Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percentage of departments using in-car video cameras , by size of population served,

2000, 2003, and 2007

Population served

2000

2007

2003

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

BJS

Local Police Departments, 2007

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statistician

December 2010, NCJ 231174

BJS
2 Local Police Departments, 2007

Brian A. Reaves prepared this report. 

Data were collected and processed by the 

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) 

under the supervision of Bruce Taylor, 

Research Director. PERF project staff 

included Bruce Kubu, Project Director; 

Nathan Ballard; and Anthony Bellero. 

Additional information on PERF is 

available on the Internet at: 

<www.policeforum.org>.

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.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1750>. 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics

Local Police Departments, 2007

December 2010 NCJ 231174

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statistician 

James P. Lynch, Director
December 2010 3

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percentage of departments using in-car video cameras , by size of population served,

2000, 2003, and 2007

Population served

2000

2007

2003

BJS

Local Police Departments, 2007

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statistician

December 2010, NCJ 231174

BJS
4 Local Police Departments, 2007

Table 1. General purpose state and local law enforcement agencies, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - -8

Table 2. Local police departments and full-time employees, by number of sworn 

personnel, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -9

Table 3. Local police departments and full-time employees, by size of population served, 

2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -9

Table 4. Annual operating budget of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10

Table 5. Education requirements for new officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11

Table 6. Training requirements for new officer recruits in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -12

Table 7. Average base annual salary for selected full-time positions in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -12

Table 8. Workplace policies of local police departments, by size of population served, 

2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -13

Table 9. Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -14

Table 10. Gender of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -14

Table 11. Emergency 9-1-1 system participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -15

Table 12. Types of regularly scheduled patrols other than automobile used by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -15

Table 13. Special population/situation policies of local police departments, by size of

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -16

Table 14. Less-than-lethal weapons authorized for use by a majority of local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -17

Table 15. Use-of-force policies and procedures in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -18

Table 16. Body armor requirements for field officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -19

Table 17. Motorized vehicles operated by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -20

Table 18. Off-land vehicles operated by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -20

Table 19. Use of animals by local police departments for law enforcement purposes, by size 

of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -20

Table 20. Use of video cameras by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

Table 21. General functions of computers in local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

Table 22. Analytic functions of computers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

Table 23. Use of in-field computers and terminals by local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 23

Table 24. Use of in-field computers for reports and communications by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 23

Table 25. Types of computerized information accessible to in-field officers in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 23

Table 26. Methods used by local police departments for transmitting criminal incident 

reports to a central information system, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - 25

Table 27. Community policing policies of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

Table 28. Community policing training for new officer recruits in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

Table 29. Community-oriented policies for patrol officers in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

Table 30. Community policing activities of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27

Table 31. Full-time community policing officers and units in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27

Table 32. Full-time school resource officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28

Table 33. Drug task force participation of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29

Table 34. Gang task force participation of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30

Table 35. Human trafficking task force participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30

Table 36. Anti-terrorism task force participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30

Table 37. Preparedness activities of local police departments, by size of population served, 

2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 31

Contents

Tables

Highlights - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6

The LEMAS Survey - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

Local Police Departments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

Employment - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

Operating Costs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10

Personnel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11

Patrol and Response - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15

Equipment - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -17

Computers and Information Systems - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -22

Community Policing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -26

Task Force Participation- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29

Emergency Preparedness - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -30

Methodology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -32
December 2010 5

Figure 1. Per resident operating costs for local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6

Figure 2. Local police officers employed by a department that used in-field computers, 

1990-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7

Figure 3. Full-time employees of local police departments, 1987-2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

Figure 4. Per officer operating costs of local police departments, 2003 and 2007 - - - - - 10

Figure 5. Local police officers employed by a department using selected screening 

methods in the hiring process, 2003 and 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11

Figure 6. Training requirements for local police officer recruits, by size of population 

served, 2000, 2003, and 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12

Figure 7. Starting salaries for entry-level officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served and collective bargaining status, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13

Figure 8. Local police officers employed by a department with selected workplace

policies, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13

Figure 9. Minority representation among local police officers, 1987-2007- - - - - - - - - - 14

Figure 10. Local police officers employed by a department with selected special 

population/situation policies, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16

Figure 11. Local police departments using regularly scheduled foot or bicycle patrol, by 

size of population served, 1997-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17

Figure 12. Local police officers employed by a department with use-of-force policies and 

procedures, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18

Figure 13. Use of conducted energy devices by local police departments, by size of

population served, 2000, 2003, and 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19

Figure 14. Body armor requirements for field officers in local police departments,

1990-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19

Figure 15. Use of in-car video cameras by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2000, 2003, and 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

Figure 16. Local police departments using in-field computers or terminals, by size of

population served, 1997-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24

Figure 17. Local police officers employed by a department providing in-field computer 

access to information, 1997-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24

Figure 18. Local police departments using electronic methods for transmitting criminal 

incident reports to a central information system, by size of population served,

1997-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25

Figure 19. Local police departments using full-time community policing officers, 

by size of population served,1997-2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29

Figure 20. Local police officers employed by a department engaging in selected 

preparedness activities, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 31

Figures

Appendix Tables

Appendix Table 1. Fifty largest local police departments in the United States, by number 

of full-time sworn personnel, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 34

Appendix Table 2. Drug asset forfeiture receipts of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2006 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 35

Appendix Table 3. Background and record check methods used in selection of new 

officer recruits in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - 35

Appendix Table 4. Personal attribute screening methods used in selection of new officer 

recruits in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - 35

Appendix Table 5. Physical attribute screening methods used in selection of new officer 

recruits in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - 36

Appendix Table 6. In-service training requirements for sworn personnel in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36

Appendix Table 7. Special pay and benefits for full-time sworn personnel in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36

Appendix Table 8. Local police officers assigned to respond to calls for service, by size of 

population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37

Appendix Table 9. Wireless capabilities of emergency 9-1-1 systems in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37

Appendix Table 10. Types of sidearms authorized for use by sworn personnel in local 

police departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37

Appendix Table 11. Types of batons authorized for use by sworn personnel in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37

Appendix Table 12. Less-than-lethal weapons or actions authorized for use by fewer than 

half of local police departments, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 38

Appendix Table 13. Number of motorized land vehicles operated by local police 

departments and percent unmarked, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - 38

Appendix Table 14. Vehicle use policies for sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 38

Appendix Table 15. Automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39

Appendix Table 16. Types of in-field computers or terminals used by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39

Appendix Table 17. Screening methods related to community policing used in selection 

of new officer recruits for local police departments, by size of population served, 

2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39

Appendix Table 18. Full-time intelligence personnel in local police departments with 

primary duties related to terrorist activities, by size of population served, 2007- - - - - - - 40

Appendix Table 19. Item non-response for local police department data in the 2007 

LEMAS survey - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40

Appendix Table 20. Standard errors of the estimated percentages for local police 

departments, by size of population served , 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41

Appendix Table 21. Standard errors of the estimated personnel counts for local police 

departments, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41

Appendix table 22. Standard errors for estimated operating budgets and starting 

salaries for entry-level officers in local police departments, 2007- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41
6 Local Police Departments, 2007

FY 2007 operating cost per resident served (in dollars)

Under 2,500

2,500- 9,999

10,000 - 24,999

25,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 99,999

100,000 - 249,999

250,000 - 499,999

500,000 - 999,999

1,000,000 or more

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Population served

Highlights

Employment

 The estimated 12,575 local police departments operating in the United States 

during 2007 employed approximately 

463,000 full-time sworn personnel.

 In 2007, the number of full-time civilian 

employees in local police departments 

was about 138,000. 

 Municipal and township police departments employed an average of 2.3 fulltime officers per 1,000 residents in 2007. 

County police employed an average of 

1.7 officers per 1,000 residents.

Operating Budgets

 Operating budgets of local police 

departments totaled $55.4 billion for fiscal year 2007—14% more than in 2003 

after adjusting for inflation. 

 Overall local police operating costs for 

fiscal year 2007 were $116,500 per sworn 

officer, $88,200 per employee, and $260 

per resident.

 During 2006, about 1 in 3 local police 

departments received money, goods, or 

property from a drug asset forfeiture program, with more than $300 million in 

receipts overall.

Officer Characteristics

 In 2007, 1 in 8 local police officers was a 

woman compared to 1 in 13 officers in 

1987. About 1 in 4 officers was a member 

of a racial or ethnic minority in 2007, 

compared to 1 in 6 in 1987.

 From 2003 to 2007, the number of Hispanic or Latino local police officers 

increased by 16%. In 2007, about 1 in 10 

officers was Hispanic or Latino.

 In 2007, local police departments 

employed about 55,000 female officers. 

About 117,000 officers were members of 

a racial or ethnic minority. 

Officer Selection and Hiring

 From 2003 to 2007, there was an increase 

in the percentage of officers employed 

by departments using personality inventories (47% to 66%), written aptitude 

tests (74% to 82%), and physical agility 

tests (80% to 86%) in the selection process.

 During 2007, about 3 in 10 local police 

officers worked for a department requiring new officers to have some college 

education. This was about the same proportion as in 2003.

 In 2007, local police recruits completed 

an average of 1,370 hours in required 

training. Compared to 2003, average 

training requirements were up by more 

than 100 hours in departments serving 

250,000 or more residents. 

Officer Pay

 In 2007, average starting salaries for 

entry-level local police officers ranged 

from $26,600 in the smallest jurisdictions 

to $49,500 in the largest.

 Based on where officers were employed, 

the overall average starting salary for 

new local police officers in 2007 was an 

estimated $40,500. 

 Average starting salaries for sworn officers were $10,900 (38%) higher in 

departments with collective bargaining 

than in those without it.

 A majority of departments serving 10,000 

or more residents offered tuition reimbursement and education incentive pay 

to sworn personnel.

Patrol and Response

 Nearly 7 in 10 local police officers had 

regular duties that included responding 

to calls for service, ranging from 6 in 10 

officers in jurisdictions with 100,000 or 

more residents to 9 in 10 officers in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. 

 In addition to automobile patrol, more 

than half (55%) of local police departments used regularly scheduled foot 

patrol, and about a third (32%) used bicycle patrol.

 In jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000 

residents, the use of foot or bicycle 

patrols declined from 69% of departments in 2003 to 63% in 2007.

FIGURE 1. 

Per resident operating costs for local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007
December 2010 7

Percentage of local police officers

1990 1993 1997 2000 2003 2007

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

 About 9 in 10 local police 9-1-1 systems 

were enhanced with the capability of displaying a caller’s name, address, and special needs. Most could also display the 

phone number (84%) and general location (62%) of wireless callers. 

Equipment

 In 2007, 75% of local police officers were 

employed by departments that authorized the use of conducted energy 

devices such as Tasers, compared to 47% 

in 2003.

 Sixty-one percent of local police departments used video cameras in patrol cars 

during 2007, compared to 55% in 2003. 

About 71,000 in-car cameras were in use 

during 2007, compared to 49,000 used in 

2003. 

 In 2007, 67% of local police officers were 

employed by a department that required 

them to wear protective body armor at 

all times while in the field, up from 59% 

in 2003.

Computers and Information Systems

 More than 90% of local police departments serving 25,000 or more residents 

were using in-field computers during 

2007. 

 In 2007 about 9 in 10 local police officers 

were employed by a department that 

used in-field computers, compared to 3 

in 10 officers in 1990 (figure 2). 

 From 2003 to 2007, there was an increase 

in the percentage of local police officers 

employed by a department with in-field 

computer access to vehicle records (78% 

to 86%), driving records (71% to 80%), 

calls-for-service histories (39% to 65%), 

and criminal histories (39% to 56%).

 In 2007, most local police departments 

serving 25,000 or more residents used 

computers for crime mapping. About 3 in 

4 officers worked for a department with 

computerized crime mapping in 2007, 

compared to 3 in 5 during 2003.

 From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of 

local police departments using electronic methods to transmit incident 

reports from the field increased from 

38% to 60%.

Community Policing

 From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of 

local police officers employed by a 

department that trained all new recruits 

in community policing increased from 

73% to 81%.

 A majority of local police departments 

serving 50,000 or more residents operated a full-time specialized unit dedicated to community policing during 

2007.

 During 2007, a majority of local police 

departments serving 50,000 or more residents supported community policing 

efforts by partnering with citizen groups, 

upgrading technology, and conducting a 

citizen police academy.

 An estimated 47,000 full-time local police 

officers were designated as community 

policing officers in 2007, about 8,000 

fewer than in 2003. Most of this decline 

occurred among departments serving 

fewer than 50,000 residents. 

Task Force Participation

 About 13,400 local police officers were 

assigned full-time or part-time to a multiagency drug task force. A majority of 

local police departments serving 10,000 

or more residents had officers assigned 

to a drug task force. 

 About 4,600 local police officers were 

assigned full time or part time to a multiagency gang task force. Most departments serving 100,000 or more residents 

had officers assigned to a gang task 

force.

Emergency Preparedness

 During 2007, more than two-thirds of 

local police departments serving 10,000 

or more residents had a written plan 

specifying actions to be taken in the 

event of a terrorist attack. 

 As part of their efforts to prevent terrorist 

acts during 2007, a majority of local 

police departments serving 10,000 or 

more residents increased the presence of 

sworn officers in critical areas.

 During 2007, about 4,000 full-time sworn 

personnel in local police departments 

were employed in intelligence positions 

with primary duties related to terrorist 

activities.

FIGURE 2. 

Local police officers employed by a department that used in-field computers, 

1990–2007

Highlights (cont.)
8 Local Police Departments, 2007

The LEMAS Survey

Every 3 to 4 years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) surveys a nationally 

representative sample of state and local 

law enforcement agencies. The surveys 

are conducted as part of the Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program.

This report presents data from the 

2007 LEMAS survey describing local 

police departments in terms of their personnel, budgets, operations, policies and 

procedures, computers and information 

systems, and equipment. Comparisons 

are made with prior years where appropriate, and as data are available.

The selected local police sample 

includes all departments employing 100 

or more full-time sworn personnel and a 

systematic random sample of smaller 

agencies stratified by size. (See Methodology for more information.) The sample 

was selected from a BJS census of law 

enforcement agencies (see Census of 

State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2004, BJS Web, 28 June 2007). 

