Bureau of Justice Statistics

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

 

Local Police 

Departments, 2003

 

In 2003 about 90% of local police departments in large jurisdictions

had a written terrorist attack plan 

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of agencies

with written terrorism plan

Population served

Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20531

Alberto R. Gonzales

Attorney General

 

Office of Justice Programs

Partnerships for Safer Communities

Regina B. Schofield

Assistant Attorney General

World Wide Web site:

http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov

 

Bureau of Justice Statistics

 Jeffrey L. Sedgwick

 Director

World Wide Web site:

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

 

For information contact

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

1-800-851-3420
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Local Police

Departments, 2003

Matthew J. Hickman, Ph.D.

and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statisticians

May 2006, NCJ 210118
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jeffrey L. Sedgwick

Director

Matthew J. Hickman and Brian A.

Reaves prepared this report. Carolyn

C. Williams provided editorial review.

The Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services (COPS) provided

partial funding for the 2003 LEMAS

survey. Debra Cohen and Matthew

Scheider of the COPS office assisted

with questionnaire development. More

information on the COPS office can 

be obtained at their website

<www.cops.usdoj.gov>.

Data were collected and processed by

the Police Executive Research Forum

(PERF) under the supervision of Lorie

Fridell. PERF project staff included

Bruce Kubu and Nathan Ballard.

Additional information on PERF is

available on the Internet at:

<http://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: <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

abstract/lpd03.htm>.

Highlights iii

The LEMAS survey 1

Personnel 1

Budget and pay 10

 Operations 13

Community policing 19

Policies and procedures 23

Equipment 25

Computers and information systems 30

Methodology 35

ii Local Police Departments, 2003
Personnel

• As of June 2003 local police departments had about 581,000 full-time

employees, including about 452,000

sworn personnel. There were about

11,000 more sworn and 4,000 more

nonsworn employees than in 2000.

• Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 23.6% of full-time sworn personnel in 2003, up from 22.6% in 2000,

and 14.6% in 1987. Women comprised

11.3% of officers in 2003, up from

10.6% in 2000, and 7.6% in 1987.

• From 2000 to 2003 the number of

black or African American local police

officers increased by 1,500, or 3%;

Hispanic or Latino officers by 4,700, or

13%; officers from other minority

groups by 850, or 7%, and female

officers by 4,400, or 9%. 

• Sixty-one percent of departments had

officer separations during the 12-month

period ending June 30, 2003. Overall,

about 32,100 officers separated,

including 16,100 resignations, 9,400

retirements, and 2,600 dismissals.

• Sixty percent of departments hired

new officers during the 12-month

period ending June 30, 2003. Overall,

about 34,500 officers were hired,

including 28,800 entry-level hires, and

5,300 lateral transfers/hires.

• During the 12-month period ending

June 30, 2003, 21% of local police

departments had full-time sworn

personnel called-up as full-time military

reservists. Overall, about 7,500 officers

were called up.

Budget and pay

• Departments had total operating

budgets of $43.3 billion during fiscal

2003, 10% more than in 2000 after

adjusting for inflation. Operating expenditures in 2003 averaged $93,300 per

sworn officer, and $200 per resident.

• In 2003 starting salaries for local police

officers ranged from an average of about

$23,400 in the smallest jurisdictions to

about $37,700 in the largest.

Operations

• Fifty-nine percent of departments, 

including more than 75% of those

serving 250,000 or more residents,

used foot patrol routinely. An estimated

38%, including more than 95% of those

serving 500,000 or more residents,

used bicycle patrol on a regular basis.

• In 2003, 92% of local police departments, employing 98% of all officers,

participated in a 9-1-1 emergency

system compared to 32% and 60% in

1987. In 2003, 73% of departments,

employing 90% of all officers, had

enhanced 9-1-1, compared to 7% and

26% in 1987.

• Eighteen percent of departments had

officers assigned full time to a special

unit for drug enforcement, with about

12,000 officers assigned nationwide.

Nearly a quarter of departments had

officers assigned to a multi-agency

drug task force, with about 6,000

officers assigned full time nationwide.

• Twenty-seven percent of local police

departments were responsible for

providing court security, 18% for

serving civil process, and 9% for

operating a jail.

• Thirty-six percent of departments had

drug asset forfeiture receipts during

2002, including more than 80% of

those serving 25,000 or more

residents. Nationwide, receipts totaled

about $298 million, or $642 per officer.

Community policing

• Fourteen percent of local police

departments, employing 44% of all

officers, maintained or created a written

community policing plan during the

12-month period ending June 30, 2003. 

• Nearly half (47%) of departments,

employing 73% of all officers, had a

mission statement that included some

aspect of community policing.

• Fifty-eight percent of all departments,

employing 82% of all officers, used fulltime community policing officers during

2003. Collectively, there were about

54,800 local police officers so

designated.

• Thirty-one percent of departments,

employing 67% of all officers, trained

all new officer recruits in community

policing. This included more than 3 in 4

departments serving a population of

100,000 or more. 

• Sixty percent of departments, including more than 80% of those serving

25,000 or more residents, had problemsolving partnerships or written agreements with community groups, local

agencies, or others during the

12-month period ending June 30, 2003.

• Forty-three percent of departments,

employing 74% of all officers, used fulltime school resource officers in 2003.

Collectively, these agencies employed

about 14,300 such officers.

Highlights

Local Police Departments, 2003 iii

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Female and minority local police officers, 1987 and 2003

sworn personnel

Percent of full-time

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

1987

2003

Female All minorities Black or Afri- Hispanic Other*

can American or Latino
Policies and procedures

• Nearly all departments had a written

policy on pursuit driving. Three-fifths

restricted vehicle pursuits according to

specific criteria such as speed or

offense. About a fourth had a policy

that left the decision to the officer’s

discretion, and 6% discouraged all

vehicle pursuits.

• Ninety-five percent of departments,

employing 99% of all officers, had a

written policy on the use of deadly

force. Ninety percent, employing 97%

of all officers, had a policy on the use

of nonlethal force. 

• Sixty-two percent of departments had

written policies about racial profiling by

officers. This included about 9 in 10

agencies serving populations of

250,000 or more residents.

• Thirty-nine percent of departments

had a written plan specifying actions 

to be taken in the event of a terrorist

attack. This included a majority of

departments serving 10,000 or more

residents.

• Eighty-four percent of departments,

employing 95% of officers, had written

policies or procedures for handling

juveniles; 59%, employing 81% of

officers, for responding to the mentally

ill; and 27%, employing 42% of

officers, for interacting with homeless

persons.

Equipment

• In 2003 the .40-caliber semiautomatic

was the most commonly authorized

sidearm, with 62% of departments

authorizing its use by officers. 

