U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

BJS

December 2012, NCJ 238558

As of September 2007, an estimated 3,000 

sheriffs’ offices performed law enforcement 

functions in the United States. Nationally, 

sheriffs’ offices employed about 369,000 sworn and 

civilian personnel and operated at a cost of roughly 

$30 billion.

Sheriffs’ offices represented approximately a fifth 

of the estimated 15,600 general purpose law 

enforcement agencies operating in the United States 

during 2007 and employed about a third of all sworn 

and civilian personnel. Law enforcement agencies are 

publically funded government entities responsible 

for enforcing laws and maintaining public order and 

public safety. Sheriffs’ offices are generally empowered 

by the state to serve counties and independent cities.

Sheriffs’ offices performed a wide range of law 

enforcement functions, such as response to criminal 

incidents, response to calls for service, patrol, crime 

investigation, arrest of criminal suspects, execution 

of warrants, traffic enforcement, traffic direction and 

control, accident investigation, drug enforcement, 

parking enforcement, and crime prevention 

education. Although sheriffs’ offices may have 

countywide responsibilities related to jail operation, 

process serving, and court security, their law 

enforcement jurisdictions typically exclude county 

areas served by a local police department. In certain 

counties, municipalities contract with the sheriffs’ 

office for law enforcement services.

These statistical tables present data from the 

Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) 2007 Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative 

Statistics (LEMAS) survey. The LEMAS survey is a 

nationally representative sample of state and local 

law enforcement agencies. It describes sheriffs’ 

offices with law enforcement duties, including 

their personnel, budgets, operations, policies and 

procedures, computers and information systems, 

and equipment. Approximately 50 sheriffs’ offices 

identified as performing jail functions or courtrelated functions or both did not have an area of 

primary law enforcement jurisdiction. The LEMAS 

survey has been conducted every 3 to 4 years since 

1987. Comparisons are made with prior years where 

appropriate and as data were available.

Sheriffs’ Offices, 2007 - Statistical Tables

Andrea M. Burch, BJS Statistician

FIGURE 1

Full-time employees of sheriffs’ offices, 1987–2007

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Civilians

Sworn personnel

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003 2007

Number
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 2

Highlights

Sheriffs’ office characteristics

 As of September 2007, an estimated 3,012 sheriffs’ offices 

performing law enforcement functions in the United 

States employed 369,084 sworn and civilian personnel 

(table 1).

 Sworn personnel represented about half (49%) of all 

those employed by sheriffs’ offices during 2007, including 

172,241 full-time and 8,831 part-time personnel.

 From 1987 to 2007, the number of full-time employees 

in sheriffs’ offices increased from about 189,000 to more 

than 346,000 (figure 1). 

 Full-time sworn personnel increased by about 43,500 

(34%) from 1987 to 2007, and full-time civilian employees 

nearly tripled—from 60,500 to 174,100.

Size of sheriffs’ offices and population served

 Nationwide, 57% (1,708) of sheriffs’ offices employed less 

than 25 sworn personnel (table 2). 

 While about 1 in 4 sheriffs’ offices employed fewer than 

10 deputies, these small agencies accounted for 2.4% of all 

full-time sworn personnel.

 Large agencies (employing 100 or more sworn personnel) 

represented about 12% of all sheriffs’ offices but employed 

nearly two-thirds (65%) of all full-time sworn personnel.

 About a fifth (35,501) of all full-time sworn personnel 

were employed by less than 1% of sheriffs’ offices with 

1,000 or more sworn personnel.

 Although two-thirds of sheriffs’ offices (2,029) served 

fewer than 50,000 residents, these agencies employed 18% 

(31,507) of all full-time sworn personnel (table 3). 

 About half of full-time sworn personnel (84,923) 

were employed by the 7% of sheriffs’ offices serving 

jurisdictions with 250,000 or more residents.

Operating budgets 

 Operating budgets of sheriffs’ offices totaled about 

$30 billion for fiscal year 2007, which was 20% more than 

in 2003, after adjusting for inflation (table 4). 

 Overall, operating budgets averaged about $10 million per 

sheriffs’ office in 2007, ranging from about $337 million 

for agencies serving populations of 1 million or more 

residents to $657,000 for those serving fewer than 10,000 

residents.

 On average, the operating cost of sheriffs’ offices during 

fiscal year 2007 was about $170,000 per sworn deputy and 

$112 per U.S. resident. 

 During 2006, nearly half (46%) of sheriffs’ offices received 

money, goods, or property from drug asset forfeiture 

programs, with more than $230 million in receipts overall 

(table 5).

Sheriffs’ office salaries 

 In 2007, the average starting salary for entry-level sheriffs’ 

deputies was about $31,000, ranging from $27,800 in the 

smallest jurisdictions to $45,600 in the largest (table 6). 

 Minimum salaries for sheriffs averaged $142,700 in 

jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents, compared 

to less than $55,000 in jurisdictions with a population of 

less than 25,000 residents.

 Average starting salaries for entry-level deputies were 

$7,300 (25%) higher in sheriffs’ offices with collective 

bargaining than in those without it (not shown in table).

 Among sheriffs’ offices serving 250,000 or more residents, 

a majority offered tuition reimbursement and about half 

offered education incentive pay to their sworn personnel 

(table 7).

Personnel selection and hiring

 Nearly all (99%) sheriffs’ offices had a minimum 

education requirement for new deputies hired in 2007

(table 8). The most common requirement for new hires 

was a high school diploma (89%).

 In 2007, personal interviews were used almost universally 

(99%) in the hiring process and were supplemented by 

psychological evaluations in 62% of agencies, including 

more than 90% of deputies serving 500,000 or more 

residents (table 10).

 New deputy recruits completed an average requirement 

of 1,476 hours of classroom and field training in 

jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents, compared 

to the 754 hours required in the smallest jurisdictions 

(table 14).

 The vast majority (94%) of sheriffs’ offices had an annual 

in-service training requirement for nonprobationary 

deputies. Overall, the average annual in-service 

requirement was 45 hours (table 15).
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 3

Highlights (continued)

Personnel characteristics

 Members of a racial or ethnic minority represented about 

1 in 5 sworn personnel employed by sheriffs’ offices 

during 2007 (table 16). 

 In 2007, about 9% (15,500) of sworn personnel employed 

at sheriffs’ offices were black or African American, slightly 

less than in 2003 (10%), but equal to the proportion 

employed in 1987.

 From 2003 to 2007, the number of Hispanic or Latino 

deputies increased by 16% to comprise 8% (13,900) of all 

sworn deputies in 2007.

 In 2007, an estimated 12% (20,800) of full-time sworn 

personnel in sheriffs’ offices were women, a percentage 

similar to that observed in previous LEMAS surveys 

(table 17).

Patrol and response

 In 2007, an estimated 57% of full-time sheriffs’ deputies 

had regularly assigned duties that included responding to 

calls for service (table 18). 

 The proportion of deputies responding to calls ranged 

from about 5 in 10 among agencies serving 250,000 or 

more residents to about 9 in 10 among agencies serving 

fewer than 10,000 residents.

 More than 80% of sheriffs’ offices serving populations of 

25,000 or more residents used an enhanced 9-1-1 system 

capable of displaying a caller’s name, address, and special 

needs (table 19). 

 Nearly half (44%) of sheriffs’ offices serving 500,000 or 

more residents routinely used foot patrol, and about half 

(between 42% and 63%) of those serving 250,000 or more 

residents regularly patrolled by boat (table 21).

 More than half (57%) of sheriffs’ offices used dogs for law 

enforcement activities during 2007, while 5% used horses 

(table 27).