Because sampling was used for smaller 

agencies, some of the statistics presented 

in the report are subject to sampling 

error. Statements of comparison have 

been tested at the 95%-confidence level. 

(See standard error tables in appendix.)

In order to compare departments 

with others serving similar sized jurisdictions, the statistics in this report are 

presented mainly by categories of population served. Because most departments 

employ small numbers of officers and 

serve small populations, overall agencybased percentages tend to reflect smaller 

departments more than larger ones. To 

adjust for this effect, additional overall 

percentages weighted by the number of 

officers employed are presented in the 

text and selected figures. (See Methodology.)

Local Police Departments

According to the 2004 BJS Census of 

State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, nearly all local police departments 

were operated at the sub-county level by 

individual municipal (85%) or township 

(13%) governments. A total of 154 were 

operated by tribal governments, 63 by 

multiple local governments as regional 

or joint police departments, and 56 by 

county governments.

Local police departments perform a 

wide range of functions. Some of the law 

enforcement functions typically performed, regardless of jurisdiction size, 

include first 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. For more 

information on functions performed by 

local police, see Local Police Departments, 2003, BJS Web, 1 April 2006.

Employment

As of September 2007, the estimated 

12,575 local police departments in the 

United States employed about 601,000 

persons on a full-time basis (table 1).

Local police departments employed 

about 463,000 full-time sworn personnel 

in 2007

About 463,000 (77% of total) local 

police department employees were 

sworn personnel with full arrest powers. 

Departments employed about 54,000 

persons on a part-time basis. Nearly half 

of these part-time employees were sworn 

officers.

From 1987 (the first year of the 

LEMAS survey) to 2007, the number of 

full-time local police employees 

increased by an estimated 152,000 (34%) 

or an average of 1.7% annually (figure 3). 

The number of full-time sworn officers 

increased by about 108,000 (30%) during this period. The number of full-time 

civilian employees increased by about 

44,000 (47%) from 94,000 to 138,000.

TABLE 1. 

General purpose state and local law enforcement agencies, 2007

Number of 

agencies

Full-time employees Part-time employees

Type of agency Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Total 15,636 1,040,728 696,346 344,382 75,581 34,124 44,457

Local police 12,575 601,027 463,147 137,880 54,310 25,202 29,108

Sheriff’s office* 3,012 346,337 172,241 174,096 22,747 8,831 13,916

Primary State 49 93,364 60,958 32,406 1,524 91 1,433

Note: Figures are estimates based on the 2007 LEMAS survey. Table excludes agencies not employing the equivalent 

of at least 1 full-time employee. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.

*Excludes agencies not performing law enforcement functions.

FIGURE 3. 

Full-time employees of local police departments, 1987–2007

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003 2007

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

Number of full-time local police employees

Civilians

Sworn officers
December 2010 9

From 2003 to 2007, the total number 

of full-time local police employees 

increased by about 20,300 (3.5%). During this period, local police employment 

of sworn personnel increased by about 

11,400 (2.5%) and employment of civilians rose by about 8,900 (7%). (These 

changes were not statistically significant 

at the 95%-confidence level.)

Municipal and township police 

departments employed an average of 

2.3 officers per 1,000 residents 

County police departments employed 

an average of 1.7 full-time officers for 

every 1,000 residents served. Municipal 

and township police departments, which 

comprise 98% of local police departments, employed an average of 2.3 fulltime officers per 1,000 residents in 2007, 

down from 2.5 per 1,000 in 2003. As in 

2003, departments serving 25,000 to 

99,999 residents had the lowest average 

ratio in 2007 (1.8 per 1,000).

Half of local police departments 

employed fewer than 10 full-time 

officers

Nationwide, 624 (5% of total) local 

police departments employed at least 

100 sworn personnel (table 2). The New 

York City Police Department was the 

largest, with 35,216 officers. (See appendix table 1 for a list of the 50 largest local 

police departments.) Half of all departments employed fewer than 10 officers, 

including 652 departments (5%) with 

the equivalent of just 1 officer. 

While departments with fewer than 

10 officers accounted for 50% of departments, they employed just 5% of officers. 

The majority of full-time local police 

officers (61%) were employed by departments with at least 100 sworn personnel, 

and a third of officers were employed by 

departments with at least 1,000 sworn 

personnel.

Three-fourths of local police 

departments served fewer than 

10,000 residents

A similar pattern is observed when 

departments are grouped by population 

size. About three-fourths (73%) of 

departments served fewer than 10,000 

residents, but these departments 

employed just 14% of all officers 

(table 3). About half (51%) of local 

police officers were employed in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more residents. 

Text table 1

Average officer-to- resident ratio for 

municipal and township police 

departments, 2007

Population served

Average number of 

full-time officers per 

1,000 residents

All sizes 2.3

250,000 or more 2.2

100,000–249,999 1.9

50,000–99,999 1.8

25,000–49,999 1.8

10,000–24,999 2.0

2,500–9,999 2.3

1,000–2,499 2.7

TABLE 2. 

Local police departments and full-time employees, by number of sworn personnel, 

2007

Departments

Full-time sworn 

personnel

Full-time civilian 

personnel

Number of sworn 

personnel* Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 12,575 100% 463,147 100.0% 137,880 100%

1,000 or more 48 0.4% 153,020 33.0% 49,774 36.1%

500–999 46 0.4 32,540 7.0 10,915 7.9

250–499 106 0.8 36,963 8.0 12,198 8.8

100–249 424 3.4 61,438 13.3 19,697 14.3

50–99 841 6.7 57,010 12.3 16,638 12.1

25–49 1,573 12.5 53,490 11.5 14,686 10.7

10–24 3,307 26.3 46,344 10.0 10,599 7.7

5–9 3,358 26.7 17,419 3.8 2,933 2.1

2–4 2,219 17.6 4,544 1.0 319 0.2

1 652 5.2 381 0.1 120 0.1

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

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

TABLE 3. 

Local police departments and full-time employees, by size of population served, 2007 

Departments

Full-time sworn 

personnel

Full-time civilian 

personnel

Population served Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 12,575 100% 463,147 100% 137,880 100%

1,000,000 or more 14 0.1% 95,053 20.5% 34,304 24.9%

500,000–999,999 33 0.3 51,973 11.2 13,726 10.0

250,000–499,999 48 0.4 34,207 7.4 12,086 8.8

100,000–249,999 189 1.5 54,556 11.8 18,591 13.5

50,000–99,999 427 3.4 52,148 11.3 16,153 11.7

25,000–49,999 855 6.8 53,513 11.6 14,278 10.4

10,000–24,999 1,792 14.3 55,507 12.0 15,073 10.9

2,500–9,999 4,111 32.7 48,681 10.5 11,120 8.1

Under 2,500 5,107 40.6 17,510 3.8 2,549 1.8

Note: The median population served was 3,555. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.
10 Local Police Departments, 2007

Operating Costs

Collectively, local police departments 

cost about $55.4 billion to operate during fiscal 2007 (table 4). This was 14% 

more than in 2003 after adjusting for 

inflation (see Methodology). (These figures do not include capital expenditures 

such as major equipment purchases or 

construction projects.)

Local police departments cost $260 per 

resident to operate during 2007

Compared to the overall annual operating cost per resident of $260, departments serving a population of 1 million 

or more cost nearly 50% more to operate—$385 per resident. Departments 

serving a population of fewer than 

50,000 had the lowest per resident 

cost—less than $220. 

Overall, operating budgets averaged 

about $4.4 million per department for 

2007, ranging from about $849 million 

for departments serving a population of 

1 million or more, to $263,000 for 

departments serving fewer than 2,500 

residents. 

Local police departments cost $116,500 

per officer to operate during 2007

When both sworn and nonsworn personnel are included, the average annual 

operating budget for local police departments was about $88,000 per employee. 

Operating costs ranged from near 

$100,000 per employee in jurisdictions 

with 50,000 to 999,999 residents to 

$49,400 per employee in jurisdictions 

with fewer than 2,500 residents.

When nonsworn personnel are 

excluded, local police departments cost 

$116,500 per officer to operate for 2007. 

Per officer costs ranged from more than 

$130,000 per officer for departments 

serving 50,000 to 999,999 residents, to 

$56,400 per officer in jurisdictions with 

a population under 2,500.

After controlling for inflation, per 

officer operating costs for 2007 were 

$10,900 (10%) higher than in 2003 (figure 4). (This difference was not statistically significant at the 95%-confidence 

level.) The smallest increase—both in 

terms of dollars and percentage— 

occurred in jurisdictions with 10,000 to 

49,999 residents, where costs rose by 

$6,800 (7%). The largest dollar increase, 

about $14,700, occurred in jurisdictions 

with 50,000 to 249,999 residents. The 

largest percentage increase, 15%, was 

observed in jurisdictions with fewer 

than 10,000 residents.

A majority of local police departments 

serving 10,000 or more residents had 

drug asset forfeiture receipts during 

2006

During 2006, an estimated 33% of 

local police departments, employing 78% 

of officers, supplemented their operating 

budget with proceeds from a drug asset 

forfeiture program (appendix table 2). 

Overall, departments received money, 

goods, or property worth $307.5 million. 

Average total receipts ranged from nearly 

$3 million among departments serving 

1 million or more residents to less than 

$40,000 for departments serving fewer 

than 25,000 residents. 

TABLE 4. 

Annual operating budget of local police departments, by size of population served, 

2007

Operating budget, 2007

Population served Total

Per 

department

Per sworn 

officer

Per 

employee

Per 

resident

All sizes $55,403,566,000 $4,406,000 $116,500 $88,200 $260

1,000,000 or more $11,583,126,000 $848,799,000 $121,900 $88,900 $385

500,000–999,999 6,898,548,000 211,991,000 132,700 103,100 311

250,000–499,999 4,510,713,000 93,414,000 131,700 94,800 267

100,000–249,999 7,343,910,000 38,844,000 134,500 98,400 256

50,000–99,999 6,861,906,000 16,068,000 131,000 97,300 234

25,000–49,999 6,388,175,000 7,474,000 118,700 91,300 216

10,000–24,999 5,842,750,000 3,260,000 103,100 78,700 212

2,500–9,999 4,632,791,000 1,127,000 87,200 69,400 211

Under 2,500 1,341,647,000 263,000 56,400 49,400 209

Note: Data are for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, or the most recent fiscal year completed prior to that 

date. Figures do not include capital expenditures such as major equipment purchases or construction projects. Per 

officer and per employee averages include both full-time and part-time employees, with a weight of 0.5 assigned to 

part-time employees. Total and per agency figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000. Per officer and per employee 

figures are rounded to the nearest $100.

FIGURE 4. 

Per officer operating costs of local police departments, 2003 and 2007

Annual operating cost per sworn officer

Population served

2007

2003

Note: All figures are in 2007 dollars.

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

All sizes

0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000 150,000

2003

2007
December 2010 11

Screening methods

Polygraph exam

Personality inventory

Written aptitude test

Credit history check

Physical agility test

Psychological evaluation

Drug test

Personal interview

Medical exam

Driving record check

Background investigation

Criminal record check

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

Percentage of local police officers employed

2007

2003

Personnel

Nearly all (98%) local police departments had a minimum education 

requirement for new officers (table 5). 

The most common requirement (82% of 

departments) was a high school 

diploma. 

About 3 in 10 local police officers worked 

for a department that required new hires 

to have some college education

An estimated 16% of departments 

had some type of college requirement, 

including 9% with a 2-year degree 

requirement. In 2007 the percentage of 

officers employed by a department with 

a college requirement for new officers 

(29%) was about the same as in 2003 

(33%), and about 3 times as high as in 

1990 (10%).

All departments used criminal record 

checks, and about 99% used background 

investigations and driving record checks 

during the officer hiring process (appendix table 3). Credit history checks were 

used by 61% of departments, including 

more than 90% of those serving 25,000 

or more residents. 

Nearly all departments serving 25,000 or 

more residents used psychological 

evaluations to screen applicants for 

sworn positions

Personal interviews (99%) were used 

almost universally by departments in the 

officer hiring process (appendix table 4). 

Interviews were supplemented by a psychological evaluation in 72% of departments, including more than 98% of 

those serving 25,000 or more residents.

Nearly half of departments used written aptitude tests (48%) and personality 

inventories (46%) to screen applicants. 

Among departments serving 25,000 or 

more residents, more than 80% used 

written aptitude tests, and more than 

60% used personality inventories. 

Screening methods related to physical 

attributes were also common (appendix 

table 5). Medical exams were used by 

89% of departments, including all serving 25,000 or more residents. Drug tests 

were used by 83% of departments 

including more than 95% of those serving 25,000 or more residents. Physical 

agility tests were used by 60% of departments, including about 90% of those 

serving 25,000 or more residents. 

Local police officers hired in 2007 were 

subjected to more screening methods 

than those hired in 2003

In 2007, nearly all local police officers 

were employed by a department that 

used criminal record checks (100%), 

background investigations (99.8%), driving record checks (99.8%), medical 

exams (98.3%), personal interviews 

(98.2%), drug tests (95.4%), and psychological evaluations (94.8%) in the selection process.

For each screening method included 

in the LEMAS survey, the percentage of 

officers employed by a department using 

that method remained stable or 

increased between 2003 and 2007 (figure 

5). The largest increases were for personality inventories (from 47% of officers in 

2003 to 66% of officers in 2007), credit 

history checks (70% to 83%), written 

aptitude tests (74% to 82%), and physical 

agility tests (80% to 86%).

FIGURE 5. 

Local police officers employed by a department using selected screening methods in 

the hiring process, 2003 and 2007

TABLE 5. 

Education requirements for new officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of departments requiring a minimum of—

Population served

Total with 

requirement

High school 

diploma

Some 

college* 

2-year college 

degree

4-year college 

degree

All sizes 98% 82% 6% 9% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100% 62% 38% 0% 0%

500,000–999,999 100 68 16 16 0

250,000–499,999 98 65 9 17 7

100,000–249,999 99 72 16 7 4

50,000–99,999 99 68 14 14 3

25,000–49,999 99 68 15 14 1

10,000–24,999 99 83 7 9 --

2,500–9,999 98 80 5 13 1

Under 2,500 97 87 5 5 1

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

--Less than 0.5%.