• An estimated 99% of departments

authorized use of chemical agents such

as pepper spray during 2003, up from

51% in 1990.

• In 2003, 74% of local police officers

were employed by a department that

required at least some field officers to

wear protective body armor while on

duty, compared to 30% in 1990.

• Nationwide, local police departments

in 2003 operated an estimated 242,700

cars, or about 1 car for every 2 officers

employed. About a third of these cars

were unmarked. 

• Nearly 1 in 3 departments used dogs

for law enforcement work, including

more than 90% of those serving

100,000 or more residents. About 2%

used horses, including most of those

serving 250,000 or more residents.

• Fifty-five percent of departments

regularly used video cameras in patrol

cars during 2003, compared to 37% in

2000. There were about 49,000 in-car

cameras in use during 2003. Eleven

percent of departments operated traffic

enforcement cameras during 2003.

Computers and information systems

• From 1990 to 2003 the percentage of

local police departments using infield

computers increased from 5% to 56%.

Departments using infield computers

employed 83% of all officers in 2003,

up from 30% in 1990.

• From 2000 to 2003 the percent of

local police officers employed by a

department with infield computer

access to vehicle records increased

from 67% to 78%. The percent

employed by a department with infield

computer access to criminal history

records rose from 29% to 39%. 

• In 2003, 55% of departments used

paper reports as the primary means to

transmit criminal incident field data to 

a central information system, down

from 86% in 1997. During the same

time period, use of computer and data

devices increased from 9% to 38%.

iv Local Police Departments, 2003

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of agencies

Population served

Local police departments with a written policy

on racial profiling by officers, 2003

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using infield computers or terminals, 1990 and 2003

2003

Population served

1990
The LEMAS survey

During 2003 the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics (BJS), as part of its Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program,

surveyed a nationally representative

sample of State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide.

Previous LEMAS surveys were

conducted in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997,

1999 (limited scope), and 2000.

This report presents data from the

2003 survey describing the nearly

13,000 local police departments

operating in the United States in terms

of their personnel, expenditures and

pay, operations, community policing

initiatives, written policies and procedures, computers and information

systems, and equipment. Comparisons

are made with prior years where

appropriate.

The LEMAS survey sample is selected

from a periodic census of all State and

local law enforcement agencies operating in the United States. According to

the most recent census, conducted in

2000, nearly all local police departments are operated by municipal (85%)

or township (13%) governments. A total

of 171 local police departments were

operated by tribal governments, and 52

by county governments.

The 2003 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,154 State and local

law enforcement agencies, including

955 agencies with 100 or more sworn

officers (see Methodology for a

description of the sample). The overall

response rate was 91%. 

This report and its companion report,

Sheriffs’ Offices 2003, summarize data

collected from agencies of all sizes.

Agency level data for agencies with

100 or more officers are published in

Law Enforcement Management and

Administrative Statistics, 2003.

Personnel

As of June 30, 2003 local police

departments had an estimated 580,749

full-time employees (table 1). Approximately 452,000, or 78%, of full-time

local police employees were sworn

personnel (those with general arrest

powers). Local police departments also

employed about 51,000 persons on a

part-time basis. About half of the parttime employees were sworn officers.

Local police departments employed

67% of full-time sworn officers working

for State and local general purpose law

enforcement agencies nationwide.

Their 129,013 full-time civilian employees

comprised 42% of nonsworn State and

local law enforcement employees. 

From 1987 (the first year of the LEMAS

survey) to 2003, local police employment increased by about 135,000, or

27% C an average of 1.7% annually

(figure 1). The number of full-time

sworn officers increased by about

96,400, or 30%, during this period.

There were about 14,800 more fulltime local police employees in 2003

than in 2000, an increase of 2.6%, or

just under 1% annually. When only

sworn personnel are considered,

employment by local police departments increased by about 10,800, or

2.5%, from 2000 to 2003. 

From 1987 to 2003 the number of fulltime civilian local police employees

increased from 90,622 to 129,013, or

42%. This included an increase of

about 4,000, or 3.2%, from 2000 to

2003.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 1

Note: Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 2003. 

Sworn employees are those with general arrest powers. 

Primary State 49 82,419 57,611 24,808 793 40 753

Sheriff 3,061 330,274 174,251 156,022 23,884 9,498 14,386

Local police 12,656 580,749 451,737 129,013 51,281 25,614 25,667

Total 15,766 993,442 683,599 309,843 75,958 35,152 40,806

Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Number of Full-time Part-time

agencies

Type of 

agency

Number of employees

Table 1. Employment by general purpose State and local law enforcement

agencies in the United States, 2003

Figure 1

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

Number of full-time employees

Total

Full-time employment by local police departments, 1987-2003

2003

Sworn

officers
Nationwide, 594, or 4.7%, of local

police departments employed at least

100 sworn personnel (table 2). This

included 50 departments with 1,000 or

more officers. The New York City

Police department was the largest, with

about 36,000 officers (see Exhibit 1).

An estimated 5,757, or 45.5%, of

departments employed fewer than 10

officers, including 561 with just 1

officer.

Thirty-four percent of all full-time local

police officers were employed by a

department with 1,000 or more sworn

personnel, and 61% were employed by

a department with at least 100 sworn

personnel. Departments that employed

fewer than 10 officers accounted for

about 5% of officers nationwide. 

2 Local Police Departments, 2003

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

--Less than 0.05%.

1 561 4.4 540 0.1 41 --

2-4 1,924 15.2 4,237 0.9 561 0.4

5-9 3,272 25.9 15,717 3.5 2,451 1.9

10-24 3,798 30.0 46,218 10.2 10,982 8.5

25-49 1,661 13.1 53,287 11.8 13,958 10.8

50-99 845 6.7 56,367 12.5 16,643 12.9

100-249 400 3.2 57,767 12.8 17,877 13.9

250-499 105 0.8 36,330 8.0 11,581 9.0

500-999 39 0.3 27,370 6.1 9,183 7.1

1,000 or more 50 0.4% 153,903 34.1% 45,737 35.5%

 Total 12,656 100% 451,737 100% 129,013 100%

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time civilian

personnel

Full-time 

 Agencies sworn personnel

Number

of sworn

personnel*

Table 2. Local police departments and full-time personnel, 

by number of sworn personnel, 2003

Note: Sworn employees are those with general arrest powers. Officers not assigned to respond to calls for service typically were assigned to other

areas of duty related to administration, investigations, technical support, jail operations, or court operations. 

a

In some cases populations were adjusted to more accurately reflect the population for which an agency provided law enforcement services. b

Includes all full-time sworn personnel with general arrest powers who were uniformed officers with regularly assigned duties 

that included responding to calls for service.

c

Percentage based on 2000 LEMAS data.