Equipment 

 Two-thirds of sheriffs’ offices (employing 76% of full-time 

sworn personnel) authorized the use of conducted energy 

devices, such as tasers and stun guns, compared to 30% of 

offices (employing 47% of full-time sworn personnel) in 

2003 (table 30).

 About 57% of sheriffs’ offices (employing 60% of fulltime sworn personnel) required use of protective body 

armor at all times while in the field in 2007 (table 33).

 In 2007, 67% of sheriffs’ offices used video cameras in 

patrol cars, compared to 58% in 2003 (table 34). An 

estimated 28,600 in-car cameras were in use during 

2007—about 11,000 (62%) more than in 2003.

Computers

 About two-thirds of sheriffs’ offices used computers for 

dispatch, booking, and investigative purposes in 2007 

(table 35).

 A majority of the sheriffs’ offices in each population 

category of 50,000 or more used in-field computers or 

terminals during 2007, including over 85% of offices 

serving populations of 100,000 or more residents 

(table 38).

 About 70% of sheriffs’ offices (employing 90% of deputies) 

had access to an Automated Fingerprint Identification 

System (AFIS) (table 42).

Task force participation

 A majority of sheriffs’ offices, including more than 70% 

of those serving 25,000 or more residents, had sworn 

personnel assigned to a multi-agency drug task force in 

2007 (table 49).

 Over half of sheriffs’ offices serving 500,000 or more 

residents had sworn personnel assigned to a gang task 

force (table 50).
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 4

List of Tables 

Sheriffs’ office characteristics

TABLE 1. General purpose state and local law enforcement 

agencies sworn and civilian personnel, by employment 

status and type of agency, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Size of sheriffs’ offices and population served

TABLE 2. Sheriffs’ offices and full-time personnel, by 

number of sworn personnel, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TABLE 3. Sheriffs’ offices and full-time personnel, by size of 

population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Operating budgets 

TABLE 4. Annual operating budget of sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TABLE 5. Drug asset forfeiture receipts of sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Sheriffs’ office salaries 

TABLE 6. Average base annual salary for selected full-time 

positions in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TABLE 7. Special pay and benefits for full-time sworn 

personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Personnel selection and hiring

TABLE 8. Education requirements for new deputies in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . 8

TABLE 9. Background and record check methods used in 

selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TABLE 10. Personal attribute screening methods used in 

the selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TABLE 11. Physical attribute screening methods used in 

the selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TABLE 12. Screening methods related to community 

policing used in the selection of new deputy recruits for 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . 9

TABLE 13. Workplace policies of sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

TABLE 14. Training requirements for new deputy recruits 

in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . 10 

TABLE 15. In-service training requirements for sworn 

personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Personnel characteristics

TABLE 16. Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel 

in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . 10

TABLE 17. Sex of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Patrol and response

TABLE 18. Sheriffs’ deputies assigned to respond to calls 

for service, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . 11

TABLE 19. Emergency 9-1-1 system participation of 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 11

TABLE 20. Wireless capabilities of emergency 9-1-1 

systems in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TABLE 21. Types of regularly scheduled patrols other than 

automobile used by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TABLE 22. Special population and situational policies of 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 12

TABLE 23. Number of motorized land vehicles operated by 

sheriffs’ offices and percent unmarked, by size of population 

served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TABLE 24. Motorized vehicles operated by sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

TABLE 25. Vehicle use policies for sworn personnel in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 13

TABLE 26. Off-land vehicles operated by sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TABLE 27. Use of animals by sheriffs’ offices for law 

enforcement purposes, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Equipment

TABLE 28. Types of sidearms authorized for use by sworn 

personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TABLE 29. Types of batons authorized for use by sworn 

personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 5

List of Tables (continued) 

TABLE 30. Less-than-lethal weapons authorized for use by 

a majority of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TABLE 31. Less-than-lethal weapons or actions authorized 

for use by fewer than half of sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TABLE 32. Use-of-force policies and procedures in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TABLE 33. Body armor requirements for field officers in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 15

TABLE 34. Use of video cameras by sheriffs’ offices, by size 

of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Computers

TABLE 35. General functions of computers in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

TABLE 36. Analytic functions of computers in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

TABLE 37. Types of in-field computers or terminals used 

by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . 16

TABLE 38. Use of in-field computers or terminals by 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 16

TABLE 39. Use of in-field computers for reports and 

communications by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

TABLE 40. Types of computerized information accessible 

to in-field deputies in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

TABLE 41. Methods used by sheriffs’ offices for 

transmitting criminal incident reports to a central 

information system, by size of population served, 200 . . . 17

TABLE 42. Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems 

(AFIS) in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Task force participation

TABLE 43. Community policing policies of sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TABLE 44. Community policing training for new deputy 

recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TABLE 45. Community-oriented policies for patrol officers 

in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . 18

TABLE 46. Community policing activities of sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TABLE 47. Full-time community policing officers and units 

in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . 19 

TABLE 48. Full-time school resource officers in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TABLE 49. Drug task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TABLE 50. Gang task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

TABLE 51. Human trafficking task force participation of 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 20 

TABLE 52. Anti-terrorism task force participation of 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . 20 

TABLE 53. Preparedness activities of sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

TABLE 54. Full-time intelligence personnel in sheriffs’ 

offices with primary duties related to terrorist activities, by 

size of population served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Appendix tables

APPENDIX TABLE 1. Fifty largest sheriffs’ offices in the 

United States, by number of full-time sworn personnel, 

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

APPENDIX TABLE 2. Standard errors of the estimated 

percentages for sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

APPENDIX TABLE 3. Standard errors for estimated 

personnel counts in sheriffs’ offices, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

APPENDIX TABLE 4. Standard errors for estimated 

operating budgets in sheriffs’ offices, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

APPENDIX TABLE 5. Standard errors for starting salaries 

for entry-level deputies in sheriffs’ offices,

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 6

Table 1

General purpose state and local law enforcement agencies sworn and civilian personnel, by employment status and type of 

agency, 2007

Number of 

agencies

Sworn personnel Civilian personnel

Type of agency Total personnel Total Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time

Total 15,636 1,119,309 730,470 696,346 34,124 388,839 344,382 44,457

Local police 12,575 655,337 488,349 463,147 25,202 166,988 137,880 29,108

Sheriffs' offices* 3,012 369,084 181,072 172,241 8,831 188,012 174,096 13,916

Primary state 49 94,888 61,049 60,958 91 33,839 32,406 1,433

Note: Table excludes agencies not employing the equivalent of at least 1 full-time employee.

*Excludes approximately 50 sheriffs' offices without an area of primary law enforcement jurisdiction.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 2

Sheriffs’ offices and full-time personnel, by number of sworn personnel, 2007 

Number of sworn personnel*

Agencies Full-time sworn personnel Full-time civilian personnel

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 3,012 100% 172,241 100% 174,096 100%

1,000 or more 18 0.6 35,501 20.6 36,501 21.0

500–999 22 0.7 14,370 8.3 14,578 8.4

250–499 83 2.8 28,979 16.8 27,025 15.5

100–249 229 7.6 32,947 19.1 30,677 17.6

50–99 372 12.4 23,641 13.7 26,070 15.0

25–49 580 19.2 18,941 11.0 19,967 11.5

10–24 933 31.0 13,797 8.0 15,629 9.0

5–9 531 17.6 3,372 2.0 3,228 1.9

2–4 220 7.3 670 0.4 421 0.2

1 24 0.8 24 -- -- --

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

*Includes both full-time and part-time employees with part-time employees weighted by 0.5.