 *Non-degree requirements. 
12 Local Police Departments, 2007

In the largest jurisdictions, local police 

recruits were required to complete more 

than 1,700 hours of training

Upon selection, new local police 

recruits were typically required to complete extensive classroom and field training. In jurisdictions with 500,000 or 

more residents, average requirements 

exceeded 1,700 hours compared to about 

700 hours in the smallest jurisdictions 

(table 6). (For greater detail on basic law 

enforcement training, see State and 

Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2006, BJS Web, 26 February 2009.) 

Based on where officers were employed, 

the average training requirement for 

local police recruits was 1,370 hours.

Ninety-two percent of local police 

departments had an annual in-service 

training requirement for non-probationary officers, including all of those serving a population of 250,000 or more. 

Overall, the average annual in-service 

requirement was 35 hours (appendix 

table 6).

From 2003 to 2007, average training 

requirements increased by about 100 

hours in larger jurisdictions 

From 2003 to 2007 average training 

requirements for local police recruits in 

jurisdictions with 250,000 or more residents increased by 105 hours, from 1,543 

to 1,648 hours (figure 6). In jurisdictions 

with fewer than 250,000 residents, the 

average number of training hours 

required was about the same in 2007 as 

in 2003.

Average starting salaries for entry-level 

officers were 1.2% higher in 2007 than in 

2003 after adjusting for inflation

Minimum starting salaries for entrylevel local police officers averaged 

$49,500 in the largest jurisdictions, compared to $26,600 in the smallest 

(table 7). When weighted by size of 

department, starting salaries for entrylevel officers averaged about $40,500 in 

2007. This was $5,000 (14%) more than 

in 2003. The inflation-adjusted 4-year 

increase was 1.2%. (See Methodology for 

information about the calculation to 

adjust dollars for inflation.)

The average base starting salary for 

local police chiefs was $58,200, ranging 

from $164,000 in jurisdictions with 

1 million or more residents to $38,300 in 

those with a population under 2,500. 

Minimum starting salaries for first-line 

supervisors (sergeant or equivalent) 

averaged $78,800 in jurisdictions with 

1 million or more residents, and at least 

$60,000 in all other population categories of 25,000 or more. 

TABLE 6. 

Training requirements for new officer 

recruits in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007

Average number of 

hours required

Population served Total Academy Field

All sizes 922 613 309

1,000,000 or more 1,700 1,033 667

500,000–999,999 1,783 1,063 720

250,000–499,999 1,542 906 636

100,000–249,999 1,463 809 654

50,000–99,999 1,341 731 610

25,000–49,999 1,241 698 543

10,000–24,999 1,101 666 434

2,500–9,999 979 634 345

Under 2,500 691 538 153

Note: Average number of training hours excludes 

departments not requiring training. 

FIGURE 6. 

Training requirements for local police 

officer recruits, by size of population 

served, 2000, 2003, and 2007

0 400 800 1,200 1,600

Average number of

training hours required

2003

2000

Population served

2007 50,000-

249,000

250,000

or more

10,000-

49,000

Under

10,000

TABLE 7. 

Average base annual salary for selected full-time positions in local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007

Average base annual salary

Entry-level officer First-line supervisor Chief

Population served Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

All sizes $32,900 $41,400 $46,000 $53,500 $58,200 $68,800

1,000,000 or more $49,500 $73,900 $78,800 $96,100 $164,000 $212,700

500,000–999,999 43,700 62,200 62,900 76,000 132,900 164,100

250,000–499,999 44,700 64,700 63,200 79,700 111,900 156,900

100,000–249,999 45,700 61,900 64,200 78,900 113,000 143,600

50,000–99,999 43,000 59,100 63,400 75,100 101,000 125,900

25,000–49,999 41,800 55,500 60,500 70,700 89,000 108,300

10,000–24,999 37,700 50,100 52,700 61,900 74,500 90,100

2,500–9,999 33,000 41,200 44,400 51,800 57,200 66,800

Under 2,500 26,600 30,500 33,100 36,500 38,300 42,800

Note: Salary figures have been rounded to the nearest $100. 
December 2010 13

Officer starting salaries were 38% higher 

in departments with collective 

bargaining

The average starting salary for entrylevel officers was higher in departments 

with collective bargaining ($39,263) 

than in those without it ($28,376). This 

pattern existed in all population categories, ranging from a difference of about 

$6,000 in the largest jurisdictions to 

$9,000 in the smallest (figure 7).

Nationwide, 38% of local police 

departments, employing 66% of all officers, authorized collective bargaining for 

officers (appendix table 7). This included 

at least 62% of the departments in each 

population category of 10,000 or more.

About 7 in 10 local police officers worked 

for a department that offered tuition 

reimbursement

The base salaries earned by local 

police officers were sometimes supplemented by special pay and other financial benefits (appendix table 7). For 

example, 37% of departments, employing 72% of all officers, offered tuition 

reimbursement to officers, and 32% of 

departments, employing 55% of officers, 

offered education incentive pay. A 

majority of departments serving 10,000 

or more residents offered these two types 

of benefits. 

Other types of special pay offered by 

local police departments included merit 

pay (23% of departments, employing 

31% of all officers), shift differential pay

(21%, 56%), special skills pay (16%, 

36%), military service pay (13%, 41%), 

hazardous duty pay (6%, 27%) and bilingual ability pay (6%, 27%). 

FIGURE 7. 

TABLE 8. 

Workplace policies of local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments with written policy for officers on—

Population 

served

Code of 

conduct and 

appearance

Off-duty 

conduct

Off-duty 

employment

Employee 

counseling 

assistance

Maximum 

work hours 

allowed

All sizes 96% 90% 83% 63% 54%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 100% 54%

500,000–999,999 100 97 100 100 77

250,000–499,999 100 100 100 98 78

100,000–249,999 100 99 99 94 75

50,000–99,999 100 97 99 94 74

25,000–49,999 100 99 98 91 71

10,000–24,999 100 95 98 82 70

2,500–9,999 98 91 89 68 55

Under 2,500 92 84 68 43 42

FIGURE 8. 

Local police officers employed by a department with selected workplace policies, 

2007

Subject of policy

Maximum work hours

Employee counseling

Off-duty employment

Off-duty conduct

Code of conduct

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

Percentage of local police officers employed

Workplace policies for sworn personnel 

Local police departments typically maintained a variety of written policies and 

procedures pertaining to workplace issues during 2007. For example, all departments 

serving a population of 10,000 or more had a written code of conduct and appearance 

for officers (table 8). More than 95% of these departments also had an off-duty conduct 

policy. 

At least 98% of the departments in each population category of 10,000 or more had 

policies on off-duty employment, and at least 70% of the departments in each of these 

categories had a policy on the maximum number of work hours allowed for officers. 

Overall, nearly all local police officers were employed by a department with a code of 

conduct and appearance (99%), and policies pertaining to off-duty employment (97%) 

and conduct (97%) (figure 8). About 9 in 10 officers were employed by a department with 

a policy on employee counseling (91%). About 3 in 4 officers were employed by a 

department with a policy on maximum work hours (75%).

Average base annual starting salary ($)

Collective bargaining

Population served

No collective bargaining

Under

10,000

 10,000-

49,999

 50,000-

249,999

250,000

 or more

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

Starting salaries for entry-level officers 

in local police departments, by size of 

population served and collective 

bargaining status, 2007
14 Local Police Departments, 2007

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003 2007

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Percentage of full-time

sworn personnel

Note: Includes blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Asians, Native

Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and persons

identifying two or more races.

About 1 in 4 local police officers were 

members of a racial or ethnic minority

In 2007, about 1 in 4 full-time local 

police officers were members of a racial 

or ethnic minority (table 9). The estimated 117,113 minority officers 

employed in 2007 represented an 

increase of about 10,500 (10%) over 

2003. From 2003 to 2007, minority representation among local police officers 

increased from 23.6% to 25.3%. In 1987, 

minorities comprised 14.6% of officers 

(figure 9). 

An estimated 55,267 black or African 

American officers were employed by 

local police departments in 2007. This 

was about 2,400 (5%) more than in 2003. 

In 2007, the percentage of officers who 

were black (11.9%) was about the same 

as in 2003 (11.7%). In 1987, blacks comprised 9.3% of officers.

From 2003 to 2007, the number of 

Hispanic local police officers rose 16%

An estimated 47,678 Hispanic or 

Latino officers were employed by local 

police departments in 2007. This was 

about 6,600 (16%) more than in 2003. 

From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of 

officers who were Hispanic rose from 

9.1% to 10.3%. In 1987, 4.5% of officers 

were Hispanic. 

In 2007, an estimated 12,564 officers 

were members of other minority groups 

including Asians, Pacific Islanders, and 

American Indians—about the same number as in 2003. These groups comprised 

2.7% of local police officers in 2007, about 

the same percentage as in 2003 (2.8%), 

but more than in 1987 (0.8%).

About 1 in 8 local police officers was a 

woman 

In 2007, about 1 in 8 full-time sworn 

personnel in local police departments 

were women (table 10). The estimated 

55,305 female officers employed in 2007 

represented an increase of about 4,300 

(8%) from 2003. During this time, female 

representation increased from 11.3% to 

11.9%. By comparison, women comprised 7.6% of officers in 1987. 

With the exception of Hispanic or 

Latino officers, changes from 2003 to 

2007 in the percentage or number of officers by race and gender were not significant at the 95%-confidence level.

TABLE 9. 

Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of full-time sworn personnel who are—

Population served White

Black/

African 

American

Hispanic/

Latino

Asian/Pacific 

Islander

American 

Indian/

Alaska Native Multi-race

All sizes 74.7% 11.9% 10.3% 2.0% 0.7% 0.3%

1,000,000 or more 56.0% 17.6% 22.9% 3.2% 0.3% 0.0%

500,000–999,999 60.6 24.1 9.3 4.1 0.4 1.6

250,000–499,999 69.5 16.5 11.2 2.0 0.6 0.1

100,000–249,999 73.7 13.4 9.1 2.6 0.9 0.3

50,000–99,999 83.6 7.0 7.5 1.4 0.3 0.3

25,000–49,999 88.2 5.0 5.1 0.9 0.6 0.2

10,000–24,999 87.5 5.6 5.1 0.6 1.0 0.2

2,500–9,999 87.9 5.1 4.4 0.6 1.8 0.1

Under 2,500 88.3 5.8 3.0 0.1 2.3 0.5

TABLE 10. 

Gender of full-time sworn personnel in 

local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of full-time 

sworn personnel 

Population served Male Female

All sizes 88.1% 11.9%

1,000,000 or more 82.1% 17.9%

500,000–999,999 84.5 15.5

250,000–499,999 85.7 14.3

100,000–249,999 87.2 12.8

50,000–99,999 90.6 9.4

25,000–49,999 91.8 8.2

10,000–24,999 92.1 7.9

2,500–9,999 92.5 7.5

Under 2,500 94.4 5.6

FIGURE 9. 

Minority representation among local police officers, 1987–2007
December 2010 15

Patrol and Response

About 2 in 3 local police officers had 

regularly assigned duties that included 

responding to calls for service

In 2007, two-thirds of full-time local 

police officers had regularly assigned 

duties that included responding to calls 

for service (appendix table 8). The proportion of officers assigned to respond 

to calls ranged from about 6 in 10 among 

departments serving 100,000 or more 

residents, to about 9 in 10 among departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents. 

About 9 in 10 local police officers worked 

for a department with an enhanced 9-1-1 

system

An estimated 91% of local police 

departments participated in an emergency 9-1-1 system during 2007 (table 

11). At least 96% of the departments in 

each population category of 10,000 or 

more were 9-1-1 participants, including 

all serving 250,000 or more residents. 

About 3 in 4 departments used 

enhanced 9-1-1 systems, capable of displaying information such as a caller's 

phone number, address, and special 

needs. This included 90% or more in 

each population category of 25,000 or 

more. In 2007, most local police 9-1-1 

systems could display the phone number 

(84%) and general location (62%) of 

wireless callers (appendix table 9).

An estimated 97% of local police officers worked for a department with some 

type of 9-1-1 system during 2007, and 

90% were employed by a department 

with an enhanced 9-1-1 system. Both 

percentages were about the same as in 

2003. 

A majority of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents had regularly 

scheduled foot and/or bicycle patrols

All but a few local police departments 

used regularly scheduled automobile 

patrols during 2007. A majority (55%) 

also used routine foot patrols, including 

about 9 in 10 departments serving a population of 1 million or more, and about 8 

in 10 departments serving a population of 

250,000 to 999,999 (table 12). 

About a third (32%) of departments 

used regularly scheduled bicycle patrols. 

A majority of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents used bicycle 

patrols, including all of those serving 

500,000 or more residents. 

Motorcycle patrols were the next 

most common type of regularly scheduled patrol, used by about 1 in 6 departments. More than 90% of the departments serving 100,000 or more residents 

used motorcycle patrols on a regular 

basis.

Other types of routine patrol 

included marine (4% of departments), 

transporter (such as a Segway) (2%), 

horse (1%), and air (1%). A majority of 

the departments serving 500,000 or 

more residents used marine patrol on a 

routine basis, and a majority of those 

serving 250,000 or more residents used 

horse and air patrols regularly. 

TABLE 11. 

Emergency 9-1-1 system participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of departments participating in a 9-1-1 system 

Population served Total Enhanced Basic

All sizes 91% 74% 16%

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

500,000–999,999 100% 100% 0%

250,000–499,999 100% 91% 9%

100,000–249,999 99% 94% 5%

50,000–99,999 99% 91% 8%

25,000–49,999 97% 90% 6%

10,000–24,999 96% 84% 12%

2,500–9,999 91% 75% 17%

Under 2,500 86% 65% 21%

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 because of rounding.

TABLE 12. 

Types of regularly scheduled patrols other than automobile used by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments using each type of patrol regularly

Population served Foot Bicycle Motorcycle Marine Transporter Horse Air

All sizes 55% 32% 16% 4% 2% 1% 1%

1,000,000 or more 92% 100% 100% 69% 31% 77% 100%

500,000–999,999 81 100 94 52 29 61 71

250,000–499,999 78 89 91 26 24 50 57

100,000–249,999 59 71 90 12 15 17 14

50,000–99,999 56 69 74 12 6 5 5

25,000–49,999 52 58 55 6 4 2 1

10,000–24,999 50 44 25 5 2 1 1

2,500–9,999 58 36 8 4 1 -- 0

Under 2,500 54 15 4 1 -- 0 --

--Less than 0.5%.
16 Local Police Departments, 2007

Policies and procedures pertaining to special populations or situations 

An estimated 91% of local police departments, employing 

98% of all officers, had written policies and procedures for 

dealing with domestic disputes (table 13, figure 10). 

