47 52 0

Harris Co. (TX) 2,474 23 60 9

Cook Co. (IL) 5,600 11 53 36

Los Angeles Co. (CA) 8,021 49% 28% 18%

operations operations operations

sworn Field Jail Court

County or equivalent personnel

Full-time Percent of officers by area of duty

Twenty-five largest sheriffs’ departments by number and function of full-time sworn personnel, 1997
Although 51% of all sheriffs' departments served a jurisdiction with fewer

than 25,000 residents, these departments employed just 10% of all sheriffs'

officers nationwide (table 3). About half

of all sheriffs' officers served a jurisdiction with 250,000 or more residents,

including more than a fifth in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or

more. 

On average, sheriffs' departments

nationwide had 85 full-time employees

including 57 sworn personnel (table 4).

Sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions

with a population of 1 million or more

had an average of 1,916 full-time 

employees, including 1,226 sworn 

officers and 690 civilian employees. 

In contrast, sheriffs' departments 

in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents employed an average of 

6 full-time sworn officers, and 3 fulltime civilians. 

Gender and race of officers

Of the estimated 174,673 full-time

sworn personnel employed by sheriffs'

departments in 1997, about 16% were

women (table 5). The percentage of

female officers varied slightly across

population sizes, ranging from about

20% in jurisdictions with a population 

of 500,000 to 999,999, to about 12% in

jurisdictions with a population of under

25,000. 

In 1997, 19% of full-time sheriffs'

officers were members of a racial or

ethnic minority, with the percentage

of minority officers higher than this in

jurisdictions with a population of

500,000 or more. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 3

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. 

Under 10,000 719 23.3 4,401 2.5

10,000-24,999 859 27.8 12,553 7.2

25,000-49,999 641 20.7 18,245 10.4

50,000-99,999 379 12.3 20,274 11.6

100,000-249,999 291 9.4 32,991 18.9

250,000-499,999 110 3.6 24,348 13.9

500,000-999,999 60 1.9 24,287 13.9

1,000,000 or more 31 1.0% 37,574 21.5%

 All sizes 3,088 100% 174,673 100%

Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time 

Population Agencies sworn personnel

served

Table 3. Sheriffs' departments and full-time sworn personnel, 

by size of population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Under 10,000 9 6 3 2 1 1

10,000-24,999 22 15 7 4 2 1

25,000-49,999 42 28 14 5 3 2

50,000-99,999 79 54 25 7 4 3

100,000-249,999 166 113 53 15 8 7

250,000-499,999 339 222 117 25 12 13

500,000-999,999 619 407 212 26 8 18

1,000,000 or more 1,916 1,226 690 27 11 16

 All sizes 85 57 29 6 3 3

Total Sworn Nonsworn Total Sworn Nonsworn

Population Full-time Part-time

served

Average number of employees

Table 4. Average number of employees in sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

*Includes Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

Under 10,000 100 88.1 11.9 93.2 82.1 11.2 2.2 2.0 0.2 3.7 3.3 0.4 0.9 0.7 0.2

10,000-24,999 100 88.3 11.7 88.6 79.4 9.1 8.3 6.1 2.2 2.6 2.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.1

25,000-49,999 100 86.9 13.1 88.0 78.0 10.1 8.6 6.0 2.6 2.3 2.0 0.3 1.1 1.0 0.1

50,000-99,999 100 86.9 13.1 92.0 80.4 11.6 5.8 4.5 1.3 1.8 1.7 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.1

100,000-249,999 100 84.4 15.6 84.2 73.0 11.2 11.5 7.9 3.6 3.5 2.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.1

250,000-499,999 100 84.6 15.4 83.7 71.8 11.9 9.8 7.3 2.5 5.6 4.7 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.2

500,000-999,999 100 80.2 19.8 74.8 62.8 12.0 17.2 10.6 6.6 6.2 5.1 1.0 1.9 1.6 0.2

1,000,000 or more 100% 82.8% 17.2% 67.1% 57.9% 9.3% 16.9% 11.4% 5.5% 13.5% 11.4% 2.1% 2.5% 2.2% .3%

 All sizes 100% 84.4% 15.6% 81.0% 70.2% 10.8% 11.8% 8.0% 3.7% 5.9% 5.0% .9% 1.3% 1.1% .2%

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female

Population Total White Black Hispanic Other*

served

Percent of full-time sworn employees who are:

Table 5. Gender and race of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997
Blacks accounted for about 12% of all

sheriffs' officers in 1997, with departments serving a population of 500,000

or more employing the highest percentage of black officers (17%). About 6%

of sheriffs' officers nationwide were

Hispanic, with departments serving a

population of 1 million or more having

the most Hispanic officers (13.5%). 

In 1997 there were 27,216 female

sheriffs’ officers, about 4,600, or 20%,

more than in 1993. During this time

female representation among sheriffs'

officers increased from 14.5% to 15.6%

(figure 2). The number of sheriffs'

officers who were members of a racial

or ethnic minority in 1997 (33,181)

represented an increase of about

7,000, or 26%, over 1993 levels.

Minority representation increased

from 16.9% to 19% during this time.

The estimated 20,588 full-time black

officers employed by sheriffs’ departments in 1997 represented an increase

of about 5,000, or 32%, compared to

1993. This resulted in an increase in

the percentage of officers who were

black from 10% to 11.8%. There were

an estimated 10,342 Hispanic officers

employed by sheriffs' departments in

1997. This was 15% more than in

1993 (8,979). The percentage of

sheriffs' officers represented by

Hispanics in 1997 (5.9%) was about

the same as in 1993 (5.8%).

Screening of officer applicants 

Sheriffs’ departments employed a

variety of screening methods when

hiring new officers (table 6). Nearly all

used interviews (98%), criminal record

checks (96%), background investigations (93%), and driving record checks

(90%). About three-fourths of departments used medical exams (73%),

including about 90% of those serving

100,000 or more residents. About half

used psychological screening (52%),

including more than 80% of those

serving 250,000 or more residents.

Just under half of all sheriffs’ departments used drug tests (44%) and

mental aptitude tests (43%) as screening devices. A majority of the departments serving a population of 50,000 or

more residents used these methods.

About a third of departments used a

physical agility test to screen officer

applicants, including 89% of those

serving 1 million or more residents. In

contrast, just a third of the departments

serving from 10,000 to 99,999

residents, and a fourth of those serving

fewer than 10,000 residents did so.

4 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Female and minority sheriffs' officers,

1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

1987

1990

1993

1997

Female All minorities* Black Hispanic

* Includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders,

American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

Figure 2

Note: List of screening methods is not intended to be exhaustive. 

Under 10,000 96 91 86 87 60 41 23 28 26 5 1

10,000-24,999 98 95 92 85 69 46 37 35 33 6 0

25,000-49,999 98 98 96 91 75 51 44 44 33 14 3

50,000-99,999 99 100 97 95 83 57 59 55 35 12 3

100,000-249,999 100 99 98 96 88 66 71 65 48 39 3

250,000-499,999 98 99 97 94 90 81 78 68 49 46 11

500,000-999,999 100 100 100 96 90 83 83 73 64 48 13

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 96% 89% 96% 82% 89% 89% 89% 46% 4%

All sizes 98% 96% 93% 90% 73% 52% 44% 43% 35% 14% 2%

 Voice 

 stress 

 analyzer

 Poly- 

 graph

 exam

 

 Physical

 agility

 test

 Written

 aptitude

 test

 Drug 

 test

 Psycho-

 logical 

 screen

 Medical

 exam

 Driving 

 record

 check

 Back-

 ground 

 invest- 

 igation

 Criminal

 record 

 check

Personal

interview

Population

served

Screening methods used to select new deputy recruits

Table 6. Screening methods used in selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs' departments,

by size of population served, 1997
Education and training requirements

Nearly all (97%) sheriffs' departments

had an education requirement for new

deputy recruits (table 7). The typical

minimum requirement was a high

school diploma or equivalent (86%).

About 11% of departments had some

type of college requirement, usually a

2-year degree (7%). Just 1% required

new deputy recruits to have a 4-year

college degree.

Eleven percent of sheriffs' officers

nationwide were employed by a department that had some type of college

requirement for new deputy recruits,

compared to 7% in 1993. 

On average, sheriffs' departments

required 538 training hours of new

deputy recruits, with about two-thirds 

of it in the classroom (table 8). 

Departments serving a population of

500,000 to 999,999 (1,003 hours)

required more than twice as much as

those serving a population of under

25,000.

When departments are weighted

according to number of officers, it is

estimated that the average new deputy

recruit in 1997 was required to undergo

more than 800 hours of training, with

about three-fifths of it in the classroom. 

In addition to entry-level requirements,

about three-fourths of sheriffs’ departments required officers to complete

in-service training. The median annual

requirement was 20 hours. 

From 1990 to 1997, the median

number of training hours required of

new deputy recruits increased in all

population categories (figure 3). The

largest increase was among departments serving 100,000 to 499,999

residents — from 496 hours to 680

hours; and among departments serving

500,000 or more residents — from 800

hours to 870 hours. 

Six percent of sheriffs' departments,

employing about a third of all sheriffs’

officers, operated a training academy.

Two-thirds of the departments serving 

1 million or more residents did so,

compared to less than 10% of those 

serving a population under 100,000. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 5

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

*Non-degree requirements.

Under 10,000 94 90 1 3 0

10,000-24,999 98 88 4 6 1

25,000-49,999 96 83 2 10 1

50,000-99,999 99 78 7 13 1

100,000-249,999 97 86 4 6 2

250,000-499,999 99 83 6 9 1

500,000-999,999 100 85 7 4 4

1,000,000 or more 96% 89% 3% 4% 0%

 All sizes 97% 86% 3% 7% 1%

4-year

college

degree

2-year

college

degree

Some

college*

High

school

diploma

Total

with

requirement

Population

served

Percent of agencies requiring a minimum of:

Table 7. Minimum educational requirement for new deputy recruits

in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997

Note: Average number of training hours

excludes departments not requiring training.

Under 10,000 441 332 109

10,000-24,999 450 335 115

25,000-49,999 521 368 153

50,000-99,999 600 378 222

100,000-249,999 715 416 300

250,000-499,999 710 396 314

500,000-999,999 1,003 557 446

1,000,000 or more 804 508 296

All sizes 538 365 173

Field

 Class-

 Total room

Population 

served

Average number

of hours required

Table 8. Training requirements 

for new deputy recruits in sheriffs' 

departments, by size of population

served, 1997

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0 200 400 600 800 1,000

Median hours required*

1993

1997

Population served

* Agencies not requiring training were excluded.

Median number of training hours required of new deputy

recruits in sheriffs' departments, 1990, 1993 and 1997

1990

Figure 3

Under 10,000 1

10,000-24,999 2

25,000-49,999 4

50,000-99,999 6

100,000-249,999 13

250,000-499,999 28

500,000-999,999 29

1,000,000 or more 68%

 All sizes 6%

Percent with 

training academy

Population 

served
Expenditures and pay

Operating expenditures

The total operating expenditure of

sheriffs' departments during fiscal 1997

was about $13.1 billion, 22% more than

in 1993 (table 9). Controlling for inflation, the net increase in spending was

10%. (These figures do not include

capital expenditures such as equipment

purchases or construction projects).

Sheriffs' departments accounted for

about a fourth of the $50.7 billion in

total operating expenditures for State

and local law enforcement agencies

during fiscal 1997. 

Nationwide, operating expenditures

averaged about $4.25 million per 

department for fiscal 1997, ranging

from an average of about $114 million

for departments serving a population of

1 million or more, to $342,000 among

those serving fewer than 10,000

residents. 

The overall operating cost per resident

was $49, with departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than

10,000 costing the most to operate,

$60 per resident. 