--Less than 0.05%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 3

Sheriffs’ offices and full-time personnel, by size of population served, 2007

Agencies Full-time sworn personnel Full-time civilian personnel

Population served Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 3,012 100% 172,241 100% 174,096 100%

1,000,000 or more 30 1.0 41,867 24.3 45,996 26.4

500,000–999,999 59 1.9 19,525 11.3 22,137 12.7

250,000–499,999 121 4.0 23,531 13.7 24,029 13.8

100,000–249,999 310 10.3 31,569 18.3 29,567 17.0

50,000–99,999 462 15.3 24,242 14.1 23,890 13.7

25,000–49,999 541 18.0 15,404 8.9 13,943 8.0

10,000–24,999 862 28.6 12,167 7.1 11,560 6.6

Under 10,000 626 20.8 3,936 2.3 2,975 1.7

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 7

Table 4

Annual operating budget of sheriffs' offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Total Per agency Per sworn deputy Per employee Per resident

All sizes $30,004,669,000 $9,962,000 $169,800 $83,900 $112 

1,000,000 or more 10,212,395,000 336,753,000 241,600 115,100 152 

500,000–999,999 4,017,548,000 68,447,000 203,200 94,400 98 

250,000–499,999 4,235,658,000 34,897,000 174,800 85,900 99 

100,000–249,999 4,690,057,000 15,139,000 145,400 74,500 100 

50,000–99,999 3,278,846,000 7,095,000 130,800 65,400 99 

25,000–49,999 1,728,576,000 3,194,000 107,500 56,000 90 

10,000–24,999 1,430,212,000 1,659,000 111,500 56,000 100 

Under 10,000 411,377,000 657,000 98,900 53,900 130 

Note: Data are for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, or the most recent fiscal year completed prior to that date. Capital expenditures, such as equipment 

purchases or construction costs, are excluded. Per deputy and per employee averages include both full-time and part-time employees, with a weight of 0.5 assigned to 

part-time employees. Missing 1.8% of cases. Total and per agency data are rounded to the nearest $1,000; per deputy and per employee figures, to the nearest $100.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 5

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of sheriffs' offices, by size of population served, 2006

Agencies with receipts 

Value of money, goods, and property received

Population served Total Per agency* Per sworn deputy*

All sizes 46% $231,294,000 $167,700 $1,880 

1,000,000 or more 70 19,125,000 896,200 590

500,000–999,999 69 22,043,000 545,100 1,390

250,000–499,999 63 45,395,000 592,100 2,470

100,000–249,999 56 51,720,000 295,900 2,300

50,000– 99,999 62 43,490,000 152,200 2,480

25,000–49,999 49 27,307,000 102,100 3,090

10,000–24,999 42 14,662,000 40,800 2,310

Under 10,000 24 7,552,000 49,300 6,540

Note: Based on asset forfeiture receipts during calendar year 2006. The value of goods and property is based on estimates provided by reporting agencies. Computation 

of per deputy averages includes both full-time and part-time employees, with a weight of 0.5 assigned to part-time employees. Missing 5.9% of cases. Total data are 

rounded to the nearest $1,000; per agency data, to the nearest $100; per deputy, to the nearest $10. 

*Excludes offices without receipts.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007

Table 6

Average base annual salary for selected full-time positions in sheriffs' offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Entry-level deputya First-line supervisorb Sheriffc

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

All sizes $31,100 $37,900 $38,700 $46,100 $62,400 $68,600

1,000,000 or more 45,600 60,600 64,700 78,300 142,700 152,000

500,000–999,999 40,000 56,000 57,800 71,100 117,800 122,600

250,000–499,999 37,600 53,300 50,000 64,400 103,100 112,700

100,000–249,999 36,100 46,700 47,100 58,600 86,900 94,800

50,000–99,999 32,500 41,600 40,000 49,700 69,000 79,300

25,000–49,999 30,300 35,700 36,900 42,000 61,900 66,800

10,000–24,999 29,100 34,500 35,100 41,300 54,500 58,300

Under 10,000 27,800 30,400 32,500 35,400 40,700 43,900

Note: Data are rounded to the nearest $100. 

aMissing 3.5% of cases.

bMissing 3.8% of cases.

cMissing 6.1% of cases.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 8

Table 7

Special pay and benefits for full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of agencies authorizing—

Population served

Collective 

bargaining

Tuition 

reimbursement

Education 

incentive 

pay Merit pay

Shift 

differential 

pay

Special 

skills pay

Military 

service 

pay

Hazardous 

duty pay

Bilingual 

pay

Residency 

incentive 

pay

All sizes 28% 23% 20% 22% 22% 13% 16% 9% 5% 2%

1,000,000 or more 67 74 63 44 48 52 48 59 44 11

500,000–999,999 58 69 52 47 50 32 47 34 19 --

250,000–499,999 55 63 45 48 53 37 33 24 17 3

100,000–249,999 51 45 39 41 41 23 18 13 13 3

50,000–99,999 43 28 32 33 29 8 16 10 4 2

25,000–49,999 28 17 14 18 20 13 21 8 3 3

10,000–24,999 19 12 13 15 16 11 12 6 1 1

Under 10,000 9 14 5 9 9 5 7 3 3 2

--Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 8

Education requirements for new deputies in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Agencies with 

a requirement

High school 

diploma

Some 

college* 

2-year college 

degree

4-year college 

degree

All sizes 99% 89% 3% 7% --%

1,000,000 or more 96% 78 15 4 --

500,000–999,999 100% 83 8 6 4

250,000–499,999 100% 90 2 6 2

100,000–249,999 100% 81 5 13 --

50,000–99,999 98% 85 3 10 --

25,000–49,999 98% 89 2 7 --

10,000–24,999 99% 89 3 6 --

Under 10,000 99% 94 2 4 --

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. 

*Nondegree requirements. 

--Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 9

Background and record check methods used in selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs' offices, by size of population 

served, 2007

Population served Criminal record check Background investigation Driving record check Credit history check

All sizes 99% 98% 98% 50%

1,000,000 or more 100 96 100 85

500,000–999,999 100 100 100 83

250,000–499,999 100 100 100 70

100,000–249,999 100 100 98 71

50,000–99,999 99 100 100 67

25,000–49,999 99 97 98 49

10,000–24,999 99 96 96 39

Under 10,000 99 98 99 35

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 9

Table 10

Personal attribute screening methods used in the selection of new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percent of agencies requiring—

Population served Personal interview

Psychological 

evaluation

Written 

aptitude test

Personality 

inventory Polygraph exam

Voice stress 

analyzer

All sizes 99% 62% 46% 41% 24% 7%

1,000,000 or more 96 93 89 63 67 19

500,000–999,999 100 100 81 56 69 11

250,000–499,999 100 82 75 56 45 16

100,000–249,999 100 75 64 46 48 18

50,000–99,999 99 79 59 41 28 8

25,000–49,999 99 57 39 43 24 6

10,000–24,999 99 54 42 37 18 4

Under 10,000 98 47 26 35 8 2

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 11

Physical attribute screening methods used in the selection 

of new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of agencies requiring—

Population served

Medical 

exam

Drug 

test

Physical 

agility test

All sizes 88% 80% 56%

1,000,000 or more 100 81 96

500,000–999,999 98 100 85

250,000–499,999 94 92 79

100,000–249,999 90 81 72

50,000–99,999 93 87 61

25,000–49,999 88 85 53

10,000–24,999 88 80 57

Under 10,000 81 67 36

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 12

Screening methods related to community policing used in the selection of new deputy recruits for sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of departments assessing—