Many departments also had written policies pertaining to 

specific sub-groups of the community. Most common were 

policies on dealing with juveniles (90% of departments, 

employing 98% of officers). Many departments also had 

policies on dealing with mentally ill persons (69% employing 

89%). About a third of departments, employing just over half 

of all officers, had policies on dealing with homeless persons 

(34% employing 51%) and persons with limited Englishspeaking ability (32% employing 58%). 

An estimated 67% of departments, employing 85% of officers, 

had a written racial profiling policy. Nearly all departments 

serving 250,000 or more residents and about 8 in 10 

departments serving 25,000 to 249,999 residents had such a 

policy.

FIGURE 10. 

Local police officers employed by a department with selected 

special population/situation policies, 2007

Subject of policy

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

Percentage of local police officers employed

Persons speaking

limited English

Domestic disputes

Juveniles

Mentally ill persons

Racial profiling

Homeless persons

Checking

immigration status

TABLE 13. 

Special population/situation policies of local police departments, by size of population served, 2007 

Percent of departments with written policy on—

Population served

Domestic 

disputes Juveniles

Mentally ill 

persons

Racial 

profiling

Homeless 

persons 

Persons with 

limited English 

proficiency

Checking 

immigration 

status 

All sizes 91% 90% 69% 67% 34% 32% 20%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 100% 69% 85% 69%

500,000–999,999 100 100 97 97 57 73 65

250,000–499,999 100 98 96 98 50 67 57

100,000–249,999 98 98 93 82 38 47 32

50,000–99,999 97 99 88 80 40 45 30

25,000–49,999 98 98 85 78 39 43 28

10,000–24,999 95 96 82 70 40 40 30

2,500–9,999 96 93 72 69 34 31 22

Under 2,500 83 84 57 59 29 25 13
December 2010 17

From 2003 to 2007, use of foot and 

bicycle patrols declined in jurisdictions 

with fewer than 50,000 residents

A smaller percentage of departments 

used regularly scheduled foot or bicycle 

patrols in 2007 (63%) than in 2003 

(69%). The percentage of local police 

officers employed by a department using 

these types of patrol declined slightly, 

from 86% to 83%. 

The overall decline from 2003 to 2007 

in the number of departments using foot 

or bike patrol can be attributed primarily 

to departments serving fewer than 

50,000 residents: in jurisdictions with 

10,000 to 49,999 residents, the percentage using foot or bike patrol dropped 

from 72% to 64%, and in jurisdictions 

with fewer than 10,000 residents, the 

percentage dropped from 67% to 61% 

(figure 11). The percentage of departments using foot or bike patrol remained 

about the same in jurisdictions with 

50,000 or more residents.

Equipment

All local police departments authorized semiautomatics as a primary sidearm for patrol officers during 2007. 

Twenty-two percent of departments 

authorized revolvers as a primary sidearm (appendix table 10).

Pepper spray and batons were 

authorized by nearly all local police 

departments

Nearly all departments authorized 

officers to use one or more types of lessthan-lethal weapons during 2007. Most 

commonly authorized was pepper spray 

(97% of departments, employing 98% of 

all officers) (table 14). 

Batons were authorized by 93% of 

departments, employing 98% of all officers. Collapsible batons (88%) were 

authorized by more departments than 

traditional (45%) or PR-24 (36%) batons 

(appendix table 11). An estimated 92% 

of officers worked for a department 

authorizing collapsible batons, compared to 53% for traditional batons and 

38% for PR-24 batons. 

An estimated 60% of departments, 

employing 75% of officers, authorized 

conducted energy devices (CEDs), such 

as Tasers or stun guns. At least twothirds of the departments in each population category of 10,000 or more authorized CEDs.

An estimated 28% of departments, 

employing 44% of all officers, authorized 

the use of soft projectiles (appendix table 

12). This included a majority of the 

departments serving a population of 

25,000 or more. Fifteen percent of 

departments, employing 23% of all officers, authorized the use of neck 

restraints or holds.

TABLE 14. 

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

departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments authorizing

Population served Pepper spray Baton

Conducted energy 

device*

All sizes 97% 93% 60%

1,000,000 or more 92% 100% 100%

500,000–999,999 100 100 77

250,000–499,999 100 100 93

100,000–249,999 100 99 76

50,000–99,999 99 99 78

25,000–49,999 99 98 70

10,000–24,999 99 96 67

2,500–9,999 98 93 58

Under 2,500 94 91 55

*Includes Tasers and stun guns.

FIGURE 11. 

Local police departments using regularly scheduled foot or bicycle patrol, by size of 

population served, 1997–2007

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Population served

2003

2000

2007

1997

Percentage of departments
18 Local Police Departments, 2007

Use-of-force policies and procedures

Percentage of local police officers employed

CCRB with subpoena powers

Citizen Complaint Review Board (CCRB)

Outside complaint review requirement

Less-than-lethal force policy

Deadly force policy

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

Use-of-force policies and 

procedures

Nearly all local police departments 

had written policies pertaining to the 

use of lethal (97%) and less-thanlethal (96%) force by their officers 

(table 15). Just 0.2% of local police 

officers, all in small jurisdictions, were 

employed by a department without a 

written deadly force policy, and 0.7% 

by a department without a written 

policy on less-than-lethal force

(figure 12). 

When citizens filed complaints about 

use of force, 31% of departments 

required that the complaint be 

reviewed outside the chain of 

command of the involved officer(s). 

Most departments serving 250,000 or 

more residents had this requirement, 

and 55% of all officers worked for a 

department with such a policy.

Overall, 8% of departments, 

employing 33% of officers, had a 

citizen complaint review board 

(CCRB) in their jurisdiction that 

examined use-of-force complaints. 

A majority of departments serving 

500,000 or more residents had a 

CCRB. About 4% of departments, 

employing 21% of officers, were 

served by an independent CCRB 

possessing full investigative authority 

with subpoena powers. 

FIGURE 12. 

Local police officers employed by a department with use-of-force policies and 

procedures, 2007

TABLE 15. 

Use-of-force policies and procedures in local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percent of departments with use-of-force policy

Population served

Deadly 

force

Less-thanlethal force

Outside review 

required for 

complaints

Citizen complaint 

review board 

(CCRB)

Independent CCRB 

with subpoena 

powers

All sizes 97% 96% 31% 8% 4%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 77% 77% 31%

500,000–999,999 100 100 74 52 26

250,000–499,999 100 100 54 37 17

100,000–249,999 100 99 43 18 3

50,000–99,999 100 100 43 8 --

25,000–49,999 100 100 33 3 1

10,000–24,999 100 99 35 5 2

2,500–9,999 99 98 30 6 3

Under 2,500 93 91 28 11 5

--Less than 0.5%.
December 2010 19

An estimated 75% of local police officers 

worked for a department that 

authorized CEDs in 2007, compared to 

47% in 2003 

Previous LEMAS surveys recorded 

substantial increases in the number of 

local police departments authorizing the 

use of pepper spray from 1990 to 2003. 

In 1990, 72% of officers were employed 

by a department that authorized its use. 

By 2003, nearly all officers worked for a 

department authorizing it. This 

remained true in 2007.

A more recent trend in less-thanlethal weapons has been an increasing 

number of departments authorizing the 

use of conducted energy devices. In 

2007, 60% of local police departments 

authorized these types of weapons, up 

from 23% in 2003 and 7% in 2000. In 

2007, 75% of officers worked for a 

department that authorized CEDs, compared to 47% in 2003 and 24% in 2000. 

From 2003 to 2007, large increases in 

the use of CEDs occurred in all population categories (figure 13). Among 

departments serving 250,000 or more 

residents, the percentage authorizing 

CEDs increased from 54% to 89%; 

50,000 to 249,999 residents, from 47% to 

77%; 10,000 to 49,999 residents, from 

34% to 68%; and under 10,000 residents, 

from 18% to 56%. 

About 2 in 3 local police departments 

required officers to wear protective 

armor at all times while in the field 

In 2007, 75% of local police departments required field officers to wear 

protective body armor at least some of 

the time while on duty (table 16). Sixtyfive percent of departments required 

field officers to wear armor at all times.

An estimated 80% of local police officers were employed by a department 

with some type of armor requirement in 

2007, compared to 74% in 2003 and 30% 

in 1990 (figure 14). The percentage of 

officers employed by a department with 

an armor requirement for all field officers in all circumstances, was 67% in 

2007, compared to 59% in 2003 and 25% 

in 1990.

FIGURE 14. 

Body armor requirements for field officers in local police departments, 1990–2007

0

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percentage of officers employed by agencies requiring

officers to wear armor

In some

circumstances

Field/patrol officers

required to wear

armor at all times

1990 1997 2000 2003 2007 1993

TABLE 16. 

Body armor requirements for field officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Percent of departments requiring officers 

to wear protective armor

Total At all times In some circumstances

All sizes 75% 65 10

1,000,000 or more 77% 62 15

500,000–999,999 81% 55 26

250,000–499,999 78% 61 17

100,000–249,999 73% 55 18

50,000–99,999 74% 62 12

25,000–49,999 77% 66 11

10,000–24,999 81% 71 11

2,500–9,999 79% 73 7

Under 2,500 69% 57 12

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

FIGURE 13. 

Use of conducted energy devices by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2000, 2003, and 2007

Population served

Percentage of departments authorizing use

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

2000

2007

2003
20 Local Police Departments, 2007

Local police departments operated 

about 60 cars per 100 officers 

During 2007, local police departments collectively operated an estimated 286,000 cars, or 60 cars per 100 

officers (table 17). About a third (34%) 

of local police cars were unmarked 

(appendix table 13). A majority (60%) of 

departments also used other 4-wheel 

motorized vehicles such as sport utility 

vehicles, trucks, and vans. This included 

all departments serving 25,000 or more 

residents. Eighteen percent of departments used motorcycles, including all 

serving a population of 100,000 or more.

In 2007, 50% of departments, 

employing 51% of all officers, allowed 

sworn personnel to take marked vehicles 

home for commuting purposes (appendix table 14). Overall, 19% of departments, employing 27% of officers, 

allowed vehicles to be used for personal 

errands.

A majority of local police departments 

serving 250,000 or more residents 

operated at least one helicopter 

An estimated 6% of departments, 

employing 39% of officers, operated at 

least one boat during 2007 (table 18). 

This included a majority of those serving 

500,000 or more residents. Nationwide, 

local police operated an estimated 1,350 

boats.

One percent of departments, employing 34% of all officers, used helicopters. 

A majority of departments serving 

250,000 or more residents used helicopters. An estimated 312 local police helicopters were in use nationwide in 2007.

Fewer than 1% of local police departments, employing 8% of all officers, 

operated airplanes, with 40 in use 

nationwide. More than a third (38%) of 

departments serving 1 million or more 

residents operated at least 1 airplane. 

For more information on the use of 

airplanes and helicopters by local police, 

see Aviation Units in Large Law Enforcement Agencies, 2007, BJS Web, 

9 July 2009. 

Local police departments used about 

8,000 dogs and 1,200 horses for law 

enforcement purposes during 2007

Twenty-nine percent of local police 

departments, employing 77% of all officers, used dogs for law enforcement 

activities during 2007 (table 19). This 

included all departments serving 

250,000 or more residents, and a majority of those serving 10,000 to 249,999 

residents. Overall, about 8,000 dogs were 

involved in the activities of local police 

departments in 2007.

About 1% of departments, employing 34% of all officers, used horses for 

law enforcement purposes, including a 

majority of those serving 250,000 or 

more residents. Local police departments collectively maintained nearly 

1,200 horses during 2007.

TABLE 18. 

Off-land vehicles operated by local police departments, by size of population served, 

2007

Percent of departments using—

Population served Boats Helicopters Airplanes

All sizes 6% 1% --%

1,000,000 or more 77% 100% 38%

500,000–999,999 61 74 19

250,000–499,999 41 50 15

100,000–249,999 22 9 2

50,000–99,999 19 2 --

25,000–49,999 14 -- 0

10,000–24,999 8 -- 0

2,500–9,999 5 0 0

Under 2,500 2 -- 0

--Less than 0.5%.

TABLE 17. 

Motorized vehicles operated by local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Automobiles Other 4-wheel vehicles Motorcycles

Population served

Percent 

using

Number per 

100 officers*

Percent 

using

Number per 

100 officers*

Percent 

using

Number per 

100 officers*

All sizes 99% 60 60% 11 18% 2

1,000,000 or more 100% 49 100% 10 100% 2

500,000–999,999 100 51 100 10 100 2

250,000–499,999 100 64 100 11 100 3

100,000–249,999 100 67 100 12 100 4

50,000–99,999 100 65 100 11 86 3

25,000–49,999 100 60 100 11 60 3

10,000–24,999 100 62 89 11 30 2

2,500–9,999 100 63 66 12 10 1

Under 2,500 98 69 32 11 4 1

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of 0.5 assigned

TABLE 19. 

Use of animals by local police 

departments for law enforcement 

purposes, by size of population served, 

2007

Percent of 

departments using—

Population served Dogs Horses

All sizes 29% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100% 77%

500,000–999,999 100 61

250,000–499,999 100 52

100,000–249,999 95 20

50,000–99,999 87 7

25,000–49,999 66 2

10,000–24,999 51 1

2,500–9,999 23 --

Under 2,500 10 --

--Less than 0.5%.
December 2010 21

Most departments serving 500,000 or 

more residents used fixed-site 

surveillance cameras 

An estimated 66% of local police 

departments, employing 74% of all officers, used video cameras on a regular 

basis during 2007 (table 20). Thirteen 

percent of departments used video cameras for fixed-site surveillance, including 

a majority of those serving a population 

of 500,000 or more. Among departments 

using such cameras, the average number 

in use ranged from 3 in the smallest 

jurisdictions to more than 200 in the 

largest. 

Nine percent of departments used 

video cameras for mobile surveillance, 

including a majority of those serving 

1 million or more residents. Among 

departments using cameras for this purpose, the average number of cameras in 

use ranged from 2 in departments serving fewer than 100,000 residents to 26 in 

those serving a population of 500,000 or 

more.