Nationwide, sheriffs' departments cost

an estimated $73,000 per sworn officer

to operate for fiscal 1997, ranging from

$93,300 per officer in jurisdictions with

1 million or more residents to about 

half that amount in jurisdictions with a

population of 10,000 to 24,999. 

When both sworn and nonsworn

employees are included, the average

operating expenditure for sheriffs'

departments was $48,000 per

employee for the year, with a high of

about $59,000 per employee in jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents. 

Overall, employee salaries and benefits

accounted for about $4 of every $5 

in operating expenditures.

Salaries

The overall average base starting

salary for sheriffs was $44,400 in 1997

(table 10). Starting salaries for sheriffs

ranged from $98,900 in jurisdictions

with 1 million or more residents to

$31,300 in jurisdictions with a population of less than 10,000.

The average base starting salary 

offered by sheriffs' departments 

to entry-level deputies was about

$21,500 in 1997. This was 11% more

than in 1993, but the net increase after

controlling for inflation was just 0.2%.

Departments serving 50,000 or more

residents had an average starting

salary that was higher than the overall

average, ranging from $22,600 in those

serving 50,000 to 99,999 residents to

$30,200 in those serving with 1 million

or more residents. The average starting salary for deputies in departments

serving a population of less than

10,000 was 10% below the overall

average.

 

6 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Note: Figures are for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, or the most recent fiscal year

completed prior to that date. Figures do not include capital expenditures such as equipment

purchases or construction costs. Computation of per officer and per employee averages include

both full-time and part-time employees, with a weight of .5 assigned to part-time employees.

Total and per agency figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000, per officer and per employee

figures to the nearest $100.

Under 10,000 245,799,000 342,000 51,500 33,700 60

10,000-24,999 617,107,000 718,000 45,800 30,300 43

25,000-49,999 998,220,000 1,557,000 51,800 34,800 44

50,000-99,999 1,227,626,000 3,239,000 58,400 39,400 46

100,000-249,999 2,358,132,000 8,104,000 69,000 46,600 52

250,000-499,999 1,955,313,000 17,776,000 78,200 50,700 49

500,000-999,999 2,208,152,000 36,803,000 90,000 58,500 52

1,000,000 or more $3,522,793,000 $113,638,000 $93,300 $59,600 $47

 All sizes $13,133,141,000 $4,253,000 $73,000 $48,000 $49

Per 

resident

 Per 

 employee

 Per 

 sworn officer

 Per 

Total agency

Population

served

Operating expenditures, fiscal year 1997

Table 9. Operating expenditures of sheriffs' departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Special police 3.2 2.8

State police 5.2 4.2

Sheriff 13.1 10.7

Local police $29.2 $24.3

 Total $50.7 $41.9

1997 1993

Agency operating

expenditures (in billions)

Note: Salary figures have been rounded to the nearest $100. Computation of

average salary excludes departments with no full-time employee in that position.

Under 10,000 19,400 20,700 23,900 31,300

10,000-24,999 20,100 21,700 25,200 38,600

25,000-49,999 21,400 22,900 27,300 44,400

50,000-99,999 22,600 24,300 28,700 51,000

100,000-249,999 24,000 25,600 31,800 60,600

250,000-499,999 25,800 28,200 37,700 73,100

500,000-999,999 27,200 29,900 38,900 78,100

1,000,000 or more $30,200 $32,700 $43,700 $98,900

 All sizes $21,500 $23,000 $27,700 $44,400

Sergeant Sheriff

Deputy 

after 1 year

Entry-level

Population served deputy

 Average base starting salary, 1997

Table 10. Average base starting salary for selected positions in

sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997
When departments are weighted

according to number of officers, the

estimated average base starting salary

for entry-level deputies in 1997 was

$25,800. This increased by $2,000 for

those with 1 year of experience. 

Salaries for the positions of sergeant or

equivalent increased with jurisdiction

size in a pattern similar to that for entrylevel officers. Overall, the average

starting salary for sergeants was

$27,700, ranging from $43,700 in the

largest jurisdictions to $23,900 in the

smallest jurisdictions. When departments are weighted according to size,

the estimated average base starting

salary for sergeants was $35,300.

Except for the largest agencies, base

starting salaries for entry-level officers

were generally lower in sheriffs' 

departments than in comparably sized

local police departments (figure 4). The

greatest difference was found among

agencies with at least 25 officers but

fewer than 250  more than $5,000 per

year on average. 

Sheriffs’ departments with at least 250

but fewer than 1,000 officers had starting salaries that averaged $2,600 lower

than local police departments; however, sheriffs' departments employing

1,000 or more sworn personnel offered

a starting salary to entry-level officers

that was similar to that found in local

police departments.

Special pay

Nationwide, 17% of all sheriffs' departments offered education incentive pay

to qualifying officers, including over half

of those serving a population of at least

250,000 residents (table 11). Most of

the departments serving a population of

250,000 or more offered education

incentive pay, and nearly half of all

sheriffs' officers nationwide worked for

a department that offered it.

Hazardous duty pay was available in

just 5% of all sheriffs' departments;

however, about a third of the departments in jurisdictions with a population

of 500,000 or more offered it. Nationwide, about a fourth of all sheriffs'

officers were employed by a department that offered hazardous duty pay.

Nineteen percent of sheriffs' departments, employing 38% of all sheriffs'

officers nationwide, offered merit pay to

qualifying officers. More than half of

the departments serving a population

between 500,000 and 

999,999 offered merit pay to officers

compared to a tenth of those serving

fewer than 10,000 residents.

Seventeen percent of all sheriffs'

departments offered shift differential

pay to their full-time officers. Half of

the departments in jurisdictions with at

least 1 million residents and about

two-fifths of those serving 250,000 to

999,999 residents had shift differential

pay. Nationwide about a third of all

sheriffs' officers were employed by a

department with shift differential pay.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 7

Under 25

25-99

100-249

250-999

1,000 or more

$0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000

sworn personnel

Average base starting salary for entry-level officers

in sheriffs' departments and local police departments,

by size of agency, 1997

Number of full-time

Base starting salary

Sheriffs' deputies

Local police officers

Figure 4

Under 10,000 6 1 10 6

10,000-24,999 10 4 16 11

25,000-49,999 15 2 15 21

50,000-99,999 30 6 23 21

100,000-249,999 33 11 36 31

250,000-499,999 54 15 39 43

500,000-999,999 54 31 54 37

1,000,000 or more 57% 36% 29% 50%

 All sizes 17% 5% 19% 17%

 Shift 

Merit differential 

 Hazardous 

 duty

 Education

 incentive

Population

served

Percent of agencies authorizing pay for:

Table 11. Sheriffs’ departments authorizing special pay for 

full-time sworn personnel, by size of population served, 1997
Work-related policies

About three-fifths of sheriffs’ departments, employing two-thirds of all

officers, had a written policy pertaining

to the maximum number of hours that

officers can work (table 12). Departments serving a population of at least

250,000 but less than 1 million (78%)

were the most likely to maintain such 

a policy.

Seventy-two percent of all departments, employing 90% of all officers,

had a written policy on off-duty employment. More than 90% of the

departments serving a population 

of 1 million or more or a population 

of 50,000 to 99,999 had such a policy,

compared to about half of the departments serving a population of less than

10,000.

Unions and collective bargaining

Thirty-eight percent of all sheriffs'

departments authorized police union

membership by their sworn personnel,

including a majority of those in jurisdictions with 250,000 or more residents

(table 13). Nationwide, about half of all

sheriffs' officers were employed by a

department that authorized them to

belong to a police union.

Thirty percent of all departments,

employing 38% of all officers nationwide, authorized membership in a

nonpolice union. Seventy-four percent

of all departments authorized officer

membership in a police association.

These departments employed 82% of

all sheriffs' officers nationwide. 

Nationwide, 31% of all sheriffs' departments, employing 48% of all 

officers, authorized collective bargaining for sworn personnel (table 

14). About two-thirds of the departments serving a population of 250,000

to 999,999 and three-fourths of those

serving a population of 1 million or

more authorized collective bargaining

for officers. Just 1 in 6 departments in

jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents did so. 

Nonsworn personnel in sheriffs' departments were slightly less likely to have

collective bargaining rights than sworn

employees. Overall, 26% of departments, employing 43% of all nonsworn

personnel, authorized collective

bargaining for such employees. 

 

8 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 54 51

10,000-24,999 58 71

25,000-49,999 53 75

50,000-99,999 59 94

100,000-249,999 63 78

250,000-499,999 78 90

500,000-999,999 78 88

1,000,000 or more 61% 96%

 All sizes 58% 72%

Off-duty

employment

Maximum

work hours

Population

served

 Percent of agencies 

 with a written policy 

 directive pertaining to: 

Table 12. Work-related policy 

directives maintained by sheriffs’

departments, by size of population

served, 1997

Under 10,000 27 24 61

10,000-24,999 33 25 69

25,000-49,999 41 34 76

50,000-99,999 44 33 91

100,000-249,999 50 38 88

250,000-499,999 68 39 76

500,000-999,999 55 49 91

1,000,000 or more 72% 50% 79%

 All sizes 38% 30% 74%

Police

association

Nonpolice

union

Police

union

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

authorizing membership in:

Table 13. Officer membership 

organizations authorized by sheriffs’

departments, by size of population

served, 1997

Under 10,000 16 12

10,000-24,999 26 23

25,000-49,999 33 27

50,000-99,999 38 32

100,000-249,999 41 39

250,000-499,999 67 49

500,000-999,999 65 50

1,000,000 or more 75% 75%

 All sizes 31% 26%

Nonsworn

employees

Sworn 

employees

Population

served

Percent of agencies

authorizing collective

bargaining for:

Table 14. Collective bargaining

authorized by sheriffs' departments,

by size of population served, 1997
Operations

Patrol and response

Ninety-eight percent of sheriffs' departments provided routine patrol services

in their jurisdiction during 1997 (table

15). Only in jurisdictions with 500,000

or more residents, did less than 90% of

the departments have routine patrol

responsibilities.

Typically, sheriffs’ departments provide

patrol and other law enforcement

services to unincorporated areas of a

county, and to incorporated areas not

served by local police. Nationwide,

95% of all sheriffs' officers were

employed by a department that

provided routine patrol services.

Nearly all sheriffs’ departments used

automobiles (98%) for routine patrol.

Eighteen percent of departments

routinely used some form of marine

patrol (18%), including about two-fifths

of those serving a population of

250,000 or more. About 1 in 6 departments used foot patrols on a routine

basis, while less than 1 in 10 used

bicycles (6%), motorcycles (4%), or

horses (2%) for routine patrol.

More than a third of sheriffs’ departments provided foot patrol during

special events although they did not

perform such patrols on a routine

basis. Horse (14%) and marine (12%)

units were the next most likely types of

patrol to be used during special events,

but not on a routine basis. 

Ninety-five percent of sheriffs' departments reported they had primary

responsibility for responding to citizen

calls for service (table 16). The

percentage of departments that

responded to service calls was 97% or

higher in all population categories less

than 100,000. 

Three-fourths of sheriffs' departments

had responsibility for dispatching calls

for service to officers in the field, with

departments serving a population of

less than 25,000 the most likely to

provide dispatch services.

9-1-1 emergency telephone system

In 1997, 84% of sheriffs' departments

participated in an 9-1-1 emergency 

telephone system whereby one of their

units could be dispatched as a result of

a citizen call to 9-1-1 or its equivalent

(table 17). At least 70% of the departments in each population category

were 9-1-1 participants in 1997, including about 90% of those serving 25,000

to 499,999 residents. 