Population served

Analytical 

problem-solving

Volunteer/community service 

history check

Understanding of culturally 

diverse populations

Mediation/conflict 

management skills

All sizes 24% 13% 14% 13%

1,000,000 or more 41 22 19 15

500,000–999,999 47 29 31 26

250,000–499,999 28 17 11 9

100,000–249,999 25 20 15 11

50,000–99,999 29 17 13 15

25,000–49,999 22 10 10 12

10,000–24,999 24 11 15 13

Under 10,000 20 11 16 12

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 10

Table 13

Workplace policies of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Code of conduct 

and appearance

Off-duty 

conduct

Off-duty 

employment

Employee counseling 

assistance

Maximum work 

hours allowed

All sizes 97% 91% 84% 63% 58%

1,000,000 or more 100 100 100 100 81

500,000–999,999 100 98 98 94 73

250,000–499,999 100 100 93 89 70

100,000–249,999 100 95 95 82 70

50,000–99,999 100 99 95 75 61

25,000–49,999 100 97 93 65 64

10,000–24,999 94 87 79 54 54

Under 10,000 92 79 64 47 46

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 14

Training requirements for new deputy recruits in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Total Academy Field

All sizes 894 hours 582 hours 312 hours

1,000,000 or more 1,476 795 681

500,000–999,999 1,215 767 448

250,000–499,999 1,104 670 434

100,000–249,999 1,081 637 444

50,000–99,999 989 626 363

25,000–49,999 885 561 324

10,000–24,999 807 545 262

Under 10,000 754 545 209

Note: Excludes sheriffs’ offices not requiring training. Missing 2.1% of cases.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 15

In-service training requirements for sworn personnel in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Percent with 

requirement

Average number 

of hours required

All sizes 94% 45 hours

1,000,000 or more 93 50

500,000–999,999 98 33

250,000–499,999 100 53

100,000–249,999 100 52

50,000–99,999 94 38

25,000–49,999 92 35

10,000–24,999 92 48

Under 10,000 91 52

Note: Excludes sheriffs’ offices not requiring training. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 16

Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Total White*

Black/African 

American*

Hispanic/

Latino

Asian/other 

Pacific Islander*

American Indian/

Alaska Native*

Two or 

more races*

All sizes 100% 81.1% 9.0% 8.0% 1.1% 0.4% 0.3%

1,000,000 or more 100% 65.7 11.8 18.8 3.2 0.3 0.2

500,000–999,999 100% 76.8 10.8 10.5 1.3 0.6 0.1

250,000–499,999 100% 83.1 9.7 5.9 0.8 0.3 0.2

100,000–249,999 100% 87.7 7.6 2.9 0.4 0.4 1.0

50,000–99,999 100% 91.3 5.5 2.5 0.3 0.3 0.1

25,000–49,999 100% 87.6 7.8 3.8 0.2 0.6 0.1

10,000–24,999 100% 87.6 9.3 2.2 0.1 0.7 0.1

Under 10,000 100% 90.8 2.9 5.0 -- 0.7 0.5

Note: Missing 2.6% of cases.

*Excludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin. 

--Less than 0.05%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 11

Table 17

Sex of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Population served Total Male Female

All sizes 100% 87.9% 12.1%

1,000,000 or more 100% 84.8 15.2

500,000–999,999 100% 85.9 14.1

250,000–499,999 100% 86.3 13.7

100,000–249,999 100% 88.4 11.6

50,000–99,999 100% 90.4 9.6

25,000–49,999 100% 91.3 8.7

10,000–24,999 100% 92.4 7.6

Under 10,000 100% 94.1 5.9

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 18

Sheriffs’ deputies assigned to respond to calls for service, by 

size of population served, 2007

Population served Percent of full-time sworn personnel

All sizes 57%

1,000,000 or more 44

500,000–999,999 50

250,000–499,999 52

100,000–249,999 59

50,000–99,999 59

25,000–49,999 70

10,000–24,999 83

Under 10,000 91

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 19

Emergency 9-1-1 system participation of sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007

Population served Total Enhanced Basic

All sizes 95% 78% 16%

1,000,000 or more 93 81 11

500,000–999,999 84 82 2

250,000–499,999 88 82 6

100,000–249,999 92 87 5

50,000–99,999 97 85 12

25,000–49,999 96 87 9

10,000–24,999 94 77 17

Under 10,000 95 62 33

Note: Participating agencies are those whose units can be dispatched as the result 

of a call to 9-1-1. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 20

Wireless capabilities of emergency 9-1-1 systems in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007

Emergency 9-1-1 systems can 

display wireless callers’—

Population served

Phone 

number

Exact 

location

General 

location

All sizes 84% 30% 67%

1,000,000 or more 92 44 76

500,000–999,999 98 35 84

250,000–499,999 87 26 77

100,000–249,999 93 33 78

50,000–99,999 86 32 68

25,000–49,999 83 20 75

10,000–24,999 86 38 67

Under 10,000 76 25 49

Note: Missing 1.1% of cases.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 12

Table 21

Types of regularly scheduled patrols other than automobile used by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Foot Marine Bicycle Motorcycle Air Horse Transporter

All sizes 25% 23% 9% 9% 7% 4% 2%

1,000,000 or more 44 63 67 81 59 41 22

500,000–999,999 44 42 42 61 31 17 8

250,000–499,999 28 50 42 34 30 17 5

100,000–249,999 23 41 22 25 12 4 1

50,000–99,999 25 37 10 11 3 4 3

25,000–49,999 25 23 5 3 4 2 1

10,000–24,999 19 14 4 1 4 3 2

Under 10,000 29 9 1 -- 4 2 --

-- Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 22

Special population and situational policies of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007 

Percent of agencies with written policy on—

Population served

Domestic 

disputes Juveniles

Mentally 

ill persons

Racial 

profiling

Persons with limited 

English proficiency

Homeless 

persons

Checking 

immigration status

All sizes 89% 88% 74% 71% 36% 28% 28%

1,000,000 or more 96 100 85 70 59 44 41

500,000–999,999 94 98 84 85 36 21 31

250,000–499,999 87 92 81 70 36 20 25

100,000–249,999 89 92 85 75 46 24 27

50,000–99,999 88 89 83 63 33 25 28

25,000–49,999 93 92 75 72 35 30 31

10,000–24,999 89 85 68 69 37 29 25

Under 10,000 86 83 66 76 34 32 30

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 23

Number of motorized land vehicles operated by sheriffs’ offices and percent unmarked, by size of population served, 2007

Automobiles Other 4-wheel vehicles Motorcycles*

Population served Number operated Percent unmarked Number operated Percent unmarked Number operated

All sizes 121,837 32% 36,172 45% 2,228

1,000,000 or more 21,655 44 7,732 55 681

500,000–999,999 12,676 41 3,731 49 357

250,000–499,999 15,988 35 5,197 46 412

100,000–249,999 25,268 32 6,438 44 424

50,000–99,999 18,646 27 4,613 45 251

25,000–49,999 13,909 24 3,299 38 68

10,000–24,999 10,576 20 3,401 41 24

Under 10,000 3,119 15 1,760 24 10

*Percent of unmarked motorcycles not collected in survey.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 13

Table 24

Motorized vehicles operated by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Automobiles Other 4-wheel vehicles Motorcycles

Population served Percent

Number per

100 deputies* Percent 

Number per 

100 deputies* Percent 

Number per

100 deputies*

All sizes 97% 68 90% 20 14% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100 51 100 18 81 2

500,000–999,999 100 64 100 19 76 2

250,000–499,999 100 66 99 21 49 2

100,000–249,999 100 78 98 20 41 1

50,000–99,999 100 73 98 18 19 1

25,000–49,999 100 84 94 20 8 --

10,000–24,999 99 80 86 26 2 --

Under 10,000 88 73 78 41 2 --

*Includes both full-time and part-time deputies, with part-time deputies weighted by 0.5.

--Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 25

Vehicle use policies for sworn personnel in sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007

Percent of agencies with policy 

allowing marked vehicles to be—

Population served

Driven 

home

Used for 

personal 

errands

Operated 

outside the 

jurisdiction

All sizes 93% 25% 16%

1,000,000 or more 70 21 42

500,000–999,999 85 30 27

250,000–499,999 82 33 28

100,000–249,999 83 22 19

50,000–99,999 87 23 14

25,000–49,999 93 29 23

10,000–24,999 98 25 13

Under 10,000 98 24 12

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 26

Off-land vehicles operated by sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Population served Boats Helicopters Airplanes

All sizes 36% 4% 3%

1,000,000 or more 81 59 33

500,000–999,999 61 25 23

250,000–499,999 59 28 15

100,000–249,999 61 9 7

50,000–99,999 53 3 3

25,000–49,999 34 2 2

10,000–24,999 29 1 1

Under 10,000 15 1 1

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 27

Use of animals by sheriffs’ offices for law enforcement 

purposes, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Dogs Horses

All sizes 57% 5%

1,000,000 or more 96 52

500,000–999,999 94 21

250,000–499,999 81 21

100,000–249,999 83 10

50,000–99,999 64 4

25,000–49,999 64 3

10,000–24,999 49 2

Under 10,000 33 --

-- Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 28

Types of sidearms authorized for use by sworn personnel in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Semi-automatic Revolver

Population served Primary Backup Primary Backup

All sizes 100% 80% 22% 52%

1,000,000 or more 100 89 33 48

500,000–999,999 100 87 19 27

250,000–499,999 100 74 26 51

100,000–249,999 100 83 13 58

50,000–99,999 100 78 14 55

25,000–49,999 100 86 19 59

10,000–24,999 100 80 23 50

Under 10,000 100 77 31 47

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 14

Table 30

Less-than-lethal weapons authorized for use by a majority of 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Pepper 

spray Baton

Conducted 

energy device*

All sizes 96% 90% 66%

1,000,000 or more 96 100 78

500,000–999,999 100 96 81

250,000–499,999 100 97 77

100,000–249,999 99 94 80

50,000–99,999 98 88 71

25,000–49,999 98 89 70

10,000–24,999 98 89 67

Under 10,000 89 90 49

*Includes tasers and stun guns.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 31

Less-than-lethal weapons or actions authorized for use by 

fewer than half of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population 

served, 2007

Population served

Soft 

projectile

Hold or neck 

restraint

Rubber 

bullet

Blackjack/

slapjack

All sizes 34% 17% 14% 2%

1,000,000 or more 67 44 41 4

500,000–999,999 50 23 15 2

250,000–499,999 58 21 28 --

100,000–249,999 62 13 23 --

50,000–99,999 50 18 19 1

25,000–49,999 33 12 14 --

10,000–24,999 21 17 10 4

Under 10,000 20 22 9 2

--Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 32

Use-of-force policies and procedures in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Deadly force

Less-than-lethal 

force

Outside review required 

for complaints

Citizen complaint 

review board (CCRB)

Independent CCRB 

with subpoena powers

All sizes 97% 96% 33% 3% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100 100 44 15 --

500,000–999,999 100 100 51 2 --

250,000–499,999 100 100 31 7 --

100,000–249,999 100 100 39 3 --

50,000–99,999 100 98 32 -- --

25,000–49,999 100 99 29 4 1

10,000–24,999 95 94 30 5 2

Under 10,000 94 91 38 2 1

--Less than 0.5%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 29

Types of batons authorized for use by sworn personnel in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Any type Collapsible Traditional PR-24

All sizes 90% 85% 39% 27%

1,000,000 or more 100 96 67 30

500,000–999,999 96 94 45 29

250,000–499,999 97 96 35 23

100,000–249,999 94 92 39 24

50,000–99,999 88 83 47 26

25,000–49,999 89 79 32 27

10,000–24,999 89 84 40 28

Under 10,000 90 88 36 26

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 15

Table 33

Body armor requirements for field officers in sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007

Percent of agencies requiring 

deputies to wear protective armor—

Population served Required At all times In some circumstances

All sizes 73% 57% 15%

1,000,000 or more 78% 52 26

500,000–999,999 89% 73 15

250,000–499,999 70% 50 20

100,000–249,999 76% 62 14

50,000–99,999 74% 65 9

25,000–49,999 78% 66 12

10,000–24,999 69% 52 18

Under 10,000 69% 50 19

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 34

Use of video cameras by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of agencies using each type of video camera 

Population served Percent regularly using video cameras In patrol cars Fixed-site surveillance Mobile surveillance

All sizes 71% 67% 16% 13%

1,000,000 or more 78 59 19 41

500,000–999,999 63 52 29 17

250,000–499,999 72 64 17 27

100,000–249,999 76 69 19 15

50,000–99,999 71 67 19 12

25,000–49,999 68 64 14 15

10,000–24,999 69 66 20 9

Under 10,000 74 74 7 11

Note: Missing 1.1% of cases.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 35

General functions of computers in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Records 

management Dispatch

Automated 

booking

Crime 

investigation

Personnel 

records

Information 

sharing

Fleet 

management

Resource 

allocation

All sizes 81% 69% 66% 66% 58% 53% 36% 23%

1,000,000 or more 100 96 93 96 89 89 89 67

500,000–999,999 94 89 78 78 87 79 78 38

250,000–499,999 88 86 78 70 78 68 65 36

100,000–249,999 99 83 82 81 80 74 65 37

50,000–99,999 87 77 74 77 53 58 47 31

25,000–49,999 84 74 73 69 61 52 36 22

10,000–24,999 78 70 65 61 56 46 25 16

Under 10,000 67 43 44 53 43 43 16 15

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 16

Table 36

Analytic functions of computers in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Intelligence 

gathering

Crime 

analysis

Crime 

mapping

Analysis of 

community problems

Hotspot 

identification

All sizes 47% 36% 29% 21% 13%

1,000,000 or more 81 81 78 59 52

500,000–999,999 65 71 63 52 44

250,000–499,999 64 66 55 43 30

100,000–249,999 66 66 58 38 33

50,000–99,999 51 47 41 30 18

25,000–49,999 46 34 27 19 8

10,000–24,999 40 25 19 13 7

Under 10,000 40 20 9 9 4

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 37

Types of in-field computers or terminals used by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Any type Portable with docking station Vehicle-mounted Portable nondocking

All sizes 53% 32% 20% 18%

1,000,000 or more 96 70 63 59

500,000–999,999 96 66 42 50

250,000–499,999 86 62 31 31

100,000–249,999 85 55 33 34

50,000–99,999 66 42 25 26

25,000–49,999 49 27 13 18

10,000–24,999 43 25 18 12

Under 10,000 30 15 14 5

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 38

Use of in-field computers or terminals by sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007

Population served

Percent of 

agencies using

Average 

number in usea Per 100 sworn deputiesa, b

All sizes 53% 42 47

1,000,000 or more 96 571 42

500,000–999,999 96 161 48

250,000–499,999 86 106 50

100,000–249,999 85 54 48

50,000–99,999 66 24 42

25,000–49,999 49 14 49

10,000–24,999 43 9 58

Under 10,000 30 5 82 aExcludes sheriffs’ offices not using in-field computers or terminals.

bIncludes both full-time and part-time deputies, with part-time deputies 

weighted by 0.5. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 39

Use of in-field computers for reports and communications 

by sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Field reports Communications