Jacksonville-Duval Co. (FL) 1,624 21 61 Tucson (AZ) 960 19 52

Baltimore Co. (MD) 1,788 23 68 Tampa (FL) 962 30 65

Columbus (OH) 1,797 25 57 Portland (OR) 1,005 19 44

Cleveland (OH) 1,846 40 43 Oklahoma City (OK) 1,007 19 67

Honolulu (HI) 1,916 21 59% Pittsburgh (PA) 1,030 32 48%

Memphis (TN) 1,939 30 52 Miami (FL) 1,038 28 53

Milwaukee (WI) 1,989 34 68 Cincinnati (OH) 1,047 33 48

San Antonio (TX) 2,056 17 67 Montgomery Co. (MD) 1,089 12 69

San Diego (CA) 2,103 17 48 El Paso (TX) 1,137 20 56

Boston (MA) 2,109 36 66% Indianapolis (IN) 1,170 15 49%

San Francisco (CA) 2,216 30 49 Louisville (KY) 1,195 17 78

Austin (TX) 1,198 18 46 c Nassau Co. (NY) 2,497 19 54

Las Vegas-Clark Co (NV) 2,640 17 49 Seattle (WA) 1,238 22 53

Phoenix (AZ) 2,763 20 36 Fort Worth (TX) 1,249 21 44

Suffolk Co. (NY) 2,808 19 46% Kansas City (MO) 1,299 29 61%

Dallas (TX) 2,943 24 63 Nashville (TN) 1,312 24 53

Miami-Dade Co. (FL) 3,178 14 73 Fairfax Co. (VA) 1,317 13 69

Baltimore (MD) 3,258 52 61 Prince George’s Co. (MD) 1,328 16 40

Washington (DC) 3,632 65 44 Newark (NJ) 1,332 48 55

Detroit (MI) 3,837 42 26% San Jose (CA) 1,408 16 55%

Houston (TX) 5,350 27 70 Denver (CO) 1,429 26 42

c Atlanta (GA) 1,462 35 76 c Philadelphia (PA) 6,853 46 59

Los Angeles (CA) 9,307 24 51 Charlotte-Mecklenberg Co. (NC) 1,499 22 45

Chicago (IL) 13,469 47 72 St. Louis (MO) 1,507 45 62

New York (NY) 35,973 45 57% New Orleans (LA) 1,622 35 75%

Percent

responding 

to callsb

Number

per 10,000

residentsa

Total

number Jurisdiction

Percent 

responding 

to callsb

Number 

per 10,000

residentsa

Total

number Jurisdiction

Full-time sworn personnel Full-time sworn personnel

Exhibit 1. The 50 largest local police departments by total number of full-time sworn personnel, 

number of full-time sworn personnel per 10,000 residents, and percent of full-time 

sworn personnel regularly assigned to respond to calls for service, 2003
Although 74% of all local police departments served fewer than 10,000

residents, these agencies employed

just 14% of all officers (table 3). About

half of all officers served a jurisdiction

with 100,000 or more residents. While

departments serving the largest cities

had thousands of officers on average,

those serving fewer than 2,500

residents had an average of just 4 fulltime employees, including 3 sworn

officers (table 4).

Overall, about half of part-time local

police employees were sworn officers.

The average number of part-time

sworn employees was no higher than

three in any population category.

Among municipal police departments,

the average ratio of full-time officers

per 1,000 residents was 2.5. Those

serving 25,000 to 99,999 residents had

the lowest average ratio (1.8).

 Average ratio

 Population of full-time officers 

 served per 1,000 residents 

 All sizes 2.5

 250,000 or more 2.5

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 2.2

1,000 - 2,499 2.6

Overall, 68% of full-time local police

officers had regularly assigned duties

that included responding to calls for

service (table 5). The proportion of

officers responding to calls ranged

from about 6 in 10 among departments

serving 100,000 or more residents, to

about 9 in 10 in those serving fewer

than 10,000 residents.

As of June 30, 2003, local police

departments collectively employed

96% of the maximum number of fulltime sworn personnel authorized by

their budgets (table 6). The lowest

actual-to-authorized ratio for sworn

personnel was among departments

serving fewer than 2,500 residents

(92%).

 Local Police Departments, 2003 3

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

Under 2,500 5,248 41.5 17,936 4.0 2,438 1.9

2,500-9,999 4,048 32.0 46,666 10.3 10,862 8.4

10,000-24,999 1,887 14.9 58,633 13.0 15,274 11.8

25,000-49,999 776 6.1 48,732 10.8 13,710 10.6

50,000-99,999 422 3.3 50,077 11.1 15,115 11.7

100,000-249,999 177 1.4 50,298 11.1 16,738 13.0

250,000-499,999 42 0.3 32,109 7.1 10,964 8.5

500,000-999,999 39 0.3 49,849 11.0 14,213 11.0

1,000,000 or more 17 0.1% 97,437 21.6% 29,699 23.0%

 All sizes 12,656 100% 451,737 100% 129,013 100%

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time civilian

personnel

Full-time 

Population Agencies sworn personnel

served

Table 3. Local police departments and full-time personnel, 

by size of population served, 2003

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

--Less than 0.5.

Under 2,500 4 3 1 3 2 --

2,500-9,999 14 12 3 3 2 1

10,000-24,999 39 31 8 4 1 3

25,000-49,999 80 63 18 6 1 5

50,000-99,999 154 119 36 10 1 9

100,000-249,999 379 284 95 15 1 14

250,000-499,999 1,016 757 259 20 1 19

500,000-999,999 1,661 1,293 369 46 3 43

1,000,000 or more 7,683 5,888 1,795 87 0 87

 All sizes 46 36 10 4 2 2

Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Population Full-time Part-time

served

Average number of employees

Table 4. Average number of employees in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003

*Includes all uniformed officers whose

regularly assigned duties included responding

to citizens calls/requests for service.

Under 2,500 17,159 96

2,500-9,999 40,953 88

10,000-24,999 46,344 79

25,000-49,999 34,716 71

50,000-99,999 34,125 68

100,000-249,999 31,170 62

250,000-499,999 19,914 62

500,000-999,999 26,940 54

1,000,000 or more 57,530 59%

All sizes 308,849 68%

Number Percent

Full-time sworn personnel 

assigned to respond to 

Population citizen calls for service* 

served

Table 5. Officers assigned to respond

to citizen calls for service 

in local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2003

Note: Sworn employees are those with

general arrest powers.