Three-fifths of sheriffs’ department

9-1-1 systems were enhanced, capable

of pinpointing the location of a caller

automatically. More than two-thirds of

departments serving a population of

100,000 to 499,999 had enhanced

9-1-1, compared to about a third of

those serving a population of less than

10,000. This latter category was the

only one where a majority of 9-1-1

systems used by sheriffs’ departments

were not enhanced. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 9

Under 10,000 99 99 7 18 2 2 2

10,000-24,999 99 99 14 18 2 1 1

25,000-49,999 100 100 19 14 4 2 1

50,000-99,999 98 97 32 12 16 4 4

100,000-249,999 91 91 26 16 8 9 1

250,000-499,999 95 95 41 9 15 24 5

500,000-999,999 83 83 37 24 33 31 9

1,000,000 or more 82% 79% 40% 18% 29% 36% 11%

 All sizes 98% 98% 18% 16% 6% 4% 2%

 Horse

Motorcycle 

 Foot Bicycle

 

 Marine

AutomobileAny 

type

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each type of patrol on a routine basis:

Table 15. Types of patrol used on a routine basis by sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Automobile 1

Motorcycle 5

Bicycle 6

Marine 12

Horse 14

Foot 37%

Percent of 

agencies using for

special events only

Type of 

patrol

Under 10,000 100 83

10,000-24,999 99 82

25,000-49,999 98 73

50,000-99,999 97 64

100,000-249,999 81 60

250,000-499,999 73 60

500,000-999,999 71 58

1,000,000 or more 75% 68%

 All sizes 95% 75%

Dispatching calls 

for service

Responding to calls

for service

Population

served

Percent of agencies

with primary responsibility for: 

Table 16. Calls for service 

functions of sheriffs' 

departments, by size of 

population served, 1997

Note: Participating agencies are those whose

units can be dispatched as a result of a call to

9-1-1. Some agencies were not responsible for

responding to calls for service.

Under 10,000 75 31 44

10,000-24,999 82 45 37

25,000-49,999 88 62 26

50,000-99,999 92 63 29

100,000-249,999 91 70 21

250,000-499,999 93 69 24

500,000-999,999 70 53 17

1,000,000 or more 75% 50% 25%

 All sizes 84% 51% 33%

Total Enhanced Basic

Percent of agencies particiPopulation pating in a 9-1-1 system

served

Table 17. Participation in a 9-1-1

emergency telephone system, by

sheriffs’ departments, by size of

population served, 1997
The 84% participation rate in 9-1-1

among sheriffs’ departments in 1997

was a significant increase from 1993

when 65% of all sheriffs' departments

were 9-1-1 participants, and twice the

percentage of departments with 9-1-1

participation in 1990 (42%) (figure 5). 

The half of sheriffs' departments participating in an enhanced 9-1-1 system in

1997 represented a sizable increase

over 1993, when just over a third were

participants, and was nearly 5 times the

proportion reporting such a capability in

1990.

In 1997, 88% of all sheriffs' officers

worked for a department with 9-1-1,

and 66% worked for one with enhanced

9-1-1. The comparative percentages

for 1993 were 79% and 60%, respectively. 

Crime investigation

Overall, 91% of sheriffs’ departments

had primary responsibility for investigating at least some types of crimes.

Eighty-seven percent had primary

responsibility for investigating violent

crimes such as murder, rape, robbery,

or assault (table 18). Departments

serving a population of less than

100,000 were more likely to be responsible for such investigations than those

in larger jurisdictions.

Eighty-eight percent of sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for 

investigating property crimes such as 

burglary, larceny, or motor vehicle theft.

As with violent crimes, departments

serving fewer than 100,000 residents

were the most likely to handle property

crime investigations. 

Seventy-two percent of sheriffs' departments were responsible for arson

investigations, with those serving a

population of less than 250,000 the

most likely to handle such incidents. 

Forty-two percent of sheriffs' departments were responsible for investigating environmental crimes, ranging from

about half of those serving a population

of less than 10,000 to about a fourth of

serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents.

Investigative support functions

About two-thirds of sheriffs’ departments were responsible for fingerprint

processing (65%) (table 19). This

included at least 61% of the departments in each population category. 

Overall, few sheriffs' departments were

responsible for providing crime lab

services (6%) or conducting ballistics

tests (2%). Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or

more were the most likely to be responsible for these functions: 47% were

responsible for crime lab services and

29% for ballistics testing.

10 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Figure 5

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

75%

90%

Sheriffs' departments participating in a 9-1-1 emergency

telephone system, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997

Any 9-1-1 system Enhanced 9-1-1 system Basic 9-1-1 system

1987

1990 1993 1997

Percent of agencies

*Rape, robbery or assault.

**Burglary, larceny/theft, or motor vehicle theft.

Under 10,000 86 86 70 89 51

10,000-24,999 91 91 77 93 43

25,000-49,999 91 93 74 93 42

50,000-99,999 90 90 77 87 38

100,000-249,999 73 75 70 75 36

250,000-499,999 71 71 56 71 27

500,000-999,999 64 64 49 68 35

1,000,000 or more 71% 71% 50% 75% 32%

 All sizes 87% 87% 72% 88% 42%

Homicide Other* Arson Other**

Environmental

crimes

Population Violent crimes Property crimes

served

Percent of agencies with primary 

responsibility for investigating:

Table 18. Crime investigation functions of sheriffs' 

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 61 1 2

10,000-24,999 66 3 1

25,000-49,999 64 3 1

50,000-99,999 70 6 1

100,000-249,999 63 18 4

250,000-499,999 77 34 9

500,000-999,999 68 26 18

1,000,000 or more 71% 47% 29%

 All sizes 65% 6% 2%

Ballistics 

testing

 Crime lab

 services

Fingerprint

processing

Population

served

Percent of agencies with 

primary responsibility for:

Table 19. Investigative support functions 

of sheriffs' departments, by size of population

served, 1997
Drug and vice enforcement

An estimated 87% of all sheriffs'

departments had primary responsibility

for drug enforcement in their jurisdiction (table 20). More than 90% of

departments in jurisdictions with a

population of less than 25,000 were 

responsible for drug enforcement,

compared to 59% of those in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999

residents. 

About half of all sheriffs' departments

had primary vice enforcement responsibilities. A majority of the departments

in jurisdictions with a population of

25,000 or more performed this function.

About a third of sheriffs’ departments

operated a special unit for drug

enforcement with one or more full-time

officers assigned (table 21). Threefourths of departments serving a

population of 1 million or more had a

full-time drug enforcement unit, as did

about half of the departments serving a

population of 250,000 to 999,999.

Departments serving a population of

less than 10,000 (14%) were the least

likely to have a full-time drug enforcement unit. 

The number of officers assigned fulltime to drug enforcement units totaled

over 3,500 nationwide. Another 900

were assigned on a part-time basis.

Departments serving a population of 1

million or more assigned an average of

25 full-time officers each, compared to

an average of 2 in those serving a

population of less than 50,000.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 11

Under 10,000 93 41

10,000-24,999 92 44

25,000-49,999 88 54

50,000-99,999 79 59

100,000-249,999 79 59

250,000-499,999 78 57

500,000-999,999 59 53

1,000,000 or more 79% 60%

 All sizes 87% 49%

Vice 

laws

Drug 

laws

Percent of agencies

with responsibility for

the enforcement of:

Population 

served

Table 20. Drug and vice 

enforcement functions of

sheriffs' departments, by 

size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies not having a 

unit with full-time officers.

Under 10,000 14 217 2

10,000-24,999 31 503 2

25,000-49,999 39 471 2

50,000-99,999 37 377 3

100,000-249,999 41 555 5

250,000-499,999 47 460 9

500,000-999,999 48 380 13

1,000,000 or more 75% 586 25

 All sizes 32% 3,548 4

Total Average*

Number of 

full-time officers

Percent 

of

agencies

Population

served

Full-time unit for 

drug enforcement:

Table 21. Special units for drug 

enforcement in sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

About three-fifths of sheriffs’ departments

had some type of program that authorized

the testing of regular field and patrol

officers for illegal drug use. These

departments employed 84% of all sheriffs’

officers.

Departments serving a population of

100,000 or more were the most likely to

have a drug testing program for 

officers, with percentages in these

categories ranging from 77% to 87%.

Departments serving a population of less

than 10,000 (45%) were the least likely to

test any officers for drug use.

In 23% of departments, employing 27% of

all officers, all field/patrol officers were

subject to drug testing. Twenty percent of

departments, employing 35% of all

officers, used a random selection method

for choosing those to be tested. 

A fourth of departments had a policy

authorizing drug tests of officers

suspected of using illegal drugs. 

These departments employed 42% 

of all sheriffs’ officers.

Just over half of sheriffs' departments

included civilian employees under some

type of drug testing program. These

departments employed about two-thirds

of all nonsworn sheriffs' department

personnel. About a third of departments

had either mandatory drug testing (18%)

of nonsworn employees or used a

random selection method (16%). A fourth

of departments, employing 40% of all

nonsworn employees, had a testing

program that authorized testing of civilian

employees who were suspected of using

illegal drugs. 

Note: Some agencies had more than 1 type of testing program. 

In this table, sworn category refers to regular/field patrol officers only.

Under 10,000 45 42 16 11 16 16 19 21

10,000-24,999 56 48 21 15 21 18 20 21

25,000-49,999 65 55 26 18 23 18 26 26

50,000-99,999 71 64 29 27 21 16 27 23

100,000-249,999 83 73 31 24 24 15 40 42

250,000-499,999 87 64 35 27 16 4 39 30

500,000-999,999 77 68 16 24 22 9 61 48

1,000,000 or more 86% 79% 32% 25% 25% 14% 46% 46%

 All sizes 61% 54% 23% 18% 20% 16% 25% 25%

served Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian

Use of

drugs is 

suspected

Random 

selection 

process

Mandatory 

(all are 

tested)

Any type 

of testing

Population program

Percent of agencies with drug testing of sworn or civilian employees

Drug testing of employees in sheriffs’ departments, 1997
Drug task force participation

In 1997 half of sheriffs’ departments,

employing two-thirds of all officers,

assigned 1 or more officers to a multiagency drug enforcement task force

(table 22). About 2,900 officers were

assigned full-time, and 1,100 on a parttime basis. The number of full-time

task force officers ranged from 10 in

departments serving 1 million or more

residents to 1 in those serving fewer

than 10,000 residents.

Drug asset forfeiture

Just over half (54%) of all sheriffs’

departments, employing four-fifths of all

sheriffs’ officers, had asset forfeiture

receipts during the 12-month period

ending June 1997 (table 23). A majority of departments serving a population

of 25,000 or more, including nearly all

of those serving 1 million or more

residents, had drug asset forfeiture

receipts. Collectively, sheriffs’ departments received an estimated $158

million in money, goods, and property

from drug asset forfeiture programs.

The overall median amount received

from asset forfeiture programs by

sheriffs’ departments in fiscal 1997 was

$10,000. By population category, 

median total receipts ranged from more

than $300,000 among departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more to $3,000 among those serving

fewer than 10,000 residents. 

Sheriffs’ departments received $878 in

money, goods, and property from drug

asset forfeiture programs for every

officer employed (figure 6). Departments with at least 50 but fewer than

250 full-time officers, received the most

— more than $1,500 per officer. 

The largest departments (1,000 or

more officers), and the smallest departments (fewer than 25 officers) had

asset forfeiture receipts of about $500

per officer. Departments with 250 to

999 officers had the lowest receipts per

officer — about $350.

12 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

*Excludes agencies not having a unit with full-time officers.

Under 10,000 27 124 1

10,000-24,999 46 548 2

25,000-49,999 55 515 2

50,000-99,999 67 494 2

100,000-249,999 76 496 2

250,000-499,999 63 254 4

500,000-999,999 68 264 7

1,000,000 or more 61% 190 10

 All sizes 50% 2,886 2

Total Average*

Population

served

Number of officers

assigned full-time

Percent of

agencies

participating

Multi-agency drug enforcement task force

Table 22. Multi-agency drug enforcement task 

force participation of sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997 

Note: Computation of median dollars excludes agencies that did 

not have drug asset forfeiture receipts. 