All sizes 51% 32%

1,000,000 or more 93 89

500,000–999,999 73 79

250,000–499,999 66 55

100,000–249,999 73 67

50,000–99,999 62 45

25,000–49,999 40 23

10,000–24,999 44 26

Under 10,000 43 13

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 17

Table 40

Types of computerized information accessible to in-field deputies in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Vehicle 

records

Driving 

records Warrants

Protection 

orders

Interagency 

information 

sharing Internet

Criminal

history 

records

Calls for 

service history

Crime 

maps

All sizes 37% 36% 35% 29% 28% 28% 24% 22% 14%

1,000,000 or more 96 96 93 85 70 67 78 78 52

500,000–999,999 94 92 94 77 66 55 77 68 34

250,000–499,999 80 78 80 66 49 47 62 56 36

100,000–249,999 73 71 68 58 59 41 51 54 26

50,000–99,999 55 54 52 44 38 36 37 32 18

25,000–49,999 30 28 24 21 25 21 14 17 12

10,000–24,999 24 20 20 18 18 25 14 11 8

Under 10,000 16 15 16 12 12 17 10 5 7

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 41

Methods used by sheriffs’ offices for transmitting criminal 

incident reports to a central information system, by size of 

population served, 2007

Population served Total

Computer/

data device

Paper 

report Voice

All sizes 100% 56% 40% 4%

1,000,000 or more 100% 59 37 4

500,000–999,999 100% 64 30 6

250,000–499,999 100% 51 45 5

100,000–249,999 100% 58 36 6

50,000–99,999 100% 54 42 5

25,000–49,999 100% 65 33 2

10,000–24,999 100% 59 37 4

Under 10,000 100% 47 50 3

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 42

Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Total with access Exclusive/shared owner Remote terminal access Access through other agency

All sizes 71% 38% 9% 26%

1,000,000 or more 100 67 30 26

500,000–999,999 100 67 21 24

250,000–499,999 87 61 8 21

100,000–249,999 85 53 14 23

50,000–99,999 81 48 14 22

25,000–49,999 79 40 10 31

10,000–24,999 62 33 5 24

Under 10,000 53 19 6 29

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 18

Table 43

Community policing policies of sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Population served

Mission statement with 

community policing 

component

Formal written 

community 

policing plan

All sizes 38% 10%

1,000,000 or more 81 37

500,000–999,999 61 29

250,000–499,999 57 29

100,000–249,999 54 12

50,000–99,999 43 13

25,000–49,999 37 8

10,000–24,999 31 8

Under 10,000 27 5

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 44

Community policing training for new deputy recruits in 

sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Total All recruits Some recruits

All sizes 40% 29% 11%

1,000,000 or more 70 56 15

500,000–999,999 73 59 14

250,000–499,999 60 46 14

100,000–249,999 51 39 12

50,000–99,999 51 39 12

25,000–49,999 41 27 14

10,000–24,999 34 25 9

Under 10,000 25 19 6

Note: Only includes agency personnel who received 8 or more hours of training in 

community policing. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 45

Community-oriented policies for patrol officers in sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007

Patrol officer involvement in 

problem-solving projects

Population served

Geographic 

assignments for 

patrol officers

Actively 

encouraged

Included in 

performance 

evaluation

All sizes 38% 13% 10%

1,000,000 or more 70 37 30

500,000–999,999 65 31 21

250,000–499,999 65 27 21

100,000–249,999 55 28 15

50,000–99,999 56 11 10

25,000–49,999 36 16 5

10,000–24,999 33 8 12

Under 10,000 14 7 3

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 46

Community policing activities of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of agencies that—

Population served

Partnered with citizen 

groups to elicit feedback

Upgraded technology 

for community policing

Conducted a citizen 

police academy

Conducted or sponsored 

citizen surveys

All sizes 33% 23% 11% 10%

1,000,000 or more 78 48 63 52

500,000–999,999 59 48 53 32

250,000–499,999 50 41 48 21

100,000–249,999 55 35 25 21

50,000–99,999 40 24 16 10

25,000–49,999 34 17 9 6

10,000–24,999 28 24 2 9

Under 10,000 15 15 1 4

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 19

Table 47

Full-time community policing officers and units in sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served Percent of agencies using Total number of deputies* Average number of deputies * Separate full-time unit

All sizes 43% 16,598 13 12%

1,000,000 or more 89 4,269 158 52

500,000–999,999 78 1,668 36 50

250,000–499,999 68 2,304 28 34

100,000–249,999 65 1,846 9 23

50,000–99,999 45 2,375 11 9

25,000–49,999 33 953 5 9

10,000–24,999 35 2,169 7 6

Under 10,000 39 1,014 4 8

*Excludes sheriffs’ offices that do not have full-time sworn personnel serving as community policing officers.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 48

Full-time school resource officers in sheriffs’ offices, by size 

of population served, 2007

Population served

Percent of 

agencies 

Total number 

of deputies

Average number 

of deputies 

per agency*

All sizes 50% 6,032 4

1,000,000 or more 85 589 23

500,000–999,999 71 429 10

250,000–499,999 69 873 10

100,000–249,999 73 1,231 5

50,000–99,999 60 1,137 4

25,000–49,999 56 672 2

10,000–24,999 43 700 2

Under 10,000 27 402 2

*Excludes sheriffs’ offices that do not have full-time sworn personnel serving as 

school resource offices.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 49

Drug task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Deputies assigned 

full-time or part-time

Deputies 

assigned full-time

Population served

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

All sizes 58% 5,678 51% 4,930

1,000,000 or more 96 1,222 96 1,214

500,000–999,999 77 383 77 356

250,000–499,999 83 453 82 446

100,000–249,999 74 815 67 744

50,000–99,999 79 957 74 785

25,000–49,999 74 838 65 651

10,000–24,999 47 680 38 494

Under 10,000 27 330 20 239

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 50

Gang task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, by size of 

population served, 2007

Deputies assigned 

full-time or part-time

Deputies 

assigned full-time

Population served

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

All sizes 16% 2,043 10% 1,640

1,000,000 or more 78 964 70 948

500,000–999,999 55 166 44 144

250,000–499,999 44 153 33 124

100,000–249,999 36 244 23 164

50,000–99,999 23 208 9 82

25,000–49,999 12 154 8 82

10,000–24,999 7 77 4 43

Under 10,000 5 77 4 53

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 20

Table 51

Human trafficking task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, 

by size of population served, 2007

Deputies assigned 

full-time or part-time

Deputies assigned 

full-time

Population served

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

All sizes 4% 324 3% 272

1,000,000 or more 22 91 15 88

500,000–999,999 21 30 15 21

250,000–499,999 4 20 4 20

100,000–249,999 5 27 4 12

50,000–99,999 4 26 3 21

25,000–49,999 3 33 2 24

10,000–24,999 1 19 1 19

Under 10,000 5 77 4 67

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 52

Anti-terrorism task force participation of sheriffs’ offices, by 

size of population served, 2007

Deputies assigned 

full-time or part-time

Deputies assigned 

full-time

Population served

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

deputies

All sizes 14% 866 8% 541

1,000,000 or more 93 121 78 110

500,000–999,999 63 131 57 83

250,000–499,999 49 135 32 69

100,000–249,999 21 90 13 42

50,000–99,999 15 91 7 40

25,000–49,999 9 75 5 51

10,000–24,999 6 79 2 36

Under 10,000 8 143 5 110

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 53

Preparedness activities of sheriffs’ offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served

Participated 

in emergency 

preparedness 

exercises

Increased officer 

presence at critical 

areas

Held community 

meetings on 

homeland security

Disseminated 

information to 

increase citizen 

preparedness

Partnered with 

culturally diverse 

populations 

Conducted a public 

anti-fear campaign

All sizes 80% 45% 39% 35% 13% 5%

1,000,000 or more 89 81 63 63 48 22

500,000–999,999 98 75 53 65 44 13

250,000–499,999 93 57 39 52 22 10

100,000–249,999 89 60 50 47 16 4

50,000–99,999 91 50 38 42 12 3

25,000–49,999 78 47 32 31 7 4

10,000–24,999 75 38 38 28 13 6

Under 10,000 72 36 40 29 9 4

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Table 54

Full-time intelligence personnel in sheriffs’ offices with primary duties related to terrorist activities, by size of population 

served, 2007

Sworn personnel Nonsworn personnel

Population served Percent of agencies Total number Average number* Percent of agencies Total number Average number*