Under 2,500 19,585 92

2,500-9,999 48,545 96

10,000-24,999 60,626 97

25,000-49,999 50,115 97

50,000-99,999 51,789 97

100,000-249,999 52,276 96

250,000-499,999 33,617 96

500,000-999,999 52,221 95

1,000,000 or more 102,601 95%

All sizes 471,376 96%

Percent

Authorized employed

Population

served

Full-time sworn employees

Table 6. Authorized full-time strength

of local police departments and

percent of authorized strength

employed, by size of population

served, 2003
Officer separations and new hires

Sixty-one percent of local police departments experienced officer separations

during the 12-month period ending

June 30, 2003 (table 7). Nearly all

departments serving a population of

50,000 or more had officer separations

during the 12-month period, compared

to less than half of those serving a

population under 2,500.

The average number of separations

across all agencies was 4 officers,

ranging from 2 officers among departments serving fewer than 10,000

residents to 284 officers among departments serving 1 million or more

residents.

During the same time period, 60% of

departments hired new officers. The

average number of new hires across all

agencies was 5 officers, ranging from 2

among departments serving fewer than

10,000 residents to 359 among departments serving 1 million or more

residents.

Overall, an estimated 32,122 full-time

sworn officers separated from local

police departments during the

12-month period ending June 30, 2003

(table 8). About half (16,131 officers) of

these separations were due to resignations, 29% (9,397 officers) were due to

nonmedical retirements, 8% (2,606

officers) were dismissals, 6% (1,807

officers) were medical/disability retirements, and 4% (1,305 officers) were

probationary rejections. 

About three-quarters of the separations

in departments serving the smallest

jurisdictions were due to resignations,

compared to about a sixth in the largest

jurisdictions. In contrast, three-quarters

of all separations in the largest jurisdictions were due to nonmedical retirements, compared to just 4% in the

smallest.

4 Local Police Departments, 2003

*Excludes agencies without separations or new hires.

Under 2,500 44 2 45 2

2,500-9,999 65 2 63 2

10,000-24,999 76 3 77 3

25,000-49,999 89 4 86 5

50,000-99,999 96 8 90 9

100,000-249,999 100 19 94 22

250,000-499,999 100 41 90 54

500,000-999,999 97 67 97 67

1,000,000 or more 100% 284 94% 359

 All sizes 61% 4 60% 5

Average

number of

new hires*

Percent of

agencies hiring

new officers

Average

number of

separations*

Percent of

agencies having

separations

Population

served

Separations and new hires during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003

Table 7. Officer separations and new officer hires in local police 

departments, by population served, 2003 

Note: Detail does not add to total because table excludes “Other separations” category. 

Under 2,500 4,222 100 3,204 76 172 4 651 15 83 2 81 2

2,500-9,999 5,536 100 3,969 72 381 7 569 10 260 5 197 4

10,000-24,999 3,926 100 2,289 58 899 23 292 7 230 6 130 3

25,000-49,999 2,982 100 1,470 49 788 26 225 8 221 7 177 6

50,000-99,999 3,113 100 1,413 45 934 30 222 7 270 9 193 6

100,000-249,999 3,365 100 1,392 41 1,036 31 331 10 291 9 251 7

250,000-499,999 1,754 100 671 38 583 33 103 6 224 13 92 5

500,000-999,999 2,517 100 958 38 1,164 46 96 4 156 6 54 2

1,000,000 or more 4,706 100% 765 16% 3,440 73% 116 2% 73 2% 129 3%

 All sizes 32,122 100% 16,131 50% 9,397 29% 2,606 8% 1,807 6% 1,305 4%

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Probationary

rejections

Medical/disability

Dismissals retirements

Non-medical

Population Total Resignations retirements

served

Officer separations during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003

Table 8. Types of officer separations in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Overall, local police departments hired

an estimated 34,474 new full-time

sworn officers during the 12-month

period ending June 30, 2003 (table 9).

The total included 28,791 entry-level

hires (84%), 5,323 lateral transfers

(15%), and 360 other new hires (1%).

Almost all new hires among departments serving 500,000 or more

residents, and more than 8 in 10 new

hires among departments serving

10,000 to 499,999 residents, were

entry-level hires. 

Lateral transfers were more common

among smaller departments, comprising about 30% of all new hires by

departments serving less than 10,000

residents, compared with 1% of new

hires in the largest departments. 

Ten percent of agencies experienced

separations only during the 12-month

period. These agencies had an

estimated 2,786 separations. Nine

percent of agencies experienced new

hires only. These agencies had an

estimated 2,027 new hires.

Net personnel change, 2002-2003

The 34,474 new hires by local police

departments during the year ending

June 30, 2003 and the 32,122 separations over the same period represents

an overall estimated net increase in the

number of full-time local police officers

of 2,352.

Overall, agencies serving fewer than

2,500 residents experienced a net loss

of 163 officers, the largest decrease of

any population category (figure 2). 

The 2,500 to 9,999 population category

(-21), was the only other one to record

a net loss during this period.

The largest increase in number of

officers was in the largest jurisdictions

where 856 more officers were serving

populations of 1 million or more in June

2003 compared to a year earlier.

The next largest increase was in jurisdictions with 10,000 to 24,999

residents, where 526 officers were

added.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 5

Figure 2

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

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 4,059 100 2,875 71 1,121 28 63 2

2,500-9,999 5,516 100 3,774 68 1,647 30 95 2

10,000-24,999 4,452 100 3,715 83 715 16 22 --

25,000-49,999 3,317 100 2,776 84 527 16 14 --

50,000-99,999 3,394 100 2,828 83 547 16 20 1

100,000-249,999 3,599 100 3,134 87 431 12 34 1

250,000-499,999 2,049 100 1,817 89 198 10 34 2

500,000-999,999 2,527 100 2,418 96 73 3 36 1

1,000,000 or more 5,562 100% 5,455 98% 65 1% 42 1%

 All sizes 34,474 100% 28,791 84% 5,323 15% 360 1%

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Population Total hires Entry-level Lateral transfers Other types

served

New officer hires during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003

Table 9. Types of new officer hires in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Net change in number of officers

Population served

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

-200 0 200 400 600 800 1,000

Net change in number of full-time local police officers

for 12-month period ending June 30, 2003
Military reservists called to active duty

During the 12-month period ending

June 30, 2003, 21% of local police

departments had full-time sworn

personnel who were called up as fulltime military reservists and were, therefore, no longer available for law

enforcement duties (table 10). The

percent of departments with call-ups

ranged from 94% or more in population

categories of 100,000 or more to 6% in

jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500

residents.

Overall, about 7,500 officers were

called-up for reserve military service.

About three-fifths (59%) of them came

from departments serving 50,000 or

more residents. The average number

of officers called up was 3, ranging

from 1 officer among departments

serving fewer than 25,000 residents to

74 officers among departments serving

a population of 1 million or more. 