*During 12-month period ending June 30, 1997.

Under 10,000 39 1,678,400 3,000

10,000-24,999 47 14,125,800 4,000

25,000-49,999 61 30,392,200 17,200

50,000-99,999 71 35,429,400 17,600

100,000-249,999 64 34,642,300 28,000

250,000-499,999 68 9,825,700 71,000

500,000-999,999 77 8,834,700 99,000

1,000,000 or more 96% $23,174,900 $328,700

 All sizes 54% $158,103,400 $10,000

Total Median

Value of money, goods 

and property received*

Percent of 

agencies with 

receipts*

Population 

served

Table 23. Drug asset forfeiture program receipts of

sheriffs’ departments, by size of population served, 1997

Figure 6

Under 25

25-49

50-99

100-249

250-999

1,000 or more

$0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of sheriffs' departments,

by size of agency, fiscal 1997

Number of full-time

sworn personnel

Drug receipts per sworn officer*

* Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5 assigned.
Traffic and vehicle-related functions

About 5 in 6 sheriffs' departments were

responsible for the enforcement of

traffic laws (84%), and about threefourths handled accident investigations

(73%) (table 24). Approximately

two-thirds (69%) were responsible for

directing and controlling traffic. 

At least 60% of the departments in

each population category had trafficrelated responsibilities, with departments in the smallest jurisdictions the

most likely to handle these functions.

Ninety-two percent of those serving a

population of less than 10,000 were

responsible for traffic enforcement.

About 85% of these departments 

handled accident investigations and

76%, traffic direction and control.

About a third of sheriffs’ departments

had primary responsibility for parking

enforcement; including about 4 in 10

departments serving a population of

250,000 or more residents. About 1 in

8 departments provided school crossing services.

Court-related functions

To a much greater extent than their 

local police counterparts, sheriffs' 

departments were responsible for

functions related to court operations 

(see box on page 14). Nearly all

sheriffs' departments had primary

responsibility for serving civil process

(98%), executing arrest warrants

(97%), and providing court security

(95%) (table 25). Only in jurisdictions

with a population of 1 million or more

did fewer than 90% of the departments

have responsibility for these functions.

At least 96% of the departments in

each population category of less than

500,000 were responsible for serving

civil process. Nationwide, 93% of all

sheriffs' officers were employed by a

department that handled process

serving. 

At least 98% of the sheriffs’ departments in each population category

under 100,000 were responsible for

executing arrest warrants. Overall,

94% of all sheriffs’ officers were

employed by a department handled 

this function.

At least 94% of the departments in

each population category in each of

less than 1 million provided court

security services. Ninety-two percent

of all sheriffs' officers were employed

by a department responsible for court

security. 

Detention-related functions

Sheriffs’ departments were also much

more likely than local police departments to operate a jail. A jail is a

locally administered confinement facility

that holds inmates beyond arraignment,

usually for more than 48 hours. 

About 4 in 5 sheriffs' departments were

operating at least one jail during 1997

(table 26). In jurisdictions with a

population of 10,000 to 99,999, more

than 4 in 5 sheriffs’ departments

operated a jail, a slightly higher proportion than in other population categories.

Ninety percent of sheriffs' officers

nationwide were employed by a department that operated one or more jails.

Most of the 567,000 jail inmates held in

the United States as of midyear 1997

were in jails administered by sheriffs’

departments. The Nation’s jail population increased by about 24% from 1993

to 1997.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 13

Under 10,000 92 85 76 41 12

10,000-24,999 83 72 72 24 8

25,000-49,999 87 72 66 30 13

50,000-99,999 86 72 70 26 15

100,000-249,999 70 59 64 33 15

250,000-499,999 67 55 58 42 17

500,000-999,999 68 53 57 44 15

1,000,000 or more 64% 64% 54% 36% 14%

 All sizes 84% 73% 69% 32% 12%

School 

crossing

services

Parking

enforcement

Traffic 

direction

and control

Accident

investigation

Enforcement

Population served of traffic laws

 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 24. Traffic and vehicle-related functions of sheriffs' departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 98 98 95

10,000-24,999 98 98 94

25,000-49,999 99 98 94

50,000-99,999 97 99 96

100,000-249,999 98 91 95

250,000-499,999 96 90 94

500,000-999,999 91 94 98

1,000,000 or more 82% 82% 75%

 All sizes 98% 97% 95%

Provide

court

security

Execute

arrest

warrants

Serve

civil

process

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility to:

Table 25. Court-related functions 

of sheriffs' departments, by size 

of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 67

10,000-24,999 85

25,000-49,999 87

50,000-99,999 84

100,000-249,999 80

250,000-499,999 77

500,000-999,999 71

1,000,000 or more 79%

 All sizes 80%

Percent of

agencies operating

1 or more jails

Population 

served

Table 26. Jail facilities operated

by sheriffs' departments, by size 

of population served, 1997
Eighteen percent of sheriffs’ departments operated at least 1 temporary

holding facility for adults that was

separate from a jail (table 27). The

median of the maximum holding times

for these facilities was 14 hours. 

More than 60% of the departments in

jurisdictions with a population of

250,000 or more were operating a

temporary adult lockup facility. Less 

than a fifth of the departments serving

a population of less than 100,000 had

such a facility.

For adult lockup facilities, the median

total capacity was 14 persons, ranging

from 250 in jurisdictions with 1 million

or more residents to 5 in jurisdictions

with 25,000 to 49,999 residents. The

total adult capacity of sheriffs’ lockups

nationwide was about 40,000.

Ten percent of sheriffs’ departments

had at least 1 juvenile lockup facility.

Overall, the median total capacity of

juvenile lockup facilities was 4 persons,

with an median maximum holding time

of 8 hours. Departments serving a

population of less than 25,000 (8%)

were the least likely to operate a

temporary lockup facility for juveniles.

Nationwide, sheriffs’ lockups for

juveniles had a total capacity of 3,100.

14 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 17 8 8 2

10,000-24,999 10 17 8 4

25,000-49,999 11 5 11 5

50,000-99,999 16 17 12 8

100,000-249,999 25 15 13 7

250,000-499,999 61 40 27 4

500,000-999,999 69 100 19 8

1,000,000 or more 68% 250 28% 26

 All sizes 18% 14 10% 4

 Median total

 capacity

Percent 

with lockup

 Median total

 capacity

Percent 

with lockup

Population 

served

Adult Juvenile

 Agencies operating temporary holding (lockup) facilities

Table 27. Temporary lockup facilities operated by sheriffs' 

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Enforcement of traffic laws 84% 99%

Crime investigation 91% 91%

Responding to calls for service 95% 100%

Routine patrol 98% 99%

Function Sheriffs’ Local police

Percent of agencies

Like local police departments, a large majority of

sheriffs’ departments provide routine patrol services,

respond to citizen calls for service, investigate

crimes, and enforce traffic laws

Jail operations 80% 12%

Court security 95% 21%

Process serving 98% 14%

Function Sheriffs’ Local police

Percent of agencies

Sheriffs’ departments are much more likely than

local police departments to perform court- and jailrelated functions

Search and rescue 58% 23%

Fingerprint processing 65% 46%

Dispatching calls for service 75% 44%

`Function Sheriffs’ Local police

Percent of agencies

Sheriffs’ departments are also more likely 

than local police departments to dispatch 

calls, process fingerprints, and perform 

search and rescue operations

Comparing functions of sheriffs’ and local police departments, 1997

About 4 in 10 sheriffs’ deputies are regularly assigned to

respond to calls for service compared to 7 in 10 local

police officers.

Local police

Sheriffs'

0 150,000 300,000 450,000 600,000

Number of full-time sworn personnel

Local police

Sheriffs'

0 150,000 300,000 450,000 600,000

Number of uniformed officers regularly assigned 

to respond to calls for service

Technical support

Administration

Court operations

Jail operations

Field operations

Percent of full-time officers assigned

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Sheriffs'

Local police

Note: The graph does not show unspecified "other" functions.

to each functional area in agencies

with 100 or more sworn personnel
Special operations functions

A majority (58%) of sheriffs’ departments had primary responsibility for

search and rescue operations in their

jurisdiction during 1997 (table 28).

Departments performing search and

rescue operations employed nearly

two-thirds of all sheriffs’ officers. 

A third of sheriffs’ departments were

responsible for tactical, or Special

Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operations, including a majority of those

serving a population of 50,000 or more.

Departments performing tactical operations employed two-thirds of all sheriffs’

officers. 

About a fourth of all sheriffs’ departments had responsibility for underwater

recovery. This included half of departments serving a population of 1 million

or more, and about two-fifths of those

serving a population of at least 50,000

but less than 1 million.

Eight percent of sheriffs’ departments

handled bomb disposal in 1997. Half of

the departments serving a population of

1 million or more residents, two-fifths of

those serving 500,000 to 999,999

residents, and a third of those serving

250,000 to 499,999 residents had

bomb disposal responsibilities.

Special public safety functions

Another important area of responsibility

for sheriffs' departments in 1997 

involved the performance of special

functions related to public safety. For

example, about a third of departments

had primary responsibility for animal

control (table 29). This included about

two-fifths of departments serving a

population of less than 10,000, and

about a third of those serving a population of 10,000 to 99,999.

A fifth of all sheriffs' departments were

responsible for civil defense functions,

ranging from 29% of those serving

fewer than 10,000 residents to 7% of

those serving 1 million or more

residents. 

About a fifth of sheriffs' departments 

provided emergency medical services,

including a fourth of those departments

serving fewer than 25,000 residents.

Eight percent of sheriffs’ departments

provided fire services in 1997. None of

the departments in jurisdictions with

500,000 or more residents were

responsible for providing fire services.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 15

Under 10,000 4 60 12 13

10,000-24,999 2 62 20 22

25,000-49,999 5 58 40 30

50,000-99,999 5 53 52 42

100,000-249,999 25 54 57 41

250,000-499,999 34 49 60 40

500,000-999,999 40 46 64 40

1,000,000 or more 50% 61% 64% 50%

 All sizes 8% 58% 33% 27%

Underwater 

recovery

Tactical 

operations

(SWAT)

Search 

and 

rescue

 

Bomb

disposal

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 28. Special operations functions of sheriffs' 

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 42 29 26 13

10,000-24,999 34 22 24 12

25,000-49,999 34 15 16 4

50,000-99,999 31 17 12 1

100,000-249,999 14 14 8 5

250,000-499,999 16 15 16 3

500,000-999,999 9 15 18 0

1,000,000 or more 11% 7% 7% 0%

 All sizes 32% 20% 19% 8%

Fire 

services

Emergency

medical 

services

Civil

defense

 Animal

 control

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 29. Special public safety functions of sheriffs' 

departments, by size of population served, 1997
Community policing

Community policing is a philosophy that

promotes and supports organizational

strategies to address the causes and

reduce the fear of crime and social

disorder through problem-solving

tactics and community partnerships. 

A fundamental shift from traditional

reactive policing, community policing

stresses the prevention of crime before

it occurs. The implementation of a

community policing plan supports and

empowers front-line officers, decentralizes command, and encourages

innovative problem solving.

In 1997 about 1 in 7 sheriffs’ departments had a formally written community policing plan (table 30). About a

third of departments serving 250,000 or

more residents had a formally written

plan, compared to less than a tenth of

the departments in jurisdictions with 

fewer than 25,000 residents. Departments with a formal, written community

policing plan employed 33% of all

sheriffs’ officers.

In all population categories, a majority

of sheriffs’ departments had either a

formal, written community policing plan

or an informal, unwritten plan (figure 7).

About three-fourths of all sheriff’s 

officers worked for a department with

some type of community policing plan.