About 3 in 5 local police departments 

used video cameras in patrol cars

Video cameras were most commonly 

used in patrol cars. An estimated 61% of 

departments used in-car cameras in 

2007 compared to 55% in 2003. The estimated 71,000 in-car cameras in use during 2007 was about 22,000 (45%) more 

than in 2003. By population category, the 

average number in use ranged from 3 in 

the smallest jurisdictions to more than 

200 in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 

999,999 residents.

From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of 

departments using in-car cameras 

increased in all population categories: 

from 46% to 51% among departments 

serving 250,000 or more residents, 54% 

to 60% among departments serving 

50,000 to 249,999 residents, 61% to 64% 

among departments serving 10,000 to 

49,999 residents, and from 54% to 61% 

among departments serving fewer than 

10,000 residents (figure 15). 

TABLE 20. 

Use of video cameras by local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Departments using each type of video cameras— 

Percent of 

departments 

regularly using 

video cameras

In patrol cars

For fixed-site 

surveillance

For mobile 

surveillance

Population 

served

Percent 

using

Average 

number

Percent 

using

Average 

number

Percent 

using

Average 

number

All sizes 66% 61% 9 13% 9 9% 2

1,000,000 or more 69% 38% 118 54% 220 54% 26

500,000–999,999 81 61 210 55 119 39 26

250,000–499,999 63 48 98 37 53 30 9

100,000–249,999 75 59 67 24 13 34 5

50,000–99,999 72 61 33 26 14 25 2

25,000–49,999 72 66 19 19 8 15 2

10,000–24,999 69 63 12 18 7 11 2

2,500–9,999 68 65 6 11 4 9 2

Under 2,500 61 58 3 9 3 5 2

FIGURE 15. 

Use of in-car video cameras by local police departments, by size of population served, 

2000, 2003, and 2007

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percentage of departments

Population served

2000

2007

2003
22 Local Police Departments, 2007

Computers and Information Systems

Local police departments used computers for a wide variety of functions 

during 2007.

More than 90% of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents used 

computers for dispatch

Local police departments’ uses of 

computers included general records 

management (79%), and maintaining 

personnel records (53%) (table 21). 

Computers were also used by some 

departments for fleet management 

(27%), and resource allocation (20%) 

purposes.

Computers also helped many departments support operational functions 

such as crime investigation (60%), dispatch (49%), and booking (32%). 

For each general or operational function included in the LEMAS survey, 

more officers were employed by a 

department using computers to perform 

that function during 2007 than 2003: 

records management (91%, 80%), dispatch (86%, 72%), crime investigation 

(85%, 71%), personnel records (77%, 

64%), information sharing (76%, 53%), 

fleet management (68%, 52%), automated booking (61%, 48%), and 

resource allocation (57%, 36%).

More than 90% of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents had access to 

an Automated Fingerprint Identification 

System (AFIS)

Seventy percent of local police 

departments, employing 91% of officers, 

had access to an Automated Fingerprint 

Identification System (AFIS) that 

included a file of digitized prints compared to 62% and 88% in 2003 (appendix 

table 15). Eleven percent of departments, 

employing 46% of all officers, had exclusive or shared ownership of an AFIS system in 2007. This included a majority of 

the departments serving 100,000 or 

more residents. 

A majority of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents used 

computers for crime analysis and crime 

mapping

A majority of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents used computers in an analytic capacity related to 

intelligence gathering, crime analysis, 

analyzing community problems, and 

crime mapping (table 22). 

TABLE 22. 

Analytic functions of computers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments using computers for—

Population served

Intelligence 

gathering

Crime 

analysis

Analysis of 

community problems

Crime 

mapping

Hotspot 

identification

All sizes 40% 38% 28% 27% 13%

1,000,000 or more 85% 100% 77% 100% 92%

500,000–999,999 90 100 81 100 100

250,000–499,999 93 100 80 100 80

100,000–249,999 82 96 75 94 66

50,000–99,999 72 88 70 82 56

25,000–49,999 63 69 52 60 31

10,000–24,999 49 53 43 41 19

2,500–9,999 42 37 27 23 9

Under 2,500 26 21 14 11 5

TABLE 21. 

General functions of computers in local police departments by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments using computers for—

Population served

Records 

management

Crime 

investigation

Personnel 

records

Information 

sharing Dispatch

Automated 

booking

Fleet 

management

Resource 

allocation

All sizes 79% 60% 53% 50% 49% 32% 27% 20%

1,000,000 or more 85% 100% 85% 85% 100% 77% 100% 85%

500,000–999,999 97 90 94 100 94 65 100 77

250,000–499,999 100 93 96 89 93 54 78 80

100,000–249,999 95 89 85 80 97 58 65 62

50,000–99,999 96 86 78 76 95 59 67 56

25,000–49,999 97 84 74 72 90 61 50 42

10,000–24,999 94 77 67 63 79 49 44 29

2,500–9,999 84 64 55 52 51 31 29 19

Under 2,500 65 43 39 36 23 18 9 9
December 2010 23

Overall, 40% of departments used 

computers for intelligence gathering and 

38% for crime analysis. About a fourth of 

departments used computers for the 

analysis of community problems (28%) 

and crime mapping (27%).

Thirteen percent of departments, 

including more than half of those serving a population of 50,000 or more, used 

computers to identify crime hotspots 

during 2007.

As with general and operational computer functions, more officers worked 

for a department using computers for 

analytic functions in 2007 than in 2003: 

crime analysis (80%, 67%), crime mapping (75%, 57%), intelligence gathering 

(72%, 46%), analysis of community 

problems (64%, 52%), hotspot identification (58%, 45%).

More than 90% of departments serving 

25,000 or more residents used in-field 

computers

A majority of the local police departments in each population category of 

2,500 or more were using in-field computers or terminals during 2007, including more than 90% of those serving a 

population of 25,000 or more (table 23). 

Overall, 59% of departments, employing 

89% of all officers, used in-field computers or terminals. Nationwide, departments using in-field computers operated 

about 37 for every 100 sworn officers. 

(See appendix table 16 for types of infield computers used.)

About half (52%) of departments 

used in-field computers or terminals for 

writing field reports during 2007, and 

about a third (35%) used them for communications (table 24). A majority of the 

departments serving 10,000 or more residents used in-field computers for these 

purposes.

Departments using in-field computers to produce field reports employed 

65% of all officers in 2007, compared to 

34% in 2003, and those using in-field 

computers for communications purposes employed 72% of officers in 2007, 

compared to 49% in 2003. 

Most local police officers were employed 

by a department providing them with infield computer access to vehicle, driving, 

calls-for-service, and criminal records

In 2007 about half of local police 

departments provided officers with infield computer access to vehicle records 

(52%), driving records (48%), and warrants (48%) (table 25). This included 

more than 80% of the departments in 

each population category of 25,000 or 

more. Departments using in-field computers for these purposes employed 89% 

of all officers. 

TABLE 23. 

Use of in-field computers and terminals by local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Departments using in-field computers or terminals

Population served

Percent 

using

Average number

in use

Per 100 

sworn officers*

All sizes 59% 21 37

1,000,000 or more 100% 1,309 19

500,000–999,999 100 641 40

250,000–499,999 98 318 46

100,000–249,999 97 127 44

50,000–99,999 97 50 41

25,000–49,999 92 25 40

10,000–24,999 77 13 41

2,500–9,999 59 7 49

Under 2,500 43 3 51

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of 0.5 assigned

TABLE 24. 

Use of in-field computers for reports and communications by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments using in-field computers for—

Population served Field reports Communications

All sizes 52% 35%

1,000,000 or more 46% 100%

500,000–999,999 74 84

250,000–499,999 85 89

100,000–249,999 73 80

50,000–99,999 77 76

25,000–49,999 72 69

10,000–24,999 57 52

2,500–9,999 50 35

Under 2,500 46 18

TABLE 25. 

Types of computerized information accessible to in-field officers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Types of information accessible in the field using in-field computers

Population served

Vehicle 

records

Driving 

records Warrants

Protection 

orders

Interagency 

information sharing

Calls-for- service 

history

Criminal 

history records Internet Crime maps

All sizes 52% 48% 48% 42% 37% 34% 32% 30% 11%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 92% 69% 85% 77% 23% 31%

500,000–999,999 100 87 94 71 61 61 58 42 29

250,000–499,999 98 93 98 89 65 83 63 46 48

100,000–249,999 93 86 88 68 59 71 52 47 32

50,000–99,999 93 85 86 71 58 76 53 46 31

25,000–49,999 88 81 81 66 60 66 50 40 16

10,000–24,999 70 65 68 58 47 47 45 31 11

2,500–9,999 54 49 48 44 38 30 34 35 9

Under 2,500 33 31 31 28 25 22 21 23 8

Note: Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.
24 Local Police Departments, 2007

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percentage of departments

Population served

2007

2003

2000

1997

In about a third of departments, infield computers or terminals could be 

used to access calls-for-service (34%) 

and criminal history (32%) records. The 

third included a majority of the departments serving 25,000 or more residents. 

Departments with in-field access to 

calls-for-service records employed 73% 

of officers, and those with access to 

criminal histories employed 63%.

Local police officers were about 3 times 

as likely to work for a department using 

in-field computers in 2007 (89%) as in 

1990 (30%)

The percentage of local police departments using in-field computers or terminals in 2007 (59%) was slightly more 

than in 2003 (56%) and about 12 times 

greater than in 1990 (5%). Likewise, the 

89% of local police officers working for a 

department with in-field computers or 

terminals in 2007 was slightly higher 

than in 2003 (83%) and about 3 times 

the percentage reported in 1990 (30%).

From 2003 to 2007, slight increases in 

local police use of in-field computers 

and terminals occurred across population categories (figure 16). In-field computer use among departments serving 

250,000 or more residents increased 

from 98% to 99%. In departments serving 50,000 to 249,999 residents, use 

increased from 94% to 97%; in departments serving 10,000 to 49,999 residents, use increased from 81% to 82%; 

and in departments serving fewer than 

10,000 residents, use increased from 

46% to 50%.

The percentage of local police officers 

employed by a department providing infield computer access to critical information has also been on the increase since 

1997 when LEMAS first began tracking 

this capability. In 2007, departments 

providing patrol officers with in-field 

computer access to vehicle records 

employed 86% of all officers in 2007, 

compared to 78% in 2003 (figure 17). 

FIGURE 16. 

Local police departments using in-field computers or terminals, by size of population 

served, 1997–2007

FIGURE 17. 

Local police officers employed by a department providing in-field computer access to 

information, 1997-2007

Criminal histories

Prior calls for service

Driving records

Vehicle records

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

Percentage of officers employed by a department providing access

Type of information

2007

2000

2003

1997
December 2010 25

Other types of information and the 

percentage of officers employed by a 

department providing in-field access 

during 2007 and 2003 are as follows: 

driving records—80% in 2007, 71% in 

2003; calls-for-service records—65% in 

2007, 39% in 2003; criminal history 

records—56% in 2007; 39% in 2003.

From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of 

departments using electronic methods 

to transmit criminal incident reports to 

headquarters increased from 38% to 

60%

In 2007, 60% of local police departments primarily used computers and 

data devices for transmitting criminal 

incident reports from the field to their 

central information system (table 26). 

Paper reports were used by 36% of 

departments, and 4% used voice transmission methods such as a telephone or 

radio.

Continuing a trend observed in past 

LEMAS surveys, the 36% of departments 

using paper reports to transmit criminal 

incidents represented a decrease from 

2003, when 55% used this method. During the same period, use of computer 

and data devices increased from 38% to 

60%. 

From 2003 to 2007 an increase in the 

use of electronic (non-paper) methods 

of report transmission was observed in 

all population categories (figure 18). 

Among departments serving 250,000 or 

more residents, 53% used electronic 

methods in 2007 compared to 33% in 

2003. The percentage of departments in 

other population categories using electronic methods in 2007 and 2003 respectively, are as follows: 50,000 to 249,999 

residents—61% in 2007, 36% in 2003; 

10,000 to 49,999 residents—70% in 

2007, 54% in 2003; under 10,000 residents—57% in 2007, 43% in 2003.

TABLE 26. 

Methods used by local police departments for transmitting criminal incident 

reports to a central information system, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments using each transmission method

Population served Total Computer/data device Paper report Voice

All sizes 100% 60% 36% 4%

1,000,000 or more 100% 46% 46% 8%

500,000–999,999 100 48 48 3

250,000–499,999 100 59 28 11

100,000–249,999 100 63 32 5

50,000–99,999 100 60 36 4

25,000–49,999 100 67 28 4

10,000–24,999 100 71 26 3

2,500–9,999 100 68 29 2

Under 2,500 100 48 48 4

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

FIGURE 18. 

Local police departments using electronic methods for transmitting criminal 

incident reports to a central information system, by size of population served, 

1997–2007

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percentage of departments

Population served

Note: Electronic methods include computer medium, data device, telephone line, or

wireless transmission.

1997

2000

2003

2007
26 Local Police Departments, 2007

Community Policing

Balancing responsiveness to calls for 

service with proactive problem solving is 

a primary goal of effective community 

policing. The community policing 

approach requires that police and citizens join together to identify and 

address underlying causes of crime and 

disorder. 

The Justice Department’s Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services 

(COPS) defines three major components: (1) collaborative police-community partnerships; (2) support from 

agency management, structure, personnel, and information systems; and (3) a 

problem-solving process that develops 

and rigorously evaluates effective 

responses. For more information on 

community policing, see the COPS 

Office website at <www.cops.usdoj.gov>.

The LEMAS survey began tracking 

community policing personnel, activities, and policies in 1997, in response to 

COPS funding programs that were 

impacting local law enforcement agencies. (See Community Policing in Local 

Police Departments, 1997 and 1999, BJS 

Web, 25 February 2001.) 

About half of local police officers worked 

in a department with a written 

community policing plan

A local police department’s commitment to community policing can be 

measured to some extent at the management level by the presence of written 

objectives and policies. For example, 

53% of departments, employing 81% of 

officers, had an agency mission statement that included a community policing component in 2007 (table 27), compared to 47% of departments employing 

73% of officers in 2003. 