Reserve or auxiliary officers

Some local police departments partly

offset officer shortages through the use

of supplemental personnel, such as

sworn reserve or auxiliary officers. 

As of June 30, 2003, 35% of departments were using part-time sworn

reserve or auxiliary officers, with an

average of 6 officers each (table 11).

Overall, local police departments

employed 26,625 such officers. Seven

percent of departments were using fulltime sworn reserve or auxiliary officers,

with a total of 5,376 nationwide.

Eleven percent of departments were

using part-time nonsworn reserve or

auxiliary officers (table 12), with a total

of nearly 14,000 used nationwide. One

percent of departments were using fulltime nonsworn reserve or auxiliary

officers, with an overall total of about

600. 

6 Local Police Departments, 2003

*Excludes agencies without call-ups.

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

Under 2,500 6 402 1

2,500-9,999 16 787 1

10,000-24,999 34 940 1

25,000-49,999 57 944 2

50,000-99,999 80 880 3

100,000-249,999 94 1,022 6

250,000-499,999 98 574 14

500,000-999,999 100 836 22

1,000,000 or more 94% 1,148 74

 All sizes 21% 7,532 3

Average 

number of

call-ups*

Total

number of

call-ups

Percent having

any reservists

called-up

Population 

served

Full-time reserve call-ups during 

the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003

Table 10. Full-time sworn personnel in local police departments 

called-up as full-time military reservists, by size of population served, 2003

*Excludes agencies not using sworn reserve or auxiliary officers.

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

Under 2,500 8 1,888 5 37 7,146 4

2,500-9,999 7 1,953 6 34 7,648 6

10,000-24,999 5 467 5 28 3,845 7

25,000-49,999 5 206 6 33 2,590 10

50,000-99,999 4 225 13 42 2,101 12

100,000-249,999 7 114 9 43 1,137 15

250,000-499,999 17 454 63 37 472 30

500,000-999,999 5 69 34 35 739 55

1,000,000 or more 0% 0 0 44% 947 131

 All sizes 7% 5,376 6 35% 26,625 6

Average

number*

Total

number

Percent of

agencies

using

Average

number*

Total

number

Percent of

agencies

using

Full-time sworn Part-time sworn

Population 

served

Table 11. Use of sworn reserve or auxiliary officers in

local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

*Excludes agencies not using nonsworn reserve or auxiliary officers.

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

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 -- 81 4 9 1,372 3

2,500-9,999 1 103 4 10 1,841 5

10,000-24,999 2 280 9 15 2,625 9

25,000-49,999 -- 29 13 14 1,300 12

50,000-99,999 2 69 9 12 814 16

100,000-249,999 2 22 5 9 273 18

250,000-499,999 2 1 1 7 51 16

500,000-999,999 0 0 0 13 637 123

1,000,000 or more 0% 0 0 19% 4,677 1,507

 All sizes 1% 585 6 11% 13,589 10

Average

number*

Total

number

Percent of

agencies

using

Average

number*

Total

number

Percent of

agencies

using

Full-time nonsworn Part-time nonsworn

Population 

served

Table 12. Use of nonsworn reserve or auxiliary officers in 

local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Gender and race of officers

Of the 451,737 full-time sworn personnel

in local police departments as of June

2003, approximately 11% were women

(table 13). The percentage of female

officers ranged from about 17% in

departments serving 1 million or more

residents to about 6% in those serving

fewer than 10,000 residents. 

In 2003 the estimated 51,046 female

officers represented an increase of

about 4,400, or 9%, from 2000. During

this time, female representation among

local police officers increased from

10.6% to 11.3% (figure 3). By comparison, women comprised just 7.6% of

local police officers in 1987.

In 2003 an estimated 23.6% of full-time

local police officers were members of a

racial or ethnic minority. Minority

officers comprised more than a third of

the total in jurisdictions with 250,000 or

more residents.

Blacks or African Americans accounted

for 11.7% of all local police officers in

2003. Black employment was highest

among departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 (24.4%).

An estimated 9.1% of local police

officers nationwide were Hispanic or

Latino, with the highest representation

among departments serving a population of 1 million or more (19.3%).

The number of local police officers who

were members of a racial or ethnic

minority in 2003 (106,610) represented

an increase of about 7,000, or 7%, over

2000 levels. From 2000 to 2003 minority representation increased slightly,

from 22.6% to 23.6%. In 1987 minorities comprised 14.6% of all local police

officers. 

The estimated 52,853 full-time black or

African American local police officers

employed in 2003 was an increase of

about 1,500, or 3%, compared to 2000.

During this time the percent of officers

who were black remained unchanged

at 11.7%. In 1987 blacks comprised

9.3% of officers.

An estimated 41,108 Hispanic or Latino

officers were employed by local police

departments in 2003. This was about

4,700, or 13%, more than in 2000.

From 2000 to 2003 the percentage of

local police officers who were Hispanic

or Latino rose from 8.3% to 9.1%. In

1987, 4.5% of officers were Hispanic. 

From 2000 to 2003 representation by

other minority groups such as Asians,

Pacific Islanders, and American

Indians increased by about 850, or 7%,

to about 12,650 officers. These groups

comprised 2.8% of local police officers

in 2003 compared to 2.7% in 2000, and

0.8% in 1987. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 7

Figure 3

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003 1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Female and minority local police officers, 1987-2003

 Female Minority*

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

*Includes blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Asians, Native

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

and any other racial or ethnic minority.

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

*Includes Asians, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and any other race.

Under 2,500 100 94.3 5.7 88.5 83.8 4.7 5.7 5.1 0.6 3.4 3.2 0.2 2.5 2.2 0.3

2,500-9,999 100 93.8 6.2 89.8 84.5 5.3 4.2 3.7 0.5 3.4 3.2 0.2 2.6 2.3 0.3

10,000-24,999 100 93.3 6.7 90.4 84.6 5.8 4.4 4.0 0.4 3.0 2.8 0.2 2.1 1.9 0.2

25,000-49,999 100 91.8 8.2 87.5 80.8 6.7 5.8 4.9 0.9 5.5 5.0 0.5 1.2 1.0 0.2

50,000-99,999 100 91.2 8.8 83.3 76.6 6.7 7.4 6.3 1.1 7.0 6.2 0.8 2.3 2.2 0.1

100,000-249,999 100 89.0 11.0 76.0 68.2 7.8 11.9 9.8 2.1 9.1 8.2 0.9 3.0 2.8 0.2

250,000-499,999 100 85.4 14.6 66.6 57.7 8.9 19.4 15.3 4.1 11.3 10.0 1.3 2.7 2.4 0.3

500,000-999,999 100 84.4 15.6 61.9 54.1 7.8 24.4 18.0 6.4 7.8 6.8 1.0 6.0 5.4 0.6

1,000,000 or more 100% 82.7% 17.3% 61.1% 53.2% 7.9% 16.7% 11.3% 5.4% 19.3% 15.7% 3.6% 2.8% 2.6% 0.2%

 All sizes 100% 88.7% 11.3% 76.4% 69.4% 7.0% 11.7% 9.0% 2.7% 9.1% 7.8% 1.3% 2.8% 2.5% 0.3%

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

Population Total White Black/African American Hispanic/Latino Other*

served

Percent of full-time sworn employees who were —

Table 13. Gender and race of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Screening of officer applicants 

Local police departments employed a

variety of screening methods when

hiring new officers. Nearly all used

personal interviews (98%), and a

majority used medical exams (85%),

drug tests (73%), and psychological

evaluations (67%) (table 14).