All sizes 17% 1,842 4 3% 169 2

1,000,000 or more 89 222 8 48 36 2

500,000–999,999 71 112 3 17 28 3

250,000–499,999 41 99 2 5 18 3

100,000–249,999 23 123 2 5 30 2

50,000–99,999 12 480 9 1 13 2

25,000–49,999 15 354 4 3 25 2

10,000–24,999 9 177 2 2 15 1

Under 10,000 15 275 3 1 5 1

*Excludes sheriffs’ offices that do not have full-time intelligence personnel related to terrorist activities.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 21

Methodology

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) conducts the Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics 

(LEMAS) survey every 3 to 4 years. The LEMAS survey 

is a nationally representative sample of state and local law 

enforcement agencies. Each agency received either a long 

(CJ-44L) or short (CJ-44S) LEMAS questionnaire. The two 

versions of the LEMAS questionnaire differ by nine items 

that apply primarily to large agencies. The survey was fielded 

from December 2007 through December 2008.

Sample design

Based on employment data from BJS’s Census of State and 

Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA) conducted in 

2004, the original 2007 LEMAS survey sample included 

3,224 state and local law enforcement agencies. (For more 

information, see Census of State and Local Law Enforcement 

Agencies, 2004, BJS website, NCJ 212749, June 2007.) The 

sample was designed to be representative of all general 

purpose state and local law enforcement agencies in the 

United States, with separate samples drawn for local police 

departments and sheriffs’ offices. Agencies serving special 

jurisdictions (such as schools, airports, or parks) or with 

special enforcement responsibilities (such as hunting and 

fishing laws or alcohol laws) were considered out of scope 

for the survey.

Sheriffs’ offices without primary law enforcement 

jurisdiction were also considered out of scope for the survey. 

Approximately 50 sheriffs’ offices identified as performing 

jail functions or court-related functions or both did not 

have an area of primary law enforcement jurisdiction. 

These agencies were excluded from this report because 

this publication focuses entirely on factors related to law 

enforcement. In addition, some smaller sheriffs’ offices were 

determined to have closed since the 2004 CSLLEA and were 

removed from the sample. After all out-of-scope and closed 

agencies were removed, the final sample size for the survey 

was 3,095.

The final sample included 950 self-representing (SR) 

agencies with 100 or more sworn personnel and 

2,145 non-self-representing (NSR) agencies employing 

fewer than 100 personnel. The SR agencies included 591 

local police departments, 310 sheriffs’ offices, and 49 state 

law enforcement agencies. All 950 SR agencies received 

the 49-item CJ-44L questionnaire. The NSR agencies were 

selected using a stratified random sample with cells based 

on the number of sworn personnel. The NSR agencies were 

selected using a simple random sample. Overall, the NSR 

sample included 1,504 local police departments and 641 

sheriffs’ offices. All 2,145 NSR agencies received the 40-item 

CJ-44S questionnaire.

Agency response rate

A total of 2,804 agencies (91.8%) completed their LEMAS 

questionnaire. This included 879 SR agencies (92.5%) and 

1,961 NSR agencies (91.4%). The response rate for local 

police departments was 93.9%; for sheriffs’ offices, it was 

87.0%; and for state law enforcement agencies, it was 91.8%. 

The final database included full responses from 1,968 

local police departments, 827 sheriffs’ offices, and 45 state 

agencies. As part of a final nonresponse follow-up effort, an 

additional 21 local police departments and 14 sheriffs’ offices 

completed an abbreviated questionnaire consisting of the 

first page of the original survey form they received.

Weighting

In order to compare agencies with others serving similarly 

sized jurisdictions, this report presents statistics mainly 

by categories of population served. Additional overall 

percentages weighted by the number of officers employed are 

presented in the text and selected figures.

The base weight for all SR sheriffs’ offices is 1. For NSR 

sheriffs’ offices, the base weight is 4.22. For NSR sheriffs’ 

offices, the base weight is determined by the number of 

sworn personnel employed as reported in the 2004 CSLLEA. 

The final weight associated with every agency (both SR and 

NSR) is the product of the base weight—a factor that adjusts 

for changes in the universe since 2004, and a factor that 

adjusts for any nonresponding agencies in each cell. For SR 

sheriffs’ offices, the final weight is 1.12; and for NSR sheriffs’ 

offices, it is 4.90.

To compute the deputy-based percentages in the report, the 

final weight for an agency is multiplied by the proportion 

of all full-time equivalent sworn officers employed by that 

agency. The number of full-time equivalent sworn officers is 

defined as the sum of the number of full-time sworn officers 

and half the number of part-time sworn officers.

Item nonresponse

For the 827 sheriffs’ offices completing one of the two 

versions of the LEMAS questionnaire, item nonresponse 

rates due to omission or invalid data were low. For 

most categorical items, the nonresponse rate was 0%. 

Nonresponse is noted in tables when the percent of missing 

cases is greater than 1%.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 22

Imputations

When an agency did not supply a response to a numeric 

item, median value imputation or ratio imputation was used. 

The median value imputations used the median value of an 

item reported in the 2007 survey by other agencies in the 

same sample cell. The ratio imputations used the median 

value of a ratio reported in the 2007 survey by other agencies 

in the same sample cell. Imputations were not used for 

categorical items.

For race and sex data, a cold-deck imputation process was 

used. The percentages represented in an agency’s sworn 

personnel totals by each racial or ethnic or sex group in 

the 2003 LEMAS survey were applied to the 2007 sworn 

personnel totals. If 2003 data were not available, then a ratio 

imputation method was used.

Accuracy of the estimates

The accuracy of the estimates presented in this report 

depends on two types of error: sampling and nonsampling. 

Because sampling was used for smaller agencies, some 

of the statistics presented in this report are subject to 

sampling error. Sampling error is the variation that may 

occur by chance because a sample rather than a complete 

enumeration of the population was conducted. Nonsampling 

error can be attributed to many sources, such as the inability 

to obtain information about all cases in the sample, the 

inability to obtain complete and correct information from 

the administrative records, and processing errors. In any 

survey, the full extent of the nonsampling error is never 

known.

The sampling error, as measured by an estimated standard 

error, varies by the size of the estimate and the size of the 

base population. Statements of comparison have been tested 

at the 95%-confidence level. Estimates of the standard errors 

have been calculated for the 2007 survey (appendix table 2). 

These estimates may be used to construct confidence 

intervals around percentages in this report. For example, the 

95%-confidence interval around the percentage of sheriffs’ 

offices requiring deputies to wear protective armor at all 

times is approximately 3% (1.96 multiplied by 1.7%).

These standard errors may also be used to test the 

significance of the difference between two sample statistics 

by pooling the standard errors of the two sample estimates. 

For example, the standard error of the difference between 

departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents and those 

serving 10,000 to 24,999 residents for enhanced 9-1-1 

would be 4.7% (or the square root of the sum of the squared 

standard errors for each group). The 95%-confidence 

interval around the difference would be 1.96 multiplied 

by 4.7% (or 9.3%). Since the difference of 15% (77% 

minus 62%) is greater than 9.3%, the difference would be 

considered statistically significant.

Standard error estimates may also be used to construct 

confidence intervals around numeric variables, such as 

personnel counts (appendix table 3). For example, the 

95%-confidence interval around the number of full-time 

sworn personnel is approximately 172,241 plus or minus 

1.96 multiplied by 4,243 or 163,925 to 180,557.