In the largest jurisdictions, about a third

of the community policing plans were 

unwritten, and a third were formally

written. As population size decreased,

the proportion of plans that were informal increased. Nearly half of the

departments serving fewer than 25,000

residents had no community policing

plan, formally written or not.

Community policing training

During the 3-year period ending June

30, 1997, nearly half of sheriffs’ departments, employing three-fifths of all

officers, trained at least some new

officer recruits in community policingskills such as problem solving;

Scanning, Analysis, Response,

Assessment (SARA); and developing

community partnerships (table 31).

At least half of the departments in each

population category of 25,000 or more

trained some or all new officer recruits

in community policing. 

Nearly a third of departments trained all

new recruits in community policing.

More than two-fifths of the departments

serving a population of 500,000 to

999,999 or 100,000 to 249,999 provided such training to all recruits. 

A sixth of departments trained all

in-service sworn personnel in community policing during the 3-year period

ending June 30, 1997. More than half

(55%) provided training in community

policing to at least some in-service

officers. These departments employed

nearly three-fourths of all sheriffs’

officers. Departments serving 1 million

or more residents (75%) were the

most likely to have trained at least

some in-service officers in community

policing.

16 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 7 45

10,000-24,999 9 45

25,000-49,999 16 50

50,000-99,999 19 39

100,000-249,999 17 40

250,000-499,999 34 40

500,000-999,999 35 31

1,000,000 or more 32% 43%

 All sizes 14% 44%

Informal,

unwritten

Formal, 

written 

Population 

served

Percent of agencies

with community 

policing plan

Table 30. Sheriffs’ departments 

with a formally written community

policing plan, by size of 

population served, 1997

Figure 7

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 15% 30% 45% 60%

Community policing plans of sheriffs' departments, 1997

Population served

None

Percent of agencies

Formal, written

Informal, unwritten

Note: Detail may not add to total because 

of rounding.

*During 3-year period ending June 30, 1997.

Under 10,000 46 18 28

10,000-24,999 51 16 35

25,000-49,999 60 18 42

50,000-99,999 65 14 50

100,000-249,999 58 16 42

250,000-499,999 62 22 40

500,000-999,999 66 16 49

1,000,000 or more 75% 18% 57%

All sizes 55% 17% 38%

In-service sworn personnel

Under 10,000 37 25 12

10,000-24,999 43 22 21

25,000-49,999 51 33 18

50,000-99,999 54 33 22

100,000-249,999 55 43 12

250,000-499,999 55 33 22

500,000-999,999 57 44 13

1,000,000 or more 50% 28% 21%

All sizes 47% 29% 17%

New deputy recruits

Total All Some

Percentage of agencies

that trained personnel 

for 8 or more hours in

Population community policing* 

served

Table 31. Community policing 

training for new deputy recruits and

in-service officers in sheriffs’ 

departments, by size of population

served, 1997
Specially designated community 

policing personnel

In 1997, 15% of sheriffs’ departments,

employing 45% of sheriff’s officers

nationwide, operated a community

policing unit with 1 or more officers

assigned full-time (table 32). More

than half of the departments serving 

a population of 1 million or more

residents had a full-time community

policing unit. About two-fifths of the

departments serving 250,000 to

999,999 residents had a full-time unit.

About a fifth of sheriffs’ departments

did not have a full-time community

policing unit, but had designated certain

personnel to perform community policing activities. Another sixth did not a

have a full-time unit or specially designated community policing personnel,

but had established policies or procedures to address problems and tasks

related to community policing. This

was most likely to be the case in

departments serving fewer than 10,000

residents (24%).

Nearly half (47%) of sheriffs’ departments had no community policing unit,

personnel, policies or procedures. 

This included a majority of the departments serving fewer than 10,000

residents, generally those serving the

most rural areas. 

Overall, a third of departments had fulltime sworn personnel serving as

community policing officers, whether as

part of a separate unit or not (table 33).

In some jurisdictions, these officers are

known as community relations officers,

community resource officers, or by

some other name that reflects the

community policing approach they

employ. Nationwide, sheriffs’ departments employed more than 3,600

community policing officers or their

equivalent. 

A majority of departments serving 

a population of 250,000 or more had 

full-time community policing officers.

Those in jurisdictions with 1 million or

more residents employed 25 such

officers on average, while those serving

fewer than 50,000 residents had an

average of 2 each.

About 3 in 8 sheriffs’ departments had 

full-time school resource officers (table

34). These officers use a community

policing approach to provide a safe

environment for students and staff. In

addition to handling calls for service

within the school, they work closely with

school administrators and staff to

prevent crime and disorder by monitoring crime trends, problem areas,

cultural conflicts, and other areas of

concern. Overall, sheriffs’ departments

had about 2,900 full-time sworn

personnel assigned as school resource

officers in 1997.

Nearly two-thirds of the departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more had school resource officers, with

an average of 11 each. Just a sixth of

the departments serving a population of

less than 10,000 had school resource

officers, with an average of 1 such

officer each.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 17

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Under 10,000 100 4 96 15 24 58

10,000-24,999 100 11 89 25 17 47

25,000-49,999 100 19 81 23 17 42

50,000-99,999 100 17 83 25 13 45

100,000-249,999 100 30 70 13 13 43

250,000-499,999 100 39 61 25 6 30

500,000-999,999 100 40 60 20 7 32

1,000,000 or more 100% 55% 45% 8% 8% 30%

 All sizes 100% 15% 85% 21% 17% 47%

No designated

personnel,

policies or

procedures

Has 

related

policies or

procedures

Has

specially

designated

Total personnel 

Agency has

community

 Total policing unit

Population

served

Agency has no community policing unit

Table 32. Sheriffs’ departments operating a full-time 

community policing unit, by size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time community policing officers.

Under 10,000 15 175 2

10,000-24,999 30 615 2

25,000-49,999 38 490 2

50,000-99,999 46 564 3

100,000-249,999 41 539 5

250,000-499,999 56 581 9

500,000-999,999 53 215 7

1,000,000 or more 60% 469 25

 All sizes 33% 3,649 4

Average

number 

of fulltime

sworn*

Total

number

of

officers

Percent 

of

agencies

using

Population 

served

Community policing officers

Table 33. Full-time community policing

officers in sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any

full-time school resource officers.

Under 10,000 16 169 1

10,000-24,999 35 419 1

25,000-49,999 46 538 2

50,000-99,999 44 360 2

100,000-249,999 60 689 4

250,000-499,999 54 304 5

500,000-999,999 46 195 7

1,000,000 or more 64% 223 11

 All sizes 38% 2,897 2

Average 

number 

of fulltime

sworn*

Total

number

 of

officers

Percent

of

agencies

using

Population 

served

School resource officers

Table 34. Full-time school resource

officers in sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997
Community-oriented policies 

and programs

Half of sheriffs’ departments, employing three-fourths of all sheriffs’ officers,

gave patrol officers responsibility for

specific geographic areas or beats

(table 35). This included about twothirds of the departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more. 

Just 15% of departments, employing

43% of all officers, assigned cases to

investigators by geographic area,

although about half of the departments

serving a population of 500,000 or

more did so.

About a fifth of sheriffs’ departments,

employing a third of all officers, actively

encouraged patrol officers to become

involved in problem-solving projects.

The percentage of departments

encouraging this activity ranged from

39% in the largest jurisdictions to 14%

in the smallest. Eleven percent of

departments, employing 24% of all

officers, included problem-solving

projects in the performance evaluation

criteria for patrol officers.

Many sheriffs’ departments maintained

written policy directives to guide officers

in dealing with special situations and

populations in the community. For

example, 85% of departments, employing 88% of all officers, had a written

policy to guide officers in dealing with

domestic disputes (table 36). No less

than 73% of the departments in any

population category had a written policy

for this type of situation. In special

situations such as domestic disputes,

some departments allow for officer

discretion in making an arrest. About 3

in 5 departments, employing 2 in 3

officers, had some type of written policy

pertaining to discretionary arrest power.

Eighty-three percent of departments,

employing 91% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the handling

of juveniles, and 67%, employing 75%

of all officers, had one for dealing with

mentally ill persons. Less than a fourth

of departments had a policy for dealing

with the homeless, with no more than

25% in any population category having

such a policy.

Nearly three-fourths of sheriffs’ departments had a written policy for handling

citizen complaints, including about 9 in

10 departments serving a population of

250,000 or more.

About 3 in 10 sheriffs’ departments

enhanced their proactive role in solving

community problems during the

12-month period ending June 30, 1997,

by forming problem-solving partnerships with community groups, local

agencies, or others through written

agreements (table 37). This included

about half of the departments serving a

population of 250,000 or more, and at

least a fifth of the departments in every

other population category.

18 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 32 7 14 6

10,000-24,999 48 12 17 10

25,000-49,999 57 17 21 12

50,000-99,999 58 14 20 12

100,000-249,999 66 26 20 17

250,000-499,999 70 38 32 19

500,000-999,999 66 48 26 16

1,000,000 or more 64% 54% 39% 21%

 All sizes 50% 15% 19% 11%

 Included in

 evaluation

Actively 

encouraged

 Investi-

 gators

 Patrol 

 officers

Population

served

Patrol officer involvement in problemsolving projects

Geographic

assignments

Table 35. Community-oriented policies 

for sworn personnel in sheriffs’ departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 62 53 77 22 78 58

10,000-24,999 70 60 87 25 83 70

25,000-49,999 75 64 88 22 85 66

50,000-99,999 77 61 95 21 89 73

100,000-249,999 79 66 73 19 81 67

250,000-499,999 93 71 90 25 93 78

500,000-999,999 84 76 93 18 98 79

1,000,000 or more 89% 60% 78% 22% 85% 79%

 All sizes 72% 61% 85% 22% 83% 67%

 Mentally 

 ill

Juveniles persons

 Home-

 less 

 persons

Domestic

disputes

 Discret-

 ionary

 arrest 

 powers

 Citizen

 com-

 plaints

Population

served

Agencies with a written policy directive pertaining to:

Table 36. Community-related written policy directives in sheriffs’ 

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 69 20 11 8

10,000-24,999 82 23 21 16

25,000-49,999 89 35 28 14

50,000-99,999 90 32 24 27

100,000-249,999 86 40 31 40

250,000-499,999 84 48 39 50

500,000-999,999 79 53 44 44

1,000,000 or more 89% 57% 61% 60%

 All sizes 82% 29% 23% 20%

Community

substation

Citizen

training

Problemsolving

partnership

Community

group

meetings

Population

served

Activities in year ending June 30, 1997

Table 37. Community policing activities in sheriffs’ departments,

by size of population served, 1997
Nearly a fourth of departments offered

training to citizens on community

policing topics such as community

mobilization and problem solving during

the 12-month period ending June 30,

1997. About three-fifths of the departments serving a population of 1 million

or more offered such training.

A fifth of departments operated at least

1 community substation during the

12-month period ending June 30, 1997.

This included three-fifths of the departments serving 1 million or more

residents, and nearly half of those

serving 100,000 to 999,999 residents.

About 5 in 6 departments met with 

community groups on a regular basis

during the 12-month period ending

June 30, 1997. These departments

employed 91% of all sheriffs’ officers.

About three-fourths of all officers were

employed by a department that met

with neighborhood (78%) or school

(76%) groups (figure 8). About

two-thirds worked for a department that

met with business groups (64%) and

about half for one that met with youth

service organizations (52%). Just

under half were employed by departments meeting with advocacy (47%) 

or religious (45%) groups. 

About a fourth of sheriffs’ departments,

employing two-fifths of all officers, used

citizen surveys to obtain information

during the year ending June 30, 1997

(table 38). This included about twofifths of the departments serving

250,000 to 999,999 residents.

Examples of survey topics included

satisfaction with law enforcement

services (18%), citizen perceptions of

crime problems (15%), and personal

crime experiences (10%).