Among departments serving 50,000 

or more residents, more than 8 in 10

used physical agility tests and written

aptitude tests. More than half the

departments in these population

categories used polygraph exams.

In addition to interviews, tests, and

examinations, nearly all departments

screened recruits through criminal

record checks (99%), background

investigations (98%), and driving record

checks (96%) (table 15). A majority

conducted credit record checks (55%),

including more than 8 in 10 departments

serving 25,000 or more residents.

Nearly all local police officers were

employed by departments that used

criminal record checks, background

investigations, driving record checks,

medical exams, and personal interviews (figure 4). About 9 in 10 were

employed by departments that used

psychological evaluations and drug

tests. More than two-thirds of officers

worked in departments using physical

agility tests (80% of officers), aptitude

tests (74%), and credit checks (70%).

8 Local Police Departments, 2003

Local police officers employed by departments using

Screening methods

Personality inventory

Polygraph exam

Credit history check

Written aptitude test

Physical agility test

Drug test

Psychological evaluation

Personal interview

Medical exam

Driving record check

Background investigation

Criminal record check

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

Percent of local police officers employed

various recruit screening methods, 2003

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

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 98 73 63 47 31 20 16 11 2 --

2,500-9,999 99 91 74 71 52 48 26 25 3 --

10,000-24,999 99 98 88 89 71 72 40 42 6 1

25,000-49,999 99 99 88 96 76 76 45 47 12 2

50,000-99,999 99 97 90 97 83 80 47 57 7 3

100,000-249,999 95 97 86 95 88 82 50 77 11 1

250,000-499,999 95 93 98 98 93 83 51 78 10 2

500,000-999,999 100 100 95 100 86 84 48 64 11 11

1,000,000 or more 94% 100% 100% 100% 94% 81% 56% 81% 0% 0%

All sizes 98% 85% 73% 67% 50% 43% 26% 25% 4% 1%

 Second 

 language

 ability test

 Voice

 stress

 analyzer

 

 Polygraph 

 exam

 Personality 

 inventory

 Written

 aptitude 

 test

 Physical

 agility test

 Psycho- 

 logical

 evaluation

 

 Drug test

 

 Medical 

 exam

 Personal

 interview

Population

served

Interviews, tests, and examinations used to select new officer recruits

Table 14. Interviews, tests, and examinations used in selection of new officer recruits 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

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

Under 2,500 98 97 92 39 6

2,500-9,999 99 98 99 55 9

10,000-24,999 99 99 99 76 8

25,000-49,999 100 100 99 83 11

50,000-99,999 99 100 99 87 8

100,000-249,999 100 99 98 88 12

250,000-499,999 100 100 98 88 7

500,000-999,999 100 100 100 89 19

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 81% 0%

All sizes 99% 98% 96% 55% 8%

 Volunteer

 service

 check

 Credit 

 history

 check

 Driving 

 record

 check

 Background

 investigation

 Criminal

 record 

 check

Population

served

Background checks used to select new officer recruits

Table 15. Background checks used in selection of new officer recruits

 in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Figure 4
Education and training requirements

Nearly all (98%) local police departments had an education requirement

for new officer recruits (table 16).

Eighteen percent of departments had

some type of college requirement, with

9% requiring a 2-year degree.

In 2003 the percentage of officers

employed by a department with some

type of college requirement for new

officers (33%) was about the same as

in 2000 (32%), but more than 3 times

as high as in 1990 (10%). 

In the largest jurisdictions new local

police recruits were required to

complete an average of about 1,500

hours of training compared to about

800 hours in the smallest (table 17).

On average, about three-quarters of

training hours were State mandated,

with the remainder an agency requirement. For greater detail on basic law

enforcement training, see State and

Local Law Enforcement Training

Academies, 2002.

From 2000 to 2003 there were significant increases in training requirements

for local police recruits in jurisdictions

with fewer than 250,000 residents. In

jurisdictions with 50,000 to 249,999

residents, the average combined field

and academy training requirement rose

from 1,178 hours to 1,355 hours; with

10,000 to 49,999 residents, from 969 

to 1,148; and with fewer than 10,000

residents, from 605 to 855. The

average requirement rose slightly in

jurisdictions with more than 250,000

residents; from 1,514 to 1,543. 

The average annual inservice training

requirement for non-probationary

officers was 47 hours, including 24

State-mandated hours (table 18).

Overall, just 3% of departments

operated a training academy; however,

nearly all of those serving a population

of 250,000 or more did so. Nationwide,

45% of all officers were employed by a

department that operated an academy.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 9

Figure 5

Under 2,500 23 16

2,500-9,999 28 25

10,000-24,999 20 31

25,000-49,999 21 28

50,000-99,999 18 32

100,000-249,999 24 23

250,000-499,999 20 14

500,000-999,999 20 18

1,000,000 or more 23 7

All sizes 24 23

Other 

StatemandatedPopulation 

served

Average number 

of hours required

Table 18. Annual inservice training

requirements for non-probationary

officers in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0 400 800 1,200 1,600

Average number of training hours required

Population served

2003

2000

Training requirements for new officer recruits

in local police departments, 2000 and 2003

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

*Non-degree requirements.

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 97 82 6 9 0

2,500-9,999 99 83 7 9 --

10,000-24,999 99 82 7 9 1

25,000-49,999 99 77 10 11 1

50,000-99,999 100 76 17 6 1

100,000-249,999 98 81 13 3 2

250,000-499,999 99 84 8 4 3

500,000-999,999 99 72 13 9 5

1,000,000 or more 98% 72% 18% 7% 1%

 All sizes 98% 81% 8% 9% 1%

4-year

college

degree

2-year

college

degree

Some

college*

High

school

diploma

Total

with requirementPopulation

served

Percent of agencies requiring a minimum of C

Table 16. Minimum educational requirement for new officers

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 --

2,500-9,999 1

10,000-24,999 2

25,000-49,999 3

50,000-99,999 13

100,000-249,999 36

250,000-499,999 90

500,000-999,999 89

1,000,000 or more 100%

All sizes 3%

 Percent with

 training academy

Population

served

Note: Average number of training hours excludes departments not requiring training.