A commitment to community policing may be more evident in departments 

with a formal, written community policing plan. In 2007, 16% of departments, 

employing 48% of officers, had such a 

plan. This included about two-thirds of 

those serving 250,000 or more residents 

and nearly half of those serving 50,000 

to 249,999 residents. In 2003, 14% of 

departments, employing 44% of officers, 

had a written community policing plan.

Nearly half of officers worked in a 

department that screened recruits for 

analytical problem-solving ability

Some departments assessed applicants’ suitability for community policing 

activities during the selection and hiring 

process. For example, 29% of departments, employing 46% of all officers, 

screened applicants for analytical problem-solving ability (appendix table 17). 

This included a majority of departments 

serving a population of 250,000 or more. 

TABLE 28. 

Community policing training for new officer recruits in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007

Percentage of departments that trained recruits for 8 or 

more hours in community policing

Population served Total All recruits Some recruits

All sizes 56% 44% 12%

1,000,000 or more 100% 85% 15%

500,000–999,999 94% 94 0

250,000–499,999 93% 88 5

100,000–249,999 80% 73 7

50,000–99,999 82% 74 8

25,000–49,999 75% 67 8

10,000–24,999 65% 54 12

2,500–9,999 62% 49 13

Under 2,500 37% 25 12

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

TABLE 27. 

Community policing policies of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percentage of departments maintaining—

Population served

Mission statement with 

community policing component

Formal written community 

policing plan

All sizes 53% 16%

1,000,000 or more 100% 69%

500,000–999,999 84 71

250,000–499,999 93 65

100,000–249,999 86 49

50,000–99,999 89 43

25,000–49,999 76 27

10,000–24,999 70 19

2,500–9,999 56 12

Under 2,500 35 11

TABLE 29. 

Community-oriented policies for patrol officers in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007

Percentage of departments with—

Patrol officer involvement in 

problem-solving projects

Population served

Geographic assignments 

for patrol officers

Actively

encouraged

Included in performance 

evaluation

All sizes 31% 21% 15%

1,000,000 or more 92% 62% 62%

500,000–999,999 97 61 39

250,000–499,999 83 61 52

100,000–249,999 89 57 46

50,000–99,999 81 57 39

25,000–49,999 65 33 29

10,000–24,999 52 29 17

2,500–9,999 26 21 15

Under 2,500 14 11 7
December 2010 27

Most local police departments serving 

10,000 or more residents trained all new 

recruits in community policing 

The practice of training at least some 

new recruits in community policing 

skills such as problem-solving and developing community partnerships 

increased to 56% of departments 

employing 83% of officers in 2007, up 

from 39% and 72% in 2003 (table 28). In 

2007, 44% of departments, employing 

70% of all officers, trained all new 

recruits in community policing, compared to 31% and 67% in 2003.

Most departments serving 50,000 or 

more residents actively encouraged 

officers to participate in problemsolving projects

More than 80% of departments serving a population of 50,000 or more and a 

majority of the departments serving 

10,000 to 49,999 residents used geographic assignments for patrol officers 

(table 29). About 60% of the departments serving 50,000 or more residents 

also actively encouraged officers to 

become involved in community 

problem-solving projects. 

More than 4 in 5 departments serving 

50,000 or more residents partnered with 

citizen groups during 2007

Local police departments engaged in 

various community policing activities 

during 2007. For example, 38% of 

departments, employing 75% of officers, 

partnered with citizen groups to elicit 

feedback for developing community 

policing strategies (table 30). This 

included a majority of departments serving a population of 10,000 or more, and 

at least 80% of the departments in each 

population category of 50,000 or more.

An estimated 25% of departments, 

employing 57% of officers, upgraded 

technology during 2007 to support the 

analysis of community problems. This 

included a majority of departments serving a population of 50,000 or more.

Fifteen percent of departments, 

employing 60% of all officers, conducted 

a citizen police academy during 2007. 

This included a majority of departments 

serving a population of 50,000 or more, 

and at least 80% of the departments in 

each population category of 100,000 or 

more.

Fifteen percent of local police departments, employing 35% of all officers, 

surveyed citizens in their jurisdiction on 

topics related to crime, fear of crime, or 

satisfaction with police services. This 

included 65% of the departments serving 250,000 to 999,999 residents.

A majority of departments serving a 

population of 50,000 or more had a fulltime community policing unit 

In 2007, 14% of local police departments had a separate specialized unit 

with full-time officers dedicated to community policing activities (table 31). 

This included 85% of departments serving 1 million or more residents, and 

about 60% of those serving a population 

of 50,000 to 999,999.

About 47,000 local police officers were 

specifically designated to perform 

community policing activities 

Although not necessarily part of a separate specialized unit, many local police 

officers were specifically designated as 

community policing officers in order to 

engage in community policing activities 

during 2007. In 2007, nearly half (47%) of 

local police departments reported using 

community policing officers.

Collectively, local police departments 

had about 47,000 full-time community 

policing officers. More than two-thirds 

of the departments in each population 

category of 25,000 or more used fulltime community policing officers. 

Departments serving 500,000 or more 

residents had well over 100 community 

policing officers each, on average. 

TABLE 30. 

Community policing activities of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percentage of departments that—

Population 

served

Partnered with 

citizen groups to 

elicit feedback

Upgraded technology 

to support community 

policing

Conducted a 

citizen police 

academy

Conducted or 

sponsored citizen 

surveys

All sizes 38% 25% 15% 15%

1,000,000 or more 85% 77% 85% 31%

500,000–999,999 100 68 94 65

250,000–499,999 96 57 80 65

100,000–249,999 80 64 83 43

50,000–99,999 83 61 66 47

25,000–49,999 66 43 47 39

10,000–24,999 55 35 27 21

2,500–9,999 35 23 9 13

Under 2,500 22 15 2 6

TABLE 31. 

Full-time community policing officers and units in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Community policing officers 

Population served

Percentage of 

agencies using

Total number 

of officers 

Average number

of officers 

Separate 

full-time unit

All sizes 47% 46,919 8 14%

1,000,000 or more 100% 2,101 153 85%

500,000–999,999 97 4,212 133 61

250,000–499,999 98 2,315 49 61

100,000–249,999 94 6,671 38 61

50,000–99,999 87 6,893 18 58

25,000–49,999 69 4,347 7 33

10,000–24,999 50 5,311 6 17

2,500–9,999 42 9,110 5 7

Under 2,500 39 5,959 3 9
28 Local Police Departments, 2007

The number of community policing 

officers in local police departments 

declined by 54% from 2000 to 2007

Despite increases in the number of 

new officer recruits receiving community policing training between 2003 and 

2007, the LEMAS survey recorded 

downward trends in the number of local 

police departments using community 

policing officers and the total number of 

officers so designated during that 

period.

From 2000 to 2003, the number of 

community policing officers declined by 

almost half—from about 103,000 to 

about 55,000. The percentage of departments using community policing officers also declined—from 66% to 58%. 

From 2003 to 2007, the downward trend 

continued, dropping to 47% of departments and 47,000 officers.

These declines are in sharp contrast 

to the period from 1997 to 2000 when 

the LEMAS survey recorded a large 

increase in the use of community policing officers—from 34% of departments 

and 16,000 officers in 1997, to 66% of 

departments and 103,000 officers in 

2000 (text table 2).

Text table 2

Use of community policing officers by 

local police departments, 1997–2007

Percent of 

departments using

Total number of 

officers*

2007 47% 47,000

2003 58 55,000

2000 66 103,000

1997 34 16,000

*Rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Local police officers serving as school resource officers

Many local police departments, through cooperative agreements, assign some of their 

sworn personnel to work in local schools. Often these school resource officers (SROs) 

employ a community policing approach and work in collaboration with school and 

community-based organizations. The core duties of SROs include law-related 

education, counseling, and law enforcement. Their multi-faceted role in the unique 

environment of a school requires training beyond that typically encompassed by a 

basic recruit program.

In 2007, an estimated 38% of local police departments, employing 76% of all officers, 

had full-time sworn personnel assigned as school resource officers (table 32). More 

than two-thirds of the departments in each population category of 10,000 or more 

deployed school resource officers, including nearly 90% of those in jurisdictions with 

25,000 to 499,999 residents. 

The average number of school resource officers deployed ranged from 87 for 

departments serving 1 million or more residents, to 2 among those serving fewer than 

25,000 residents. An estimated 13,056 full-time local police officers were serving as 

school resource officers in 2007. This was nearly 1,300 fewer than in 2003, but still 

3,700 more than in 1997, the first year the number was tracked in the LEMAS survey. 

Additional school resource officers were deployed nationwide by sheriffs’ offices, state 

law enforcement agencies, and school police departments.

TABLE 32. 

Full-time school resource officers in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

School resource officers 

Population served

Percent of 

agencies using

Total number 

of officers 

Average number 

of officers 

All sizes 38% 13,056 3

1,000,000 or more 77% 913 87

500,000–999,999 71 788 34

250,000–499,999 89 664 15

100,000–249,999 85 1,480 9

50,000–99,999 88 1,678 4

25,000–49,999 88 1,950 3

10,000–24,999 68 1,992 2

2,500–9,999 34 2,142 2

Under 2,500 16 1,447 2
December 2010 29

From 2003 to 2007 the use of community 

policing officers declined among 

departments serving fewer than 50,000 

residents 

From 2000 to 2003, a decline in the 

use of community policing officers by 

local police departments was observed 

in all population categories. While use in 

jurisdictions under 50,000 in population 

declined again from 2003 to 2007, this 

trend did not continue in jurisdictions 

with 50,000 or more residents. Among 

departments serving 250,000 or more 

residents, more were using community 

policing officers in 2007 (98%) than in 

2003 (89%) or 2000 (92%) (figure 19). 

Although down from the peak year of 

2000 (93%), departments serving 50,000 

to 249,999 residents were as likely to use 

community policing officers in 2007 

(89%) as in 2003 (88%).

Among departments serving 10,000 

to 49,999 residents, 56% were using 

community policing officers in 2007, 

down from 67% in 2003 and 75% in 

2000. Among departments serving fewer 

than 10,000 residents, 40% were using 

community policing officers in 2007 

compared to 54% in 2003 and 62% in 

2000.

Task Force Participation

While community policing emphasizes law enforcement personnel working closely with citizens, multi-agency 

task force participation involves working 

closely with other law enforcement agencies. Such task forces allow the partnering of local, state, and federal agencies to 

combat problems that may be of regional 

or even national scope. Task forces allow 

agencies to pool resources and share 

information and expertise across jurisdictional boundaries. 

About 8,500 local police officers were 

assigned full time to a drug task force 

In 2007, 35% of local police departments, employing 77% of officers, had at 

least 1 officer assigned to a multi-agency 

drug task force (table 33). This included 

a majority of departments serving 

10,000 or more residents. About 1 in 4 

departments had at least one officer 

assigned full time, including a majority 

of those serving a population of 25,000 

or more. Nationwide, more than 13,000 

local police officers were assigned to a 

drug task force, including about 8,500 

assigned full time. 

Population served

Percentage of departments

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

2003

1997

2000

2007

FIGURE 19. 

Local police departments using full-time community policing officers, by size of 

population served, 1997–2007

TABLE 33. 

Drug task force participation of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Local police departments with officers assigned to a

multi-agency drug task force

Officers assigned 

full time or part time Officers assigned full time

Population served

Percent of 

departments

Number of 

officers

Percent of 

departments

Number of 

officers

All sizes 35% 13,409 24% 8,524

1,000,000 or more 100% 1,625 100% 1,620

500,000–999,999 94 843 90 747

250,000–499,999 98 367 96 360

100,000–249,999 83 1,015 79 916

50,000–99,999 82 1,189 77 1,064

25,000–49,999 73 1,483 62 1,111

10,000–24,999 54 2,147 41 1,089

2,500–9,999 36 3,392 17 1,234

Under 2,500 14 1,348 8 382
30 Local Police Departments, 2007

About 2,200 local police officers were 

assigned full time to a gang task force

In 2007, 12% of local police departments, employing 52% of officers, had at 

least one officer assigned to a gang task 

force, including a majority of departments serving 100,000 or more residents 

(table 34). Five percent of departments 

had at least 1 officer assigned full time to 

a gang task force, including a majority of 

those serving a population of 250,000 or 

more. Nationwide, about 4,600 local 

police officers were assigned to a gang 

task force, including about 2,200 

assigned full time. 

About 700 local police officers were 

assigned full time or part time to a 

human trafficking task force 

About 2% of departments had officers assigned to a human trafficking task 

force, including 54% of those serving a 

population of 1 million or more (table 

35). Overall, about 700 local police officers were assigned to human trafficking 

task forces during 2007, and about a fifth 

of these were assigned full time.

Most departments serving 100,000 or 

more residents had officers assigned to 

an anti-terrorism task force

Nine percent of local police departments had officers assigned to an antiterrorism task force, including nearly 

90% of those serving a population of 

250,000 or more, and 54% of those serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents (table 

36). Nationwide, about 2,700 local police 

officers were assigned to anti-terrorism 

task forces, and more than 1,100 of these 

were assigned full time. 

Emergency Preparedness

Just over half (54%) of local police 

departments had a written plan that 

specified actions to be taken in the event 

of a terrorist attack (text table 3). All 

departments serving a population of 

1 million or more had such a plan, 

as did about 9 in 10 departments serving 

100,000 to 999,999 residents. Departments with a terrorism response plan 

employed 81% of all officers.

Text table 3

Local police departments with a written 

terrorism response plan, by size of 

population served, 2007

Population served

Percent of 

departments

All sizes 54%

1,000,000 or more 100%

500,000–999,999 94

250,000–499,999 96

100,000–249,999 89

50,000–99,999 76

25,000–49,999 75

10,000–24,999 67

2,500–9,999 53

Under 2,500 42

TABLE 34. 

Gang task force participation of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Local police departments with officers assigned to a 

multi-agency gang task force

Officers assigned full time or 

part time Officers assigned full time

Population served

Percent of 

departments

Number of 

officers

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

officers

All sizes 12% 4,558 5% 2,230

1,000,000 or more 77% 429 77% 404

500,000–999,999 81 413 74 396

250,000–499,999 67 189 61 171

100,000–249,999 52 451 43 345

50,000–99,999 46 526 33 341

25,000–49,999 26 471 11 187

10,000–24,999 20 852 7 162

2,500–9,999 9 765 1 63

Under 2,500 4 461 2 160

TABLE 35. 