A majority of the departments conducting surveys used the data to provide

information to officers (74%), and/or 

to prioritize crime-related problems

(59%) (figure 9). About two-fifths of

these departments used survey data

for resource allocation (41%) and the

formulation of agency policy and procedures (39%). About a fifth used survey

data for the redistricting of patrol beats

or reporting areas. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 19

Figure 8

Tenants' associations

Religious groups

Advocacy groups

Youth service organizations

Business groups

School groups

Neighborhood associations

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Percent of sheriffs' officers employed by

Type of group

Groups that sheriffs' departments regularly met with

to address crime-related problems, 1997

 departments that met with each type of group

Under 10,000 15 12 6 7

10,000-24,999 22 13 13 8

25,000-49,999 29 20 18 10

50,000-99,999 24 20 20 14

100,000-249,999 30 29 21 10

250,000-499,999 43 35 30 18

500,000-999,999 38 34 29 20

1,000,000 or more 32% 28% 29% 18%

 All sizes 24% 18% 15% 10%

Personal

crime 

experiences

 Perceptions

 of crime

 problems

Satisfaction

with services

Any

topic

Population

served

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens during

12-month period ending June 30, 1997 regarding: 

Table 38. Surveying of citizens by sheriffs’ departments,

by size of population served, 1997

Redistrict beats/reporting areas

Formulate agency policy/procedures

Allocate resources to neighborhoods

Prioritize crime/disorder problems

Provide information to patrol officers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Uses of citizen survey information

by sheriffs' departments, 1997

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens

Figure 9
Citizen access to crime statistics

About a third of sheriffs’ departments,

employing just over half of all officers,

provided citizens in their jurisdiction

with routine access to crime statistics

and/or crime maps (table 39). Threefifths of departments serving a population of 1 million or more provided

citizens with routine access to crime

statistics as did nearly half of those

serving a population of at least 250,000

but less than 1 million. Just a fourth of

the departments serving a population of

less than 10,000 did so.

In most cases, departments provided

access to crime statistics at the county

or city level (33%). Small percentages

of departments provided routine access

to crime statistics by neighborhood

(7%), patrol beat (6%), district or

precinct (5%), or by street or block

(4%). Departments serving 1 or million

or more residents were the most likely

to provided crime statistics at these

more detailed levels. 

As of June 1997, about 5 in 6 departments with routine access to crime

statistics provided it to citizens who

inquired in person (figure 10). About

half made crime statistics available

through the newspaper (54%) or

telephone (51%), and a fourth through

the use of radio. Other means through

which departments made crime statistics available included television (14%),

newsletters (14%), and the Internet

(5%).

20 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Note: Neighborhood category includes apartment complexes. Other levels of 

crime statistics not listed in table may have available to citizens in some jurisdictions. 

Under 10,000 25 25 1 2 2 0

10,000-24,999 32 32 7 2 3 2

25,000-49,999 35 35 8 8 5 4

50,000-99,999 43 41 6 5 4 2

100,000-249,999 34 34 15 17 12 9

250,000-499,999 48 44 19 18 17 15

500,000-999,999 46 42 20 18 11 22

1,000,000 or more 60% 57% 25% 29% 32% 25%

 All sizes 34% 33% 7% 6% 5% 4%

Street 

or block

District 

 or precinct 

Patrol 

beat

NeighborhoodCounty 

or city

Any

level

Population

served

Percent of agencies providing routine 

citizen access to crime statistics by:

Table 39. Sheriffs’ departments providing citizens with routine access

to crime statistics, by size of population served, 1997

Internet

Newsletter

Television

Radio

Telephone

Newspaper

In-person

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Percent of agencies providing routine access to statistics

Methods by which citizens could routinely access crime

statistics from sheriffs' departments, 1997

Figure 10
Equipment

Sidearms

In 1997, 95% of sheriffs' departments,

employing 98% of all sheriffs' officers,

authorized the use of some type of

semiautomatic sidearm (table 40).

These figures represent increases

compared to 1993, when 82% of

departments, employing 91% of all

officers, authorized semiautomatics. 

As in 1993, the 9mm semiautomatic

was the most popular type of sheriffs'

sidearm, with two-thirds of sheriffs'

departments authorizing its use by

officers. About three-fifths of departments authorized .40-caliber semiautomatic sidearms, and half the .45-caliber

versions. Just under a fifth of departments authorized 10mm and .380-

caliber semiautomatics. 

Just over half (54%) of departments

authorized the use of revolvers by

officers, with .357-caliber (44%) and

.38-caliber (28%) revolvers the types

most commonly authorized. 

A majority (64%) of sheriffs' departments supplied sidearms to officers,

and another 4% provided a cash 

allowance to officers for the purchase

of sidearms. About three-fourths of all

sheriffs' officers were employed by a

department that either supplied

sidearms (71%) or provided a cash

allowance for their purchase (5%). 

Body armor

In 1997, 48% of all sheriffs' departments required at least some of their

regular field officers to wear protective

armor while on duty (table 41). These

agencies employed about half of all

sheriffs' officers. Eighty-five percent of

sheriffs' departments, employing 90%

of all officers, supplied protective body

armor to their regular field officers. An

additional 4%, employing 8% of all

officers, provided a cash allowance for

armor.

The percentage of sheriffs' departments requiring all regular field officers

to wear body armor increased from

30% in 1993 to 39% in 1997. Such an

increase was seen in all population

categories (figure 11). The largest

increase was in jurisdictions with

500,000 or more residents, where 45%

of sheriffs' departments required all

officers to wear armor in 1997,

compared to 28% in 1993. The next

largest increases occurred in jurisdictions with 25,000 to 99,999 residents

(from 36% to 46%) and those with

fewer than 25,000 residents (from 26%

to 35%). The percentage of all sheriffs'

officers employed by a department with

such a policy increased from 35% in

1993 to 40% in 1997. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 21

Under 10,000 93 58 52 40 15 12

10,000-24,999 94 69 57 54 17 19

25,000-49,999 98 70 66 57 23 21

50,000-99,999 98 64 71 51 20 16

100,000-249,999 96 63 59 42 19 16

250,000-499,999 99 74 48 36 19 30

500,000-999,999 92 61 58 35 11 18

1,000,000 or more 89% 68% 46% 50% 14% 25%

 All sizes 95% 66% 59% 49% 18% 18%

9mm .40 .45 10mm .380

Any 

type

Population 

served

Percent of agencies authorizing semiautomatic sidearms

Table 40. Semiautomatic sidearms authorized for use by sworn officers

in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 37 30 7

10,000-24,999 47 39 8

25,000-49,999 52 43 9

50,000-99,999 59 52 8

100,000-249,999 55 42 13

250,000-499,999 51 34 17

500,000-999,999 50 37 13

1,000,000 or more 64% 60% 4%

 All sizes 48% 39% 9%

Some 

officers

All 

Total officers

Population 

served

Percent of agencies

requiring field/patrol

officers to wear body

armor while on duty:

Table 41. Body armor requirements

for officers in sheriffs' departments,

by size of population served, 1997

Figure 11

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Sheriffs' departments requiring all regular field officers

to wear protective armor, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Population served

Percent of agencies

1997

1993

1990
Nonlethal weapons 

In 1997 nearly all sheriffs' departments

authorized officers to use one or more

types of nonlethal weapons. Chemical

agents, such as pepper spray, were the

type of nonlethal weapon most

commonly authorized for personal use

by officers (table 42). Eighty-seven

percent of all departments authorized

the use of pepper spray, with the

lowest percentage among those

serving a population of less than

10,000 (76%). Other types of chemical

agents authorized by sheriffs’ departments for personal use by officers

included CS (4%) and tear gas (3%). 

From 1993 to 1997 significant

increases in the percentage of departments authorizing the use of pepper

spray were recorded in all population

categories (figure 12). In departments

serving a population of 500,000 or

more, 93% of departments authorized

its use in 1997, compared to 72% in

1993. The increases in other population categories were as follows: 

100,000 to 499,999 (from 70% to 90%);

25,000 to 49,999 (from 55% to 92%);

under 25,000 (from 52% to 82%). In

1997 an estimated 90% of sheriffs’

officers were employed by a department that authorized the use of pepper

spray, compared to 64% in 1993.

The second most frequently authorized

type of nonlethal weapon was the

baton; authorized by 80% of all departments. Departments authorizing

batons employed 92% of all officers.

The collapsible baton (59%) was

authorized by more departments than

traditional (38%) or PR-24 (36%)

batons. 

Nationwide, about two-thirds of sheriffs'

officers worked for a department that

authorized them to use a collapsible

baton (68%), and about half for a

department that authorized the traditional (52%) or PR-24 (48%) baton.

About a fifth of sheriffs’ departments

authorized the use of flash/bang

grenades, including a majority of those

serving a population of 250,000 or

more. About 1 in 8 departments,

employing about a fourth of all officers,

authorized the use of electrical devices,

such as tasers or stun guns. 

Just 5% of all departments authorized

the use of carotid holds, choke holds,

or neck restraints; however, more than 

a third of those serving a population of

1 million or more (36%) authorized

officers to use these actions. 

22 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Sheriffs' departments authorizing officers to

use pepper spray, 1993 and 1997

1993

1997

Population served

Percent of agencies

a

Includes hand-held direct contact devices (such as stun gun) and hand-held stand-off devices (such as taser).

b

Includes neck restraints.

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 10,000 79 76 3 3 72 50 37 27 2 12 5 0

10,000-24,999 88 87 4 4 80 57 36 37 8 13 4 0

25,000-49,999 92 90 5 3 78 58 38 33 23 9 2 1

50,000-99,999 96 95 4 -- 85 68 35 35 33 7 4 0

100,000-249,999 90 89 3 3 89 70 39 47 40 19 11 --

250,000-499,999 92 92 3 9 93 75 40 58 56 28 8 5

500,000-999,999 94 93 13 5 100 75 42 56 66 24 13 4

1,000,000 or more 93% 93% 4% 4% 96% 68% 64% 46% 68% 18% 36% 4%

 All sizes 88% 87% 4% 3% 80% 59% 38% 36% 19% 13% 5% 1%

 PR-24

 Tradi-

 tional 

 Collap-

 sible

listed in

survey

Capture

net

 Choke/

 carotid 

 holdb

Electrical

devicesa

Flash/ 

bang

 grenade

Any type Any type 

listed in Pepper Tear

survey spray CS gas 

Population

served

Chemical agents — personal use Batons Other weapons/actions

Percent of agencies authorizing

Table 42. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for personal use by sworn officers

 in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997

Figure 12
A large majority of sheriff’s’ departments had written policy directives

pertaining to the use of force by officers

(table 43). About 9 in 10 had a written

policy on the use of deadly force,

including all departments serving a

population of 50,000 to 499,999.

Departments with a deadly force policy

employed 99% of all sheriffs’ officers. 

Eighty-four percent of all departments,

employing 89% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the use of

nonlethal force. Departments serving a

population of less than 10,000 were the

least likely to have a written policy on

the use of force, lethal (77%) or nonlethal (69%).

Vehicles

Nationwide, sheriffs' departments 

operated 54 cars per 100 sworn

personnel (table 44). By population

category, the ratio of cars to officers

ranged from 30 cars per 100 officers in

jurisdictions with 1 million or more

residents to 88 per 100 in jurisdictions

with fewer than 10,000 residents. 

About a third of the cars operated by

sheriffs' departments were unmarked

(35%). The percentage of cars that

were unmarked ranged from more than

40% in jurisdictions with a population of

250,000 or more, to 19% in jurisdictions

with a population of less than 10,000.

Eighty-eight percent of sheriffs' 

departments, employing 81% of all

sheriffs' officers, allowed sworn personnel to take marked vehicles home

(table 45). The percentage of departments allowing officers to take vehicles

home ranged from 57% in jurisdictions

with 500,000 or more residents to more

than 90% in jurisdictions with a population of less than 25,000. 