Under 2,500 577 542 35 199 106 93

2,500-9,999 630 597 32 314 151 162

10,000-24,999 672 642 30 442 164 279

25,000-49,999 702 657 46 527 210 317

50,000-99,999 721 657 64 598 268 330

100,000-249,999 815 642 173 624 253 371

250,000-499,999 950 620 330 652 200 452

500,000-999,999 920 588 332 561 104 456

1,000,000 or more 1,016 689 327 513 153 360

All sizes 628 588 40 326 147 179

Other

required

StateTotal mandatedOther

required

StateTotal mandatedPopulation 

served

Academy Field

Average number of hours required

Table 17. Training requirements for new officer recruits in local police

departments, by size of population served, 2003
Budget and pay

Operating budgets

The total operating budget of local

police departments during fiscal 2003

was about $43.3 billion (table 19). This

was 10% more than in 2000 after

adjusting for inflation. (These figures do

not include budgets for capital expenditures such as equipment purchases or

construction projects.) Local police

departments accounted for 59% of the

$73.6 billion in total operating budgets

for general purpose State and local law

enforcement agencies. 

Nationwide, operating budgets were

about $3.4 million per department for

fiscal 2003, ranging from about $572

million for departments serving a

population of 1 million or more, to

$208,000 among those serving fewer

than 2,500 residents. 

The overall operating cost per resident

was $200, with departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or

more costing the most to operate, $282

per resident. Departments serving a

population of less than 10,000 had the

lowest per resident cost — about $160. 

Nationwide, local police departments

cost an estimated $93,300 per sworn

officer to operate for fiscal 2003. Costs

ranged from $99,000 or more per

officer in population categories of

25,000 or more, to $45,500 per officer

in jurisdictions with a population under

2,500. 

When both sworn and nonsworn

employees are included, the average

operating budget for local police departments was about $71,500 per

employee for the year. Operating costs

ranged from more than $75,000 per

employee in jurisdictions with 50,000 or

more residents to $40,000 per

employee in those with fewer than

2,500 residents. 

After controlling for inflation, per officer

operating costs for 2003 were $12,800,

or 16%, higher than in 2000 (figure 6).

The largest increase, from $77,300 to

$92,200, was recorded in jurisdictions

with 10,000 to 49,999 residents. The

smallest increase, from $53,400 to

$60,100, was in jurisdictions with fewer

than 10,000 residents. 

10 Local Police Departments, 2003

State police 8.0 7.2

Sheriff 22.3 18.9

Local police $43.3 $39.2

 Total $73.6 $65.3

2003 2000

Operating expenditures 

of general purpose law

enforcement agencies in

2003 dollars (in billions)

Note: Figures are for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, or the most recent fiscal year

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

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

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

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

figures, to the nearest $100.

Under 2,500 1,092,247,000 208,000 45,500 40,000 162

2,500-9,999 3,444,036,000 851,000 67,000 53,300 157

10,000-24,999 5,196,604,000 2,754,000 86,700 66,800 174

25,000-49,999 4,853,915,000 6,255,000 99,000 75,000 182

50,000-99,999 5,195,820,000 12,312,000 103,400 77,200 178

100,000-249,999 5,351,771,000 30,236,000 106,200 78,300 200

250,000-499,999 3,378,060,000 80,430,000 105,100 77,700 228

500,000-999,999 5,105,600,000 130,913,000 102,300 78,600 193

1,000,000 or more $9,731,119,000 $572,419,000 $99,900 $76,100 $282

 All sizes $43,349,172,000 $3,425,000 $93,300 $71,500 $200

 Per 

 resident

 Per 

 employee

 Per 

 sworn officer

 Per 

Total agency

Population

served

Operating budget, 2003

Table 19. Operating budget of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Figure 6

Under 10,000 

10,000-49,999 

50,000-249,999 

250,000 or more 

All sizes 

Annual per officer operating costs of

Population served

Annual operating costs per

officer in 2003 dollars

2003

2000

local police departments, 2000 and 2003

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000
Salaries

The overall average base starting

salary for local police chiefs was

$48,800 in 2003 (table 20). Average

starting salaries for chiefs ranged from

$113,000 in jurisdictions with 1 million

or more residents to $32,700 in those

with a population under 2,500.

Average minimum starting salaries for

first-line supervisors (sergeant or

equivalent) ranged from $60,200 in the

largest jurisdictions to $27,100 in the

smallest, with an overall departmental

average of $36,600. When size of

department is considered, the average

minimum starting salary earned by

local police sergeants was about

$52,600.

By department the average base starting salary offered to entry-level patrol

officers in 2003 was $28,200. Starting

salaries ranged from $23,400 in jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500 residents

to $39,600 in those with a population 

of 100,000 to 249,999. When size of

department is factored in, it is

estimated that new entry-level local

police officers started at an average

salary of about $35,500 during 2003.

This was 12% more than in 2000; a 5%

increase after adjusting for inflation. 

By population category inflationadjusted salaries rose by 4% in jurisdictions with 250,000 or more

residents, from $36,170 to $37,514

(figure 7). In smaller jurisdictions, the

increase was also 4%: 50,000 to

249,999 residents, from $36,607 to

$38,011; 10,000 to 49,999 residents,

from $32,706 to $33,889; fewer than

10,000 residents, from $24,835 to

$25,834.

Special pay

Nationwide, 35% of local police departments, employing 62% of all officers,

offered tuition reimbursement to

officers (table 21). This included a

majority of departments serving 10,000

or more residents. 

An estimated 32% of departments

offered education incentive pay to

qualifying officers, including a majority

of those serving a population of 10,000

or more. About half (53%) of all local

police officers worked for a department

that offered this type of pay.

Twenty-one percent of local police

departments, employing 30% of all

local police officers, offered merit pay

to qualifying sworn personnel.

Twenty-one percent of departments,

employing 52% of all officers, offered

shift differential pay to full-time officers.

This included a majority of the departments serving a population of 100,000

or more. 