Human trafficking task force participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Local police departments with officers assigned to a 

multi-agency human trafficking task force

Officers assigned full time 

or part time

Officers assigned 

full time

Population served

Percent of 

departments

Number of 

officers

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

officers

All sizes 2% 722 1% 142

1,000,000 or more 54% 33 31% 13

500,000–999,999 32 39 26 28

250,000–499,999 22 31 20 28

100,000–249,999 6 24 3 10

50,000–99,999 5 41 1 14

25,000–49,999 3 39 2 14

10,000–24,999 1 50 1 29

2,500–9,999 1 130 -- 5

Under 2,500 3 335 0 0

--Less than 0.5%.

TABLE 36. 

Anti-terrorism task force participation of local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Local police departments with officers assigned to a 

multi-agency anti-terrorism task force

Officers assigned full time 

or part time

Officers assigned 

full time

Population served

Percent of 

departments

Number of 

officers

Percent of 

agencies

Number of 

officers

All sizes 9% 2,693 4% 1,141

1,000,000 or more 100% 365 100% 364

500,000–999,999 90 121 84 105

250,000–499,999 80 105 80 101

100,000–249,999 54 196 43 146

50,000–99,999 29 200 16 97

25,000–49,999 16 262 7 65

10,000–24,999 10 663 3 145

2,500–9,999 5 347 2 87

Under 2,500 4 433 1 31
December 2010 31

In addition to participating in antiterrorism task forces, local police 

departments engaged in a variety of 

other activities during 2007 as part of 

their emergency preparedness and 

homeland security responsibilities. For 

example, 62% of departments participated in emergency preparedness exercises, including more than 90% of those 

serving 50,000 or more residents 

(table 37). 

More than a third (36%) of departments increased the presence of sworn 

officers at critical areas. This included 

more than three-fourths of those serving 

250,000 or more residents, and more 

than half of those serving 10,000 to 

249,999 residents. 

About 1 in 3 departments disseminated information to increase citizen 

preparedness during 2007, and 1 in 4 

departments held community meetings 

on homeland security issues. About 3 in 

4 departments serving a population of 

250,000 or more engaged in these two 

activities. 

Overall, 13% of departments partnered with culturally diverse populations, including about two-thirds of 

departments serving a population of 

250,000 or more. Just 4% of departments 

conducted a public anti-fear campaign 

during 2007, although nearly half (46%) 

of those serving a population of 1 million or more did so. 

About 6 in 7 local police officers worked 

for a department that participated in 

emergency preparedness exercises

A majority of local police officers 

were employed by a department that 

participated in emergency preparedness 

exercises (86%), increased the presence 

of sworn personnel at critical areas 

(65%), disseminated information to 

increase citizen preparedness (62%), and 

held community meetings on homeland 

security and preparedness issues (52%) 

(figure 20). 

TABLE 37. 

Preparedness activities of local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments that—

Population served

Participated in 

emergency 

preparedness 

exercises

Increased officer 

presence at 

critical areas

Disseminated 

information to increase 

citizen preparedness

Held community 

meetings on 

homeland security

Partnered with 

culturally diverse 

populations 

Conducted a 

public anti-fear 

campaign

All sizes 62% 36% 33% 26% 13% 4%

1,000,000 or more 92% 77% 92% 85% 54% 46%

500,000–999,999 94 74 71 68 65 19

250,000–499,999 98 80 72 78 72 26

100,000–249,999 92 64 57 43 41 9

50,000–99,999 90 60 53 39 40 9

25,000–49,999 82 54 53 31 22 6

10,000–24,999 77 51 42 25 15 5

2,500–9,999 64 36 35 28 8 3

Under 2,500 47 23 20 21 11 2

Percentage of local police officers employed

by a department engaging in activity

Public anti-fear campaign

Partnering with diverse communities

Community meetings

Dissemination of information to citizens

Increased presence at critical areas

Emergency preparedness exercises

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

Type of preparedness activity

FIGURE 20. 

Local police officers employed by a department 

engaging in selected preparedness activities, 

2007
32 Local Police Departments, 2007

A quick, effective emergency response 

involving multiple first responder agencies in an affected region is essential. The 

use of a shared radio network infrastructure allows interoperability—an important factor in achieving an effective, 

coordinated emergency response.

As of 2007, about 7 in 8 local police 

departments were able to use a radio 

network that achieved interoperability, 

and at least 77% of the departments in 

any population category had this capability (text table 4).

Local police departments had about 

4,000 sworn personnel serving in 

intelligence positions related to 

combating terrorism

More than 90% of local police departments serving a population of 500,000 or 

more had full-time sworn personnel 

serving in intelligence positions with 

primary duties related to terrorist activities (appendix table 18). A majority of 

departments serving 100,000 to 499,999 

residents also had such personnel. Overall, 11% of departments had sworn personnel serving in this capacity with a 

total of about 4,000 nationwide.

Just 1% of all departments had nonsworn intelligence personnel with primary duties related to terrorism, although 

nearly half (46%) of the departments 

serving a population of 1 million or more 

did. Nationwide, an estimated 238 civilian 

personnel from local police departments 

served in this type of position. 

Methodology

Sample design 

Based on employment data from the 

2004 BJS Census of State and Local Law 

Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA), the 

original 2007 LEMAS survey sample 

included 3,224 state and local law enforcement agencies. 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 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. In 

addition, some smaller local police 

departments were determined to have 

closed since the 2004 CSLLEA and were 

dropped from the sample. After all outof-scope and closed agencies were 

dropped, the final sample size for the 

survey was 3,095.

The final sample included 950 selfrepresenting (SR) agencies with 100 or 

more sworn personnel, and 2,145 nonself-representing (NSR) agencies 

employing fewer than 100 sworn 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 local police agencies were 

selected using a stratified random sample with cells based on the number of 

sworn personnel. The NSR sheriffs’ 

offices 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 2,840 agencies completed 

their LEMAS questionnaire for an overall response rate of 91.8%. 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 includes full 

responses from 1,968 local police 

departments, 827 sheriffs' offices, and 45 

state agencies. An additional 21 local 

police departments and 14 sheriffs’ 

offices completed the first page of the 

questionnaire as part of a final nonresponse follow-up effort.

Weighting

The base weight for all SR agencies is 

one. For NSR sheriffs' offices, the base 

weight is 4.22. For NSR local police 

departments, the base weights are determined by the number of sworn personnel employed as reported in the 2004 BJS 

Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies. The final weight associated with every agency, both SR and 

NSR, is the product of the base weight, a 

factor that adjusted for changes in the 

universe since 2004, and a factor that 

adjusted for any nonresponding agencies 

in each cell. For state law enforcement 

agencies, the final weight is 1.09. For SR 

sheriffs' offices it is 1.12, and for NSR 

sheriffs’ offices it is 4.90. 

The final weight for all SR local police 

departments is 1.06. For NSR local 

police departments with 63 to 99 officers, the final weight is 2.22, with 40 to 

62 officers, 3.54; with 24 to 39 officers, 

5.21; with 14 to 23 officers, 7.55; with 7 

to 13 officers, 10.97; and for departments with fewer than 7 officers the final 

weight is 20.29.

To compute the officer-based percentages in the report, the final weight 

for an agency was multiplied by the proportion of all full-time equivalent sworn 

officers employed by that agency. The 

number of full-time equivalent sworn 

officers was defined as the sum of the 

number of full-time sworn officers and 

one-half the number of part-time sworn 

officers.

Text table 4

Local police departments that use a 

shared radio network that achieves 

interoperability, by size of population 

served, 2007

Population served

Percent of 

departments

All sizes 86%

1,000,000 or more 77%

500,000–999,999 94

250,000–499,999 91

100,000–249,999 80

50,000–99,999 81

25,000–49,999 78

10,000–24,999 85

2,500–9,999 88

Under 2,500 87
December 2010 33

Item non-response

For the 1,968 local police departments completing one of the two versions of the LEMAS questionnaire, item 

non-response rates due to omission or 

invalid data were quite low. For most categorical items, the non-response rate 

was 0% (appendix table 19).

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 gender data, a cold-deck 

imputation process was used where the 

percentages represented in an agency’s 

sworn personnel totals by each racial/

ethnic or gender 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. 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, 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. Estimates of the 

standard errors have been calculated for 

the 2007 survey (appendix table 20). 

These estimates may be used to construct confidence intervals around percentages in this report. For example, the 

95%-confidence interval around the percentage of local police departments 

using foot patrol is approximately 55% 

plus or minus 1.96 times 1.5% (or 52% to 

58%).

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 2,500 

residents and those serving 2,500 to 

9,999 residents for enhanced 9-1-1 

would be 3.5% (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 

times 3.5% (or 6.9%). Since the difference of 10% (75% minus 65%) is greater 

than 6.9%, 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 21). For 

example, the 95%-confidence interval 

around the number of full-time sworn 

personnel is approximately 463,147 plus 

or minus 1.96 times 10,265, or 443,028 

to 483,266.

Abbreviated form responses

In the final phase of the data collection, all remaining non-respondents 

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 includes 

these partial-form responses, slightly 

different weights must be used. 

The adjusted partial-form weight for 

all SR local police departments is 1.05. 

For NSR agencies with 63 to 99 officers, 

the partial form weight is 2.21; with 40 

to 62 officers, 3.49; with 24 to 39 officers, 

5.15; with 14 to 23 officers, 7.48; with 7 

to 13 officers, 10.80; and for departments with fewer than 7 officers, the 

partial-form weight is 20.04. For NSR 

sheriffs' offices the adjusted partial-form 

weight 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.
34 Local Police Departments, 2007

APPENDIX TABLE 1. 

Fifty largest local police departments in the United States, by number of full-time sworn personnel, 2007

Full-time sworn personnel Total full-time employees

Name of department Population served Number

Per 10,000 

residents Number

Per 10,000 

residents

8,220,196 35,216 43 51,480 63

2,824,434 13,336 47 15,436 55

3,870,487 9,504 25 12,834 33

1,435,533 6,778 47 7,610 53

2,169,544 4,892 23 6,317 29

588,292 3,913 67 4,493 76

1,541,698 3,231 21 4,379 28

1,239,104 3,122 25 3,739 30

1,082,395 3,120 29 4,495 42

860,971 3,049 35 3,418 40

624,237 2,952 47 3,565 57

1,308,750 2,644 20 3,234 25

1,030,495 2,600 25 3,922 38

1,341,156 2,390 18 4,704 35

733,799 2,303 31 2,625 36

591,855 2,169 37 2,813 48

669,264 2,062 31 2,666 40

572,938 1,960 34 2,436 43

1,261,196 1,922 15 2,677 21

905,903 1,911 21 2,406 27

785,567 1,888 24 2,188 28

735,981 1,829 25 2,187 30

1,316,882 1,795 14 2,402 18

497,290 1,701 34 2,177 44

797,350 1,629 20 2,852 36

797,268 1,607 20 1,887 24

439,888 1,584 36 1,884 43

573,387 1,523 27 1,876 33

647,701 1,522 23 1,823 28

733,291 1,481 20 1,927 26

976,392 1,427 15 1,737 18

220,614 1,425 65 1,693 77

716,817 1,415 20 2,029 28

670,693 1,412 21 1,794 27

447,725 1,393 31 2,129 48

934,553 1,386 15 1,831 20

348,197 1,348 39 1,863 54

585,118 1,277 22 1,767 30

280,158 1,229 44 1,429 51

911,528 1,199 13 1,563 17

624,030 1,184 19 1,411 23

564,169 1,180 21 1,499 27

616,029 1,095 18 1,455 24

332,388 1,062 32 1,309 39

410,252 1,054 26 1,770 43

523,299 1,052 20 1,456 28

542,199 999 18 1,251 23

337,220 992 29 1,352 40

473,959 972 21 1,485 31

New York (NY) Police

Chicago (IL) Police

Los Angeles (CA) Police

Philadelphia (PA) Police

Houston (TX) Police

Washington (DC) Metropolitan Police 

Phoenix (AZ) Police

Dallas (TX) Police

Miami-Dade (FL) Police

Detroit (MI) Police

Baltimore (MD) Police

Suffolk County (NY) Police

Nassau County (NY) Police

Las Vegas (NV) Metropolitan Police

San Francisco (CA) Police

Boston (MA) Police

Memphis (TN) Police

Milwaukee (WI) Police

San Diego (CA) Police

Honolulu (HI) Police

Baltimore County (MD) Police

Columbus (OH) Police

San Antonio (TX) Police

Atlanta (GA) Police

Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff’s Office

Indianapolis (IN) Metropolitan Police

Cleveland (OH) Police

Denver (CO) Police

Prince George’s County (MD) Police

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police

Fairfax County (VA) Police

New Orleans (LA) Police

Austin (TX) Police

Fort Worth (TX) Police

Kansas City (MO) Police

San Jose (CA) Police

St. Louis (MO) Police

Seattle (WA) Police

Newark (NJ) Police

Montgomery County (MD) Police

Louisville (KY) Metro Police

Metropolitan Nashville (TN) Police

El Paso (TX) Police

Cincinnati (OH) Police

Miami (FL) Police

Tucson (AZ) Police

Oklahoma City (OK) Police

Tampa (FL) Police

Long Beach (CA) Police

Albuquerque (NM) Police 513,124 963 19 1,455 28
December 2010 35

APPENDIX TABLE 2. 

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2006

Percent of 

departments with 

receipts 

Value of money, goods, and property received

Population served Total 

Per 

department* Per sworn officer*

All sizes 33% $307,542,052 $73,200 $1,033

1,000,000 or more 62% $23,742,200 $2,802,100 $644

500,000–999,999 74 25,906,900 1,063,500 703

250,000–499,999 89 36,392,300 838,100 1,218

100,000–249,999 89 50,931,700 298,500 1,028

50,000–99,999 82 61,684,200 175,000 1,385

25,000–49,999 68 37,804,500 64,300 967

10,000–24,999 57 40,211,500 38,800 1,135

2,500–9,999 33 15,537,400 11,300 743

Under 2,500 12 15,331,200 25,300 3,388

Note: Table based on asset forfeiture receipts during calendar 2006. The value of goods and property is based on estimates provided by reporting agencies. Computation of per officer averages includes both full-time and part-time 

employees, with a weight of 0.5 assigned to part-time employees.