Abbreviated form responses

In the final phase of the data collection, all remaining 

nonrespondents were given the opportunity to complete an 

abbreviated questionnaire consisting of the first page of the 

original survey form they received. A total of 21 local police 

departments (5 SR and 16 NSR) and 14 sheriffs’ offices (0 SR 

and 14 NSR) completed the abbreviated form. For analysis of 

the data that included these partial-form responses, slightly 

different weights were used. The adjusted partial-form 

weight for NSR sheriffs’ offices is 4.78.

Dollar amounts adjusted for inflation

For comparison purposes, salary and budget data for 2003 

were converted into 2007 dollars. This conversion was 

accomplished using Consumer Price Index data published 

by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 23

Appendix Table 1

Fifty largest sheriffs’ offices in the United States, by number of full-time sworn personnel, 2007

Full-time sworn personnel Total full-time employees

Name of department County population* Number

Per 10,000 

residents Number

Per 10,000 

residents

Los Angeles County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 9,734,700 7,614 8 16,214 17

Cook County (IL) Sheriff’s Office 5,235,800 2,390 5 6,979 13

Harris County (TX) Sheriff’s Office 3,909,200 2,379 6 3,036 8

San Diego County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 2,975,700 2,184 7 3,756 13

Riverside County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 2,055,900 1,889 9 3,489 17

Orange County (CA) Sheriff-Coroner Office 2,957,900 1,762 6 3,563 11

San Bernardino County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 1,993,000 1,762 9 3,200 18

Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 1,747,000 1,675 10 6,191 35

Palm Beach County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 1,264,600 1,438 11 3,534 28

Sacramento County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 1,373,600 1,407 10 2,291 17

Bexar County (TX) Sheriff’s Office 1,588,900 1,400 9 2,000 13

Orange County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 1,066,100 1,346 13 1,972 18

Hillsborough County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 1,169,900 1,225 10 3,662 31

Suffolk County (NY) Sheriff’s Office 1,511,700 1,077 7 1,216 8

Alameda County (CA) Sheriff’s Office 1,449,000 1,053 7 1,705 12

Wayne County (MI) Sheriff’s Office 1,981,200 1,006 5 1,297 7

Pinellas County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 912,800 940 10 2,874 31

East Baton Rouge Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office 430,700 848 20 848 20

Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff’s Office 3,873,000 818 2 3,850 10

Oakland County (MI) Sheriff’s Office 1,201,700 793 7 893 7

Ventura County (CA) Sheriff’s Department 789,700 755 10 1,207 15

Contra Costa County (CA) Sheriff’s Office 1,010,500 736 7 1,121 11

King County (WA) Sheriff’s Office 1,857,500 718 4 1,069 6

Passaic County (NJ) Sheriff’s Office 487,100 691 14 791 16

Collier County (FL) Sheriff’s Department 313,500 639 20 1,306 42

Lee County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 585,300 596 10 1,430 24

Polk County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 573,500 575 10 1,477 26

Kern County (CA) Sheriff’s Office 784,700 554 7 1,148 15

Jefferson County (AL) Sheriff’s Office 661,400 547 8 695 11

Jefferson County (CO) Sheriff’s Office 528,400 546 10 777 15

St. Tammany Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office 226,300 526 23 653 29

Shelby County (TN) Sheriff’s Office 920,000 519 6 1,973 21

Essex County (NJ) Sheriff’s Office 769,100 510 7 547 7

Pima County (AZ) Sheriff’s Department 996,600 503 5 1,372 14

Tulsa County (OK) Sheriff’s Office 585,400 500 9 540 9

Johnson County (KS) Sheriff’s Office 525,900 498 9 630 12

Milwaukee County (WI) Sheriff’s Office 952,200 497 5 772 8

Brevard County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 534,400 487 9 1,074 20

Orleans Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office 288,100 482 17 758 26

Pasco County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 459,600 482 10 1,196 26

Fresno County (CA) Sheriff’s Office 889,900 480 5 1,202 14

Santa Clara County (CA) Sheriff’s Office 1,723,900 476 3 702 4

Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department 360,200 473 13 626 17

Volusia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 498,800 470 9 784 16

Bergen County (NJ) Sheriff’s Office 885,700 450 5 557 6

Dane County (WI) Sheriff’s Office 476,300 449 9 550 12

Loudoun County (VA) Sheriff’s Office 277,500 448 16 542 17

Manatee County (FL) Sheriff’s Office 314,000 448 14 1,007 36

Dallas County (TX) Sheriff’s Department 2,381,900 445 2 2088 9

Richmond County (GA) Sheriff’s Office 197,300 439 22 688 35

*Rounded to the nearest 100. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2007; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Resident 

Population for U.S. Counties, April 1, 2007. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division release date: March 2010.
SHERIFFS’ OFFICES, 2007 – STATISTICAL TABLES | DECEMBER 2012 24

Appendix Table 2

Standard errors of the estimated percentages for sheriffs’ 

offices, by size of population served, 2007

Population served 50–60% 61–70% 71–80% 81–90% 91–100%

All sizesb 1.7% 1.6% 1.5% 1.2% 0.5%

100,000–249,999 4.5 4.5 3.9 3.2 2.3

50,000–99,999 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.3 2.1

25,000–49,999 4.1 3.9 3.6 3.0 1.7

10,000–24,999 3.4 3.2 2.9 2.4 1.4

Under 10,000 3.9 3.7 3.4 2.8 1.8

Note: Excludes population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in 

these groups were selected for the survey. Each specific standard error in the 

table is based on the approximate midpoint of the specified percentage range 

and may be applied to all dichotomous variables with a comparable percentage 

distribution. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Appendix Table 3

Standard errors for estimated personnel counts in sheriffs’ 

offices, 2007

Number of employees Survey estimate

Estimated 

standard error

Full-time 346,337 9,281

Part-time 22,747 904

Number of full-time employees

Sworn 172,241 4,243

Civilian 174,096 5,561

Number of full-time sworn personnel

Population served

100,000–249,999 31,569 1,864

50,000–99,999 24,242 2,029

25,000–49,999 15,404 1,297

10,000–24,999 12,167 814

Under 10,000 3,936 388

Note: No standard errors are presented for population categories of 250,000 or 

more because all cases in these groups were selected for the survey.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Appendix Table 4

Standard errors for estimated operating budgets in sheriffs’ 

offices, 2007

Average annual operating budget

Population served Survey estimate Standard error

All sizes $9,962,000 $369,745 

100,000–249,999 15,139,000 759,818 

50,000–99,999 7,095,000 325,209 

25,000–49,999 3,194,000 187,765 

10,000–24,999 1,659,000 83,388 

Under 10,000 657,000 64,223 

Note: Excludes population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in 

these groups were selected for the survey. Each specific standard error in the 

table is based on the approximate midpoint of the specified percentage range 

and may be applied to all dichotomous variables with a comparable percentage 

distribution.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.

Appendix Table 5

Standard errors for starting salaries for entry-level deputies 

in sheriffs’ offices, 2007

Average starting salary for entry-level deputies

Population served Survey estimate Standard error

All sizes $31,100 $233 

100,000–249,999 36,100 598 

50,000–99,999 32,500 537 

25,000–49,999 30,300 544 

10,000–24,999 29,100 464 

Under 10,000 27,800 465 

Note: Excludes population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in 

these groups were selected for the survey. Each specific standard error in the 

table is based on the approximate midpoint of the specified percentage range 

and may be applied to all dichotomous variables with a comparable percentage 

distribution.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2007.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department 

of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director.

This Statistical Tables report was written by Andrea M. Burch. Alexia Cooper 

provided verification.

Morgan Young, Vanessa Curto, and Jill Thomas edited the report, and Tina 

Dorsey produced the report, under the supervision of Doris J. James.

December 2012, NCJ 238558

NCJ238558