Thirteen percent of departments

offered special skills pay, including

more than half of the departments

serving 1 million or more residents and

more than a third of those serving a

population of 50,000 to 999,999. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 11

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

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

Under 2,500 23,400 26,800 27,100 30,800 32,700 36,500

2,500-9,999 29,000 36,200 37,400 43,600 48,900 56,200

10,000-24,999 33,000 45,000 47,400 55,200 65,900 77,800

25,000-49,999 35,900 48,600 53,400 62,400 77,700 94,500

50,000-99,999 37,400 51,200 54,500 65,300 85,500 106,900

100,000-249,999 39,600 54,000 56,000 68,000 95,000 123,100

250,000-499,999 38,300 53,500 54,600 66,900 94,400 129,200

500,000-999,999 36,600 54,900 58,000 69,600 109,700 143,200

1,000,000 or more $37,700 $57,800 $60,200 $73,500 $113,000 $157,100

 All sizes $28,200 $35,300 $36,600 $42,400 $48,800 $56,900

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

Chief

Sergeant or

Population Entry-level officer equivalent

served

 Average base annual salary, 2003

Table 20. Average base annual salary for selected positions 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Figure 7

Average starting salary in 2003 dollars

1990

2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

Average base starting salary for entry-level officers

in local police departments, 2000 and 2003

2003

2000

$0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000

Population served
Overall, 27% of local police officers

worked in a department that offered

special skills pay. 

Ten percent of local police departments

authorized special pay for military

service. These department employed

18% of local police officers. 

Hazardous duty pay was available in

5% of all local police departments,

employing 24% of all officers. About

two-thirds of the departments serving 1

million or more residents, and about

half of those serving 250,000 to

999,999 residents offered this type of

pay.

Four percent of local police departments offered special pay for officers

with bilingual ability, including half of

those serving 1 million or more

residents. Twenty-three percent of local

police officers worked for departments

authorizing this type of special pay.

Unions and collective bargaining

Nationwide, 41% of local police departments, employing 71% of all officers,

authorized collective bargaining for

sworn personnel (table 22). This

included at least 66% of the departments in each population category of

10,000 or more. 

Overall, 22% of local police departments, employing 60% of all nonsworn

local police personnel, authorized

collective bargaining for nonsworn 

employees. A majority of departments

serving populations of 25,000 or more

did so. 

The average starting salary for entrylevel officers was about $8,900 higher

in departments that authorized collective bargaining than in those that did

not authorize it. Departments with

collective bargaining for officers had

higher average entry-level salaries in 

all population categories (figure 8). 

In jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents the difference was about

$7,100; 10,000 to 49,999 residents,

$5,900; 50,000 to 249,999 residents,

$8,100; and 250,000 or more residents,

$4,800.

12 Local Police Departments, 2003

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

Average starting salary

Population served

Collective bargaining authorized

No collective bargaining

Starting salaries for entry-level officers in local police departments

authorizing and not authorizing collective bargaining, 2003

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 13 11 14 6 3 4 3 --

2,500-9,999 38 35 21 23 13 11 3 2

10,000-24,999 61 57 30 37 24 14 5 6

25,000-49,999 72 67 30 44 26 19 10 14

50,000-99,999 76 68 39 44 39 23 24 27

100,000-249,999 76 72 44 57 33 25 29 38

250,000-499,999 83 61 54 76 44 27 49 44

500,000-999,999 72 54 30 65 30 30 54 32

1,000,000 or more 81% 75% 44% 81% 56% 19% 69% 50%

 All sizes 35% 32% 21% 21% 13% 10% 5% 4%

Bilingual 

ability

Hazardous

duty

 

Military

service

Special 

skills

Shift 

Merit differential 

Education 

incentive

Tuition 

reimbursement Population

served

Percent of agencies authorizing pay for —

Table 21. Local police departments authorizing special pay 

for full-time sworn personnel, by size of population served 2003

Figure 8

Under 2,500 13 2

2,500-9,999 50 21

10,000-24,999 70 48

25,000-49,999 75 59

50,000-99,999 71 59

100,000-249,999 69 60

250,000-499,999 66 54

500,000-999,999 84 67

1,000,000 or more 81 63

 All sizes 41% 22%

 Civilian 

employees

 Sworn

 employees

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

authorizing collective

bargaining for —

Table 22. Collective bargaining

authorized by local police 

departments, by size of population

served, 2003
Operations

Facilities

As of June 30, 2003, 15% of local

police departments operated district,

precinct, or division stations that were

separate from headquarters (table 23).

About 3,000 such stations were

operated by local police departments

nationwide.

An estimated 12% of departments

operated fixed neighborhood or

community substations, including a

majority of those serving a population

of 50,000 or more. Two percent of

departments operated mobile substations, including 27% of those serving

250,000 to 999,999 residents. Nationwide, local police departments

operated an estimated 3,546 fixed

substations, and 335 mobile

substations.

Patrol and response

Local police departments used a

variety of patrol types to supplement

routine automobile patrol services

(table 24). Fifty-nine percent of departments, employing 69% of all officers,

used foot patrol on a routine basis.

This included more than 3 in 4 departments serving a population of 250,000

or more. 

Overall, 38% of departments, employing

74% of all officers, used routine bicycle

patrol. More than 8 in 10 departments

serving 100,000 or more residents had

routine bike patrols, as did about 6 in

10 departments serving 10,000 to

99,999 residents. 

Compared to 2000 the percentage of

local police departments using routine

foot or bicycle patrol in 2003 was about

the same in jurisdictions with 250,000 or

more residents, or fewer than 10,000

residents (figure 9). In jurisdictions with

50,000 to 249,999 residents, it declined

from 91% to 80%, and in jurisdictions

with 10,000 to 49,999 residents, it

declined from 82% to 72%. From 1997

to 2000 there had been an increase in

the use of these types of patrol in all

population categories.

An estimated 14% of departments,

employing 60% of all officers, used

motorcycle patrol on a routine basis

during 2003. This included a majority of

those serving 50,000 or more residents. 

Overall, few departments routinely

scheduled marine (4%) or horse (2%)

patrol units. However, about 6 in 10

departments serving 250,000 or more

residents used horse patrols on a

routine basis.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 13

Population served

Percent of agencies

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

1997

2003

Percent of local police departments using foot or

bike patrol, by size of population served, 1997-2003

2000

*Excludes agencies not operating that type of station.

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 12 1 3 1 -- 1

2,500-9,999 12 1 8 1 1 1

10,000-24,999 17 1 19 2 3 2

25,000-49,999 18 1 40 2 8 1

50,000-99,999 28 2 52 3 11 1

100,000-249,999 48 3 70 4 19 1

250,000-499,999 95 4 71 8 27 2

500,000-999,999 92 9 78 10 27 2

1,000,000 or more 94% 17 88% 14 19% 6

 All sizes 15% 2 12% 2 2% 1

Average

number*

Percent

operating

Average

number*

 Percent

operating

Average

number*

Percent

operating

Population

served

Mobile neighborhood

substations

Fixed neighborhood

substations

District, precinct, 

or division stations

Table 23. Average number