*Excludes departments without receipts.

APPENDIX TABLE 3. 

Background and record check methods used in selection of new officer recruits in 

local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments requiring—

Population served

Criminal record 

check

Background 

investigation

Driving record 

check

Credit history 

check

All sizes 100% 99% 99% 61%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 85%

500,000–999,999 100 100 100 97

250,000–499,999 100 100 100 96

100,000–249,999 100 100 100 94

50,000–99,999 100 100 100 93

25,000–49,999 100 100 100 90

10,000–24,999 100 100 100 78

2,500–9,999 100 99 99 65

Under 2,500 100 99 97 41

APPENDIX TABLE 4. 

Personal attribute screening methods used in selection of new officer recruits in local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percent of departments requiring—

Population served

Personal 

interview

Psychological 

evaluation

Written 

aptitude test

Personality 

inventory

Polygraph exam Voice stress 

analyzer

All sizes 99% 72% 48% 46% 26% 5%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 85% 77% 0%

500,000–999,999 97 100 90 68 74 13

250,000–499,999 96 100 96 67 83 7

100,000–249,999 98 99 88 64 77 13

50,000–99,999 99 100 87 66 63 13

25,000–49,999 100 98 83 64 51 9

10,000–24,999 100 94 76 57 42 11

2,500–9,999 100 82 56 44 26 5

Under 2,500 98 48 20 38 10 2
36 Local Police Departments, 2007

APPENDIX TABLE 5. 

Physical attribute screening methods used in selection of new officer recruits in local 

police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments requiring—

Population served Medical exam Drug test Physical agility test

All sizes 89% 83% 60%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100%

500,000–999,999 100 100 97

250,000–499,999 100 91 96

100,000–249,999 100 95 86

50,000–99,999 100 96 89

25,000–49,999 100 97 90

10,000–24,999 99 94 78

2,500–9,999 95 87 65

Under 2,500 76 73 41

APPENDIX TABLE 6. 

In-service training requirements for sworn personnel in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007

Annual in-service training requirement 

for patrol/field officers 

Population served

Percent with 

requirement

Average number 

of hours required

All sizes 92% 35

1,000,000 or more 100 27

500,000–999,999 100 31

250,000–499,999 100 31

100,000–249,999 99 39

50,000–99,999 98 42

25,000–49,999 96 41

10,000–24,999 95 39

2,500–9,999 95 37

Under 2,500 86 29

APPENDIX TABLE 7. 

Special pay and benefits for full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments 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 38% 37% 32% 23% 21% 16% 13% 6% 6% 2%

1,000,000 or more 85% 85% 69% 46% 92% 62% 62% 69% 62% 8%

500,000–999,999 71 84 71 35 71 45 52 61 45 3

250,000–499,999 63 80 61 54 72 39 50 48 50 0

100,000–249,999 62 81 77 41 51 43 33 32 42 2

50,000–99,999 68 80 70 32 47 40 29 23 32 4

25,000–49,999 70 71 63 29 44 31 29 9 15 3

10,000–24,999 67 64 58 30 37 29 18 7 10 4

2,500–9,999 47 40 36 25 25 15 12 5 3 2

Under 2,500 11 14 9 15 4 5 7 2 1 2
December 2010 37

APPENDIX TABLE 8. 

Local police officers assigned to respond 

to calls for service, by size of population 

served, 2007

Population served

Percent of full-time 

sworn personnel

All sizes 67%

1,000,000 or more 59%

500,000–999,999 54

250,000–499,999 59

100,000–249,999 61

50,000–99,999 68

25,000–49,999 68

10,000–24,999 77

2,500–9,999 87

Under 2,500 96

APPENDIX TABLE 9. 

Wireless capabilities of emergency 9-1-1 systems in local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2007

Emergency 9-1-1 system can display wireless caller's—

Population served Phone number Exact location General location

All sizes 84% 27% 62%

1,000,000 or more 92% 31% 69%

500,000–999,999 90 27 80

250,000–499,999 100 37 89

100,000–249,999 90 30 82

50,000–99,999 85 25 68

25,000–49,999 85 27 71

10,000–24,999 84 24 62

2,500–9,999 84 23 58

Under 2,500 83 30 61

APPENDIX TABLE 10. 

Types of sidearms authorized for use by sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007

Type of sidearm authorized

Semi-automatic Revolver

Population served Primary Backup Primary Backup

All sizes 100% 77% 22% 51%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 62% 69%

500,000–999,999 100 100 23 55

250,000–499,999 100 100 17 52

100,000–249,999 100 100 19 55

50,000–99,999 100 95 11 53

25,000–49,999 100 73 7 47

10,000–24,999 100 70 10 50

2,500–9,999 100 77 17 51

Under 2,500 100 77 34 51

APPENDIX TABLE 11. 

Types of batons authorized for use by sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007

Type of baton authorized

Population served Any type Collapsible Traditional PR-24

All sizes 93% 88% 45% 36%

1,000,000 or more 100% 92% 69% 54%

500,000–999,999 100 94 55 26

250,000–499,999 100 87 50 30

100,000–249,999 99 98 56 35

50,000–99,999 99 96 48 32

25,000–49,999 98 94 34 28

10,000–24,999 96 90 40 32

2,500–9,999 93 89 41 31

Under 2,500 91 85 52 42
38 Local Police Departments, 2007

APPENDIX TABLE 12. 

Less-than-lethal weapons or actions authorized for use by fewer than half of local 

police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Type of less-than-lethal weapon or action authorized

Population served

Soft 

projectile

Hold or neck 

restraint

Rubber 

bullet

Blackjack/

slapjack

All sizes 28% 15% 8% 4%

1,000,000 or more 46% 46% 15% 8%

500,000–999,999 65 29 23 3

250,000–499,999 57 43 22 4

100,000–249,999 60 40 21 1

50,000–99,999 67 28 24 2

25,000–49,999 55 18 16 1

10,000–24,999 46 14 13 1

2,500–9,999 26 14 7 3

Under 2,500 14 13 4 6

APPENDIX TABLE 14. 

Vehicle use policies for sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments with policy allowing 

marked vehicles to be—

Population served

Driven 

home

Used for 

personal errands

Operated outside 

jurisdiction

All sizes 50% 19% 30%

1,000,000 or more 62% 13% 13%

500,000–999,999 61 37 37

250,000–499,999 65 33 33

100,000–249,999 63 35 44

50,000–99,999 53 35 35

25,000–49,999 40 37 39

10,000–24,999 38 22 42

2,500–9,999 46 22 30

Under 2,500 59 13 26

APPENDIX TABLE 13. 

Number of motorized land vehicles operated by local police departments and percent 

unmarked, by size of population served, 2007

Type of vehicle

Cars Other 4-wheel Motorcycles*

Population served

Number 

operated

Percent 

unmarked

Number 

operated

Percent 

unmarked

Number 

operated

All sizes 286,180 34% 52,008 47% 11,162

1,000,000 or more 46,993 41% 9,592 60% 1,918

500,000–999,999 26,833 40 5,353 60 1,104

250,000–499,999 22,161 37 3,946 56 938

100,000–249,999 37,042 38 6,382 46 1,991

50,000–99,999 34,387 36 5,579 41 1,688

25,000–49,999 32,613 34 5,780 43 1,538

10,000–24,999 35,748 30 6,322 40 1,034

2,500–9,999 33,789 24 6,383 36 722

Under 2,500 16,613 15 2,670 19 230

*Percent unmarked motorcycles not collected in survey.
December 2010 39

APPENDIX TABLE 15. 

Automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) in local police departments, by 

size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments with AFIS access

Population served

Total 

with access

Exclusive/

shared owner

Remote

terminal access

Access through 

other agency

All sizes 70% 11% 7% 54%

1,000,000 or more 100% 92% 15% 15%

500,000–999,999 100 87 13 16

250,000–499,999 100 57 37 15

100,000–249,999 98 62 22 24

50,000–99,999 94 37 20 41

25,000–49,999 92 35 14 48

10,000–24,999 79 17 9 54

2,500–9,999 73 8 5 60

Under 2,500 58 2 5 52

APPENDIX TABLE 16. 

Types of in-field computers or terminals used by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2007

Type of in-field computer or terminal used

Population served

Any 

type

Portable with 

docking station

VehiclemountedPortable nondocking

All sizes 59% 33% 28% 17%

1,000,000 or more 100% 62% 62% 54%

500,000–999,999 100 65 61 42

250,000–499,999 98 78 33 50

100,000–249,999 97 53 51 29

50,000–99,999 97 52 57 36

25,000–49,999 92 44 56 37

10,000–24,999 77 44 34 25

2,500–9,999 59 33 26 15

Under 2,500 43 24 18 9

APPENDIX TABLE 17. 

Screening methods related to community policing used in selection of new officer 

recruits for local police departments, by size of population served, 2007

Percent of departments assessing—

Population served

Analytical 

problemsolving

Volunteer/

community service 

history check

Understanding of 

culturally diverse 

populations

Mediation/

conflict 

management skills

All sizes 29% 20% 20% 16%

1,000,000 or more 62% 31% 31% 46%

500,000–999,999 52 48 45 42

250,000–499,999 54 26 26 28

100,000–249,999 43 25 27 25

50,000–99,999 44 26 24 25

25,000–49,999 38 27 18 19

10,000–24,999 35 23 20 20

2,500–9,999 32 25 23 17

Under 2,500 21 14 18 12
40 Local Police Departments, 2007

APPENDIX TABLE 18. 

Full-time intelligence personnel in local police departments with primary duties related to terrorist activities, by size of population 

served, 2007

Percent of departments with full-time intelligence personnel

Sworn Non-sworn

Population served

Percent of 

departments using

Average 

number

Total 

number

Percent of 

departments using

Average 

number

Total 

number

All sizes 11% 3 3,994 1% 2 238

1,000,000 or more 92% 69 882 46% 12 73

500,000–999,999 94 13 392 26 4 31

250,000–499,999 76 3 127 28 2 28

100,000–249,999 59 2 207 13 2 42

50,000–99,999 29 2 201 3 2 20

25,000–49,999 17 1 201 2 1 21

10,000–24,999 11 2 394 1 1 16

2,500–9,999 8 3 831 -- 1 8

Under 2,500 8 2 759 0 0 0

--Less than 0.5%.

APPENDIX TABLE 19. 

Item non-response for local police department data in 2007 LEMAS survey

Item description Item description

Numeric variables Percent of cases missing Categorical variables Percent of cases missing

Number of agency personnel 0.0% Minimum education requirement 0.0%

Number of task force officers 0.0 Entry-level training requirement 2.1

Number of officers responding to calls 0.0 In-service training requirements 1.2

Number of community policing officers 0.0 Special pay for sworn personnel 0.0

Number of school resource officers 0.0 Emergency 9-1-1 system 0.0

Agency operating budget 2.0 Wireless 9-1-1 capabilities 1.0

Drug asset forfeiture receipts 0.0 Types of regularly scheduled patrol 0.0

Recruit screening methods 0.0 Community policing training 0.4

Race of sworn personnel 2.6 Community policing activities 0.1

Gender of sworn personnel 0.4 Terrorism response plan 0.0

Salary range for chief 5.6 Shared radio network 0.0

Salary range for sergeant 3.0 Preparedness activities 0.0

Salary range for entry-level officer 3.2 Types of sidearms authorized 0.0

Number of intelligence personnel 0.4 Body armor-wear policies 0.0

Number of dogs and horses 0.0 Types of non-lethal weapons authorized 0.0

Number of cars operated 0.6 Vehicle take-home policy 0.0

Number of other land vehicles operated 0.7 Use of video cameras 0.0

Number of off-land vehicles operated 0.0 Computer functions 0.1

Number of video cameras 0.3 Use of in-field computers 0.0

Number of in-field computers 1.0 In-field information access 0.2

Transmission methods for field reports 0.1

AFIS system 0.1

Written policy directives 0.0

Citizen complaint review board 0.2

Outside review of complaints 0.3
December 2010 41

APPENDIX TABLE 20. 

Standard errors of the estimated percentages for local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2007

Standard errors for estimated percentagesa 

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

All sizesb 1.5 1.4 1.3 0.8 0.4

100,000 - 249,999 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.4

50,000 - 99,999 0.9 1.8 1.6 1.4 0.5

25,000 - 49,999 2.6 2.5 2.2 1.9 1.2

10,000 - 24,999 2.5 2.4 2.2 1.8 1.2

2,500 - 9,999 2.4 2.3 2.1 1.7 1.1

Under 2,500 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.2 1.4

a

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. 

bNo standard errors are presented for population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in these groups 

were selected for the survey. 

APPENDIX TABLE 21. 

Standard errors of the estimated personnel counts for local police departments, 2007

Survey estimate Estimated standard error

Number of employees

Full-time 601,027 14,466

Part-time 54,310 1,683

Number of full-time employees

Sworn 463,147 10,265

Civilian 137,880 4,414

Number of full-time sworn personnel

Population serveda

100,000-249,999 54,556 993

50,000-99,999 52,148 1,240

25,000-49,999 53,513 1,735

10,000-24,999 55,507 1,871

2,500-9,999 48,681 1,616

Under 2,500 17,510 902

a

No standard errors are presented for population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in these groups were 

selected for the survey.

APPENDIX TABLE 22. 

Standard errors for estimated operating budgets and starting salaries for entry-level 

officers in local police departments, 2007

Survey estimate Estimated standard error

Average annual operating budget

Population served

All sizesa $4,406,000 $91,960

100,000-249,999 $38,844,000 $361,721

50,000-99,999 $16,068,000 $249,258

25,000-49,999 $7,474,000 $158,579

10,000-24,999 $3,260,000 $77,111

2,500-9,999 $1,127,000 $36,970

Under 2,500 $263,000 $13,805

Average starting salary for entry-level officers

Population served

All sizesa $32,900 $236

100,000-249,999 $45,700 $224

50,000-99,999 $43,000 $429

25,000-49,999 $41,800 $473

10,000-24,999 $37,700 $435

2,500-9,999 $33,000 $401

Under 2,500 $26,600 $423

a

No standard errors are presented for population categories of 250,000 or more because all cases in these groups were 

selected for the survey. 
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of

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BJS Compendium present the first release of findings from

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December 2010, NCJ 231174

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