In a large majority of the sheriffs’

departments that allowed marked

vehicles to be taken home, officers

were allowed only to drive their vehicle

to and from work. Overall, about a

fourth of departments allowed officers

to operate a marked vehicle for

personal errands, with those in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents

(4%) the least likely to have such a

policy. 

Fifty-seven percent of sheriffs’ departments, employing 72% of all sheriffs’

officers, maintained a restrictive pursuit

driving policy (table 46). This type of

policy restricts vehicle pursuits according to specific criteria such as type of

offense or maximum speed. A restrictive policy was the most common type

of vehicle pursuit policy in all population

categories except the smallest.

Departments in jurisdictions with fewer

than 10,000 residents were more likely

to have a judgmental pursuit policy 

(48%), one that leaves pursuit decisions to the officer’s discretion, than a

restrictive policy (38%). Overall, 28%

of departments, employing 15% of all

officers, had a judgmental policy.

Seven percent of departments, employing 6% of all officers, did not have a

pursuit driving policy. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 23

*Part-time officers are included with a weight

of .5 assigned.

Under 10,000 88 19

10,000-24,999 74 24

25,000-49,999 67 29

50,000-99,999 67 32

100,000-249,999 59 34

250,000-499,999 47 41

500,000-999,999 51 42

1,000,000 or more 30 47%

 All sizes 54 35%

 Percent 

 of cars 

 that were 

 unmarked

Number 

of cars 

per 100

officers*

Population 

served

Table 44. Number of cars per officer

in sheriffs' departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 10,000 77 69

10,000-24,999 92 84

25,000-49,999 95 86

50,000-99,999 100 95

100,000-249,999 100 92

250,000-499,999 100 98

500,000-999,999 98 94

1,000,000 or more 93% 78%

 All sizes 91% 84%

Nonlethal

force 

Deadly

force

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

with a policy directive

pertaining to use of —

Table 43. Written policy directives

pertaining to officer use of force

maintained by sheriffs' departments,

by size of population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.

Under 10,000 95 26 69

10,000-24,999 93 21 73

25,000-49,999 89 26 64

50,000-99,999 81 21 59

100,000-249,999 80 25 55

250,000-499,999 73 16 57

500,000-999,999 57 20 37

1,000,000 or more 57% 4% 53%

 All sizes 88% 23% 65%

Personal

use not

allowed

Personal

use 

Total allowed

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

allowing officers to take

marked vehicles home

 

Table 45. Vehicle use policies in

sheriffs' departments, by size of 

population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Under 10,000 100 38 48 5 1 8

10,000-24,999 100 55 30 6 1 8

25,000-49,999 100 68 18 6 1 6

50,000-99,999 100 68 19 4 4 5

100,000-249,999 100 67 16 5 5 7

250,000-499,999 100 66 12 10 4 8

500,000-999,999 100 63 5 7 9 15

1,000,000 or more 100% 68% 14% 3% 0% 14%

 All sizes 100% 57% 28% 5% 2% 7%

Other No policy

DiscourTotal Restrictive Judgmental agementPopulation

served

Agency’s policy towards pursuit driving

Table 46. Pursuit driving policies of sheriffs’ departments,

 by size of population served, 1997
An estimated 31% of sheriffs' 

departments, employing 59% of all

sheriffs’ officers, operated at least 

1 boat during 1997. This included

about half of those serving a population

of 50,000 or more (table 47). About a

fourth of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of least 10,000

but less than 50,000 operated 1 or

more boats. 

Just 4% of all departments operated

airplanes or helicopters; however,

about 3 in 10 departments in jurisdictions with a million or more residents

operated at least one airplane and

about 4 in 10 operated a helicopter.

About a third of sheriffs’ officers were

employed by a department with at least

one airplane or helicopter. 

Animals

An estimated 46% of sheriffs' departments maintained 1 or more dogs 

for use in activities related to law 

enforcement (table 48). 

A majority of the departments in each 

population category of 25,000 or more

used dogs, compared to less than a

fourth of those serving fewer than

10,000 residents. Nationwide, sheriffs'

departments maintained about 3,000

dogs for activities related to law

enforcement, and departments using

dogs employed about three-fourths of

all sheriffs' officers.

Just 3% of all sheriffs' departments

used horses for law enforcement

purposes, with those in jurisdictions 

with 1 million or more residents (22%)

the most likely to be maintaining at

least 1 horse. Sheriffs' departments

collectively maintained approximately

670 horses, and those using horses

employed 11% of all sheriffs' officers.

24 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 15 0 0

10,000-24,999 27 2 1

25,000-49,999 26 3 3

50,000-99,999 50 6 3

100,000-249,999 52 12 9

250,000-499,999 56 17 19

500,000-999,999 48 15 26

1,000,000 or more 57% 29% 39%

 All sizes 31% 4% 4%

 Heli-

 copters

 Fixed-

 wing

Boats aircraft

Population

served

Percent of 

agencies operating

Table 47. Off-land vehicles operated

by sheriffs' departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 10,000 22 1

10,000-24,999 40 0

25,000-49,999 54 3

50,000-99,999 67 4

100,000-249,999 60 5

250,000-499,999 74 11

500,000-999,999 69 11

1,000,000 or more 75% 22%

 All sizes 46% 3%

Population served Dogs Horses

Percent of agencies

maintaining animals for

law enforcement work 

Table 48. Animals maintained by

sheriffs' departments, by size of

population served, 1997
Computers and information systems

Types of computers used for 

administrative functions

An estimated 93% of all sheriffs' 

departments were using 1 or more

types of computers for administrative

purposes in 1997 (table 49), compared

to 82% in 1993. Well over 90% of the

departments in jurisdictions with 25,000

or more residents were using computers, including all departments serving a

population of 250,000 to 499,999. The

percentage of sheriffs' officers nationwide that were employed by a department using computers increased from

96% in 1993 to 99% in 1997. 

In 1997 about three-fourths of sheriffs’

departments used personal computers,

compared with two-thirds in 1993.

At least 90% of the departments in

each population category of 50,000 or

more used personal computers.

Overall, sheriffs' departments using

personal computers in 1997 employed

93% of all sheriffs' officers. 

About three-fifths of all departments

were using a mainframe computer in

1997 compared to just under half in

1993. More than 70% of the departments in each population category of

50,000 or more were using a mainframe in 1997. About two-fifths of the

departments serving a population of

under 10,000 used mainframe computers. 

About 1 in 5 departments were using a

minicomputer, including more than 3 in

5 departments serving a population of

500,000 or more. Departments using

mainframes employed 81% of all

officers in 1997, and those using

minicomputers, 47%.

Computer functions

Sheriffs’ departments used computers

for various administrative functions in

1997. For example, 82% of all departments, employing 91% of all officers,

used computers for record-keeping

(table 50). 

About two-thirds of departments used

computers for criminal investigations

(65%), including 86% of those serving

250,000 to 499,999 residents. Departments using computers for investigations employed 81% of all officers. 

Forty-six percent of all departments,

employing 72% of all officers, utilized

computers for dispatch. A majority of

the departments serving a population of

25,000 or more used computer-aided

dispatch.

Forty-three percent of departments

used computers for crime analysis,

including more than half of those

serving 25,000 or more residents.

Departments using computers for

crime analysis employed

two-thirds of all officers. Nearly a sixth

of departments used computers for

crime mapping, including about half of

those serving a population of 1 million

or more.

Nearly a third of departments used

computers to access the Internet,

including a majority of those serving a

population of 100,000 or more.

Thirty percent of sheriffs’ departments

used computers for fleet management 

and 25% used them for resource

allocation. A majority of departments

serving 250,000 or more residents

used computers for these purposes.

For each of the functions included in

the LEMAS survey, the percentage of

sheriffs' departments that were using

computers to perform that function was

greater in 1997 than in 1993. 

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 25

Under 10,000 87 67 39 11

10,000-24,999 91 69 56 13

25,000-49,999 95 75 62 22

50,000-99,999 99 92 72 31

100,000-249,999 98 93 76 33

250,000-499,999 100 92 88 50

500,000-999,999 92 90 77 62

1,000,000 or more 93% 93% 86% 64%

 All sizes 93% 76% 59% 21%

 Mini

MainPersonal frame Any 

 type

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each type of computer:

Table 49. Types of computers used by sheriffs' departments for

administrative functions, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 71 52 30 31 15 14 12 7

10,000-24,999 80 58 40 36 24 23 18 12

25,000-49,999 89 72 52 52 28 32 24 16

50,000-99,999 91 80 52 53 42 42 32 22

100,000-249,999 85 76 64 57 54 45 44 26

250,000-499,999 93 86 71 51 62 58 56 23

500,000-999,999 81 68 60 55 55 59 55 35

1,000,000 or more 85% 79% 78% 68% 79% 50% 54% 53%

 All sizes 82% 65% 46% 43% 31% 30% 25% 15%

 Crime

 mapping

Resource

allocation

 Fleet 

 manage-

 ment

 Internet

 access

 Crime 

 Dispatch analysis

 Criminal

 investi-

 gations

 Record-

 keeping

Population

served

Percent of agencies using computers for:

Table 50. Selected functions of computers in sheriffs' departments, 

by size of population served, 1997
Computerized files

About three-fourths of sheriffs' departments were maintaining computerized

files on warrants (75%), arrests (74%)

and incident reports (74%) during 1997

(table 51). About three-fifths had

computerized files on calls for service

(60%), criminal histories (60%), stolen

property (59%), and stolen vehicles

(58%). 

Other types of computerized information files maintained by at least 

a third of all sheriffs' departments 

in 1997 included personnel (47%),

incident-based crime data (47%),

inventory (45%), traffic citations (44%),

evidence (44%), summary-based crime

data (42%), summonses (41%), and

traffic accidents (38%). 

Less than a third of sheriffs' departments maintained the following types of

computerized files during 1997: driver’s

license information (32%), payroll

(32%), field interviews (31%), alarms

(27%), vehicle registration (25%), and

crime analysis (linked) (19%) (table

52). 

About three-fourths of the departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more had computerized payroll information. A majority of the departments

in jurisdictions with a population of 1

million or more maintained computerized files on field interviews and

alarms. 

For each subject area covered by 

the LEMAS survey, sheriffs' officers

were more likely to be employed by an

agency that maintained that information

in a computerized format in 1997 than 

in 1993 (figure 13). For example, the

percentage of officers working for a

department with computerized calls for

26 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 55 60 62 44 51 45 48 28 42 34 35 25 34 22 31

10,000-24,999 74 71 72 54 57 61 61 44 47 40 41 38 41 39 31

25,000-49,999 82 82 84 68 59 67 64 47 52 44 45 51 43 51 43

50,000-99,999 89 88 81 76 67 64 57 57 56 60 56 55 57 56 52

100,000-249,999 87 78 77 73 71 64 61 69 41 60 50 62 46 45 41

250,000-499,999 92 83 80 77 81 64 55 83 49 68 48 63 54 50 41

500,000-999,999 84 83 75 60 75 53 51 81 42 61 58 55 42 48 44

1,000,000 or more 71% 79% 68% 68% 82% 50% 53% 82% 25% 72% 42% 68% 39% 28% 35%

 All sizes 75% 74% 74% 60% 60% 59% 58% 47% 47% 45% 44% 44% 42% 41% 38%

Traffic

accidents

 Summ-

 onses

Crimes,

summary Evi-

 dence

Traffic

citations

 Inven-

 tory

Crimes,

incident

-based

 Pers-

 onnel

Stolen

vehicles

Stolen

property

Criminal

histories

Calls for

service

Incident

 Arrestsreports

WarPopulation served rants

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Table 51. Types of computerized information files maintained by at least a third 

of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000 29 14 24 11 25 10

10,000-24,999 33 28 27 23 26 16

25,000-49,999 32 30 28 28 23 22

50,000-99,999 32 38 42 38 26 31

100,000-249,999 33 51 40 46 21 26

250,000-499,999 31 74 51 48 27 29

500,000-999,999 33 75 40 51 33 28

1,000,000 or more 21% 75% 57% 57% 18% 36%

 All sizes 32% 32% 31% 27% 25% 19%

 Crime

 analysis

 (linked)

 Vehicle

Alarms registration

 Field 

Payroll interviews

 Drivers 

 license 

 information

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Table 52. Types of computerized information files maintained by fewer 

than a third of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1997

1993

Stolen property

Criminal histories

Calls for service

Arrests

Warrants

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Type of information

Sheriffs' officers employed by departments maintaining selected

types of computerized information files, 1993 and 1997

1993

1997

Percent of all sheriffs' officers employed

Figure 13
service information increased from 66%

to 79%. The increases for selected

other types of information were as

follows: warrants (from 82% in 1993 to

87% in 1997) arrests (80% to 86%);

criminal histories (69% to 78%); stolen

property (60% to 65%).

Fifteen percent of sheriffs’ departments, employing 53% of all sheriffs’

officers, had either exclusive or shared

ownership of an Automatic Fingerprint

Identification System (AFIS) that

included a file of digitized prints (table

53). A majority of the departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more had exclusive or shared ownership of an AFIS system, compared to

7% of those serving a population of

less than 10,000. 

Nine percent of sheriffs’ departments

used an AFIS terminal with access to a

remote system. These departments

employed 42% of all sheriffs’ officers. 

Use of computers in the field

Nearly a third of sheriffs’ departments,

employing two-thirds of all officers,

were using in-field computers or terminals during 1997 (table 54). This

included about three-fourths of the

departments serving 250,000 or more

residents.

Laptops were the most common type of

in-field computer, used by about a

fourth of departments. Departments

using laptops employed half of all

sheriffs officers.

Nearly half of departments serving a

population of 500,000 were using

car-mounted data terminals. Overall,

5% of departments, employing 31% 

of all officers, used them. 

Smaller percentages of departments

used car-mounted computers (2%) or

hand-held terminals (1%). Departments using these technologies

employed less than 10% of all officers. 

The 29% of sheriffs’ departments using

in-field computers or terminals in 1997,

was nearly twice the percentage in

1993 (17%), and nearly 6 times that in

1990. Likewise, the 66% of sheriffs’

officers working for a department with

in-field computers or terminals in 1997

was considerably higher than in 1993

(50%) and 1990 (28%). 

From 1990 to 1997, increases in local

police use of in-field computers and

terminals occurred in jurisdictions of all

sizes (figure 14). During this period,

in-field computer use among departments serving 500,000 or more

residents increased from 43% to 74%;

among departments serving 100,000 to

499,999 residents, from 13% to 59%;

among departments serving 25,000 to

99,999 residents, from 6% to 33%; and

among departments serving fewer than

25,000 residents, from 2% to 17%.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 27

Under 10,000 7 1

10,000-24,999 10 6

25,000-49,999 11 3

50,000-99,999 16 14

100,000-249,999 30 20

250,000-499,999 54 47

500,000-999,999 59 53

1,000,000 or more 68% 50%

 All sizes 15% 9%

Remote

access

terminal

Exclusive 

or shared

ownership

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

with AFIS ownership

or remote access 

Table 53. Use of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), 

in sheriffs’ departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 10,000 13 13 0 1 1

10,000-24,999 20 20 1 0 0

25,000-49,999 25 23 1 3 1

50,000-99,999 45 41 0 8 5

100,000-249,999 54 51 1 12 3

250,000-499,999 73 63 2 28 14

500,000-999,999 72 48 7 48 13

1,000,000 or more 79% 64% 11% 43% 11%

All sizes 29% 27% 1% 5% 2%

Data 

computer

Data

terminal

 Hand-held 

Laptop terminal

Any 

type

Population

 served

Car-mounted 

Percent of agencies using in-field computer:

Table 54. Types of in-field computers or terminals used by sheriffs’ 

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 25,000

25,000-99,999

100,000-499,999

500,000 or more

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

1997

Population served

Sheriffs' departments using in-field computers

or terminals, 1990, 1993 and 1997

Percent of agencies

1990

1993

Figure 14
A fourth of sheriffs’ departments used

in-field computers or terminals for

writing incident reports, including more

than two-fifths of those serving a

population of 1 million or more (table

55). About an eighth used them for

some of their in-field communications,

including about a third of those serving

250,000 or more residents.

In nearly an eighth of sheriffs’ departments at least some officers used

in-field computers to access vehicle or

driving records in 1997 (table 56). This

included three-fifths of the departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more. 

Eight percent of sheriffs’ departments

used in-field computers to access

criminal histories, including more than

a third of the departments serving

500,000 or more residents. Seven

percent of departments used in-field

computers to access calls for service

information, including a fourth of those

in jurisdictions with a population of

500,000 or more. 

Eighty-seven percent of sheriffs’

departments used paper reports to

transmit criminal incident reports from

the field to its central information

system (table 57). All departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more residents used paper reports.

More than 80% of the departments in

each of the other population categories

used paper reports.

Other methods used by sheriffs’

departments for transmitting criminal

incident reports from the field included

computers and data devices (7%), and

telephone or wireless transmissions

(6%). 

Ninety percent of sheriffs’ departments,

used paper reports to transmit traffic

incident reports from the field. All 

departments serving a population of

500,000 to 999,999 used paper reports

for traffic incidents. 

Among the other methods of transmitting traffic incident reports to a central

information system, computer and data

devices were used by 5% of departments, and telephones or wireless

transmissions by 4%. 

28 Sheriffs' Departments 1997

Under 10,000 29 11

10,000-24,999 22 7

25,000-49,999 20 12

50,000-99,999 26 14

100,000-249,999 29 21

250,000-499,999 34 38

500,000-999,999 22 35

1,000,000 or more 43% 32%

 All sizes 25% 13%

CommunicationsField

reports

Population

served

Percent of agencies using

in-field computers for:

Table 55. Use of in-field computers for

reports and communications by

sheriffs’ departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 10,000 3 1 3 4 4

10,000-24,999 3 1 4 5 5

25,000-49,999 7 1 8 9 11

50,000-99,999 13 2 10 17 16

100,000-249,999 16 6 14 20 21

250,000-499,999 17 5 27 46 46

500,000-999,999 26 11 39 46 53

1,000,000 or more 25% 4% 36% 61% 61%

 All sizes 7% 2% 8% 11% 12%

Vehicle 

records

Driving 

records

Criminal

histories

Crime analysis

fields (linked)

Calls for 

service

Population

served

Types of information accessible in the field:

Table 56. Computerized information accessible to in-field officers 

of sheriffs’ departments, by size of population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Under 10,000 100 86 7 6 100 88 6 6

10,000-24,999 100 89 7 5 100 91 5 4

25,000-49,999 100 88 7 5 100 90 6 4

50,000-99,999 100 85 11 4 100 93 6 1

100,000-249,999 100 83 5 11 100 88 4 8

250,000-499,999 100 86 10 4 100 92 6 2

500,000-999,999 100 87 0 13 100 100 0 0

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 0% 0% 100% 96% 4% 0%

 All sizes 100% 87% 7% 6% 100% 90% 5% 4%

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Population

served

Criminal incidents Traffic accidents

Table 57. Methods for transmitting criminal incident and traffic accident reports to the 

central information system in sheriffs’ departments, by size of population served, 1997
Methodology

The Law Enforcement Management

and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)

survey collects data from a nationally

representative sample of the approximately 19,000 publicly funded State

and local law enforcement agencies in

the United States. 

This report presents data from the

1997 survey describing the more than

3,000 sheriffs’ departments operating

in the United States in terms of their

personnel, expenditures and pay,

operations, community policing initiatives, equipment, computers and information systems, and written policies.

Comparisons are made with prior years

where appropriate. All sheriffs’ departments are operated by either a county

or independent city government.

The 1997 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,597 State and local law

enforcement agencies. The overall

response rate was 94.9%. Among

sheriffs’ departments, 915 of 1,001

surveys were returned for a 91.4%

response rate.

All 968 State and local law enforcement

agencies in the United States with 100

or more sworn officers (as reported in

the 1996 BJS Census of State and

Local Law Enforcement Agencies)

received the full-length LEMAS survey

questionnaire. This included 306

sheriffs’ departments. These selfrepresenting (SR) agencies were

supplemented by a nationally representative sample of agencies with fewer

than 100 sworn officers.

Nonself-representing (NSR) agencies

were chosen using a stratified random

sample with cells based on the type of

agency (local police, sheriff, or special

police), size of population served, and

number of sworn officers. The 2,629

NSR agencies, including 695 sheriffs’

departments, received 1 of 2 shorter

versions of the questionnaire that was

mailed to the SR agencies.

The initial mailing of the questionnaire

was conducted in July 1997. The pay

period containing June 15, 1997, was

used as the reference date for

personnel-related questions and June

30, 1997, for other questions. The data

were collected by the Bureau of the

Census for the Bureau of Justice

Statistics.

After two followup mailings and

additional telephone calls as needed, 

a final total of 3,412 agencies responded to the LEMAS questionnaire,

including 909 SR agencies and 2,503

NSR agencies. The final database

includes responses from 2,012 local

police departments, 915 sheriffs’

departments, 356 special jurisdiction

police departments, 80 Texas constable offices, and the 49 primary State

police departments.

The base weight for all SR agencies is

1. For NSR sheriffs’ departments, it is

4. For NSR local police departments,

the base weights are determined by 

number of sworn officers employed as

reported in the 1996 BJS Census of

State and Local Law Enforcement

Agencies. For agencies with 0 to 6

sworn officers, the base weight is

15.55; for 7 to 13 officers, it is 9.65; for

14 to 23 officers, it is 7.09; for 24 to 39

officers, it is 4.95; for 40 to 62 officers,

it is 3.38; and for 63 to 99 officers, the

base weight is 2.14.

Special police are similarly weighted

based upon the number of sworn

officers. For agencies with 0 to 9

officers, the base weight is 9.85; for 10

to 24 officers, it is 4.90; for 25 to 49

officers, it is 2.75; and for 50 to 99

officers, it is 1.52. The final weight

associated with every agency, both SR

and NSR, is the product of the base

weight and a factor that adjusted for

any nonresponding agencies in each

cell. This agency nonresponse factor

was based on number of sworn officers

for SR agencies and on number of

agencies for NSR agencies. 

Some responding agencies did not fully

complete the LEMAS questionnaire.

When an agency did not supply a

response to an item, a donor agency

was randomly selected from responding agencies in the same sample cell.

The donor agency's value for the item

was placed into the nonresponding

agency's response field with an indicator that the value had been imputed.

Complete documentation regarding

sampling procedures and nonresponse

adjustments is available upon request. 

Because the data from agencies with

fewer than 100 sworn personnel were

collected from a sample, the results are

subject to sampling error. All statements of comparison in this report have

been tested to ensure that observed

differences between values are significant at 2 standard errors (the

95-percent confidence level) or higher.

Data on the number of employees and

on the amount of agency expenditures

in this report are not comparable with

figures based on the BJS Survey of

Criminal Justice Expenditure and

Employment series. In the latter, these

data are presented by governmental

function, whereas in the LEMAS

survey, expenditures are classified by

type of agency. For example, what

might be attributed to sheriffs’ departments in the LEMAS survey would be

apportioned among various functions,

such as police protection and corrections, in the expenditure and employment series. Also, the LEMAS figures

for operating expenditures include

employee benefits, but the figures from

the expenditure and employment series

do not.

Sheriffs' Departments 1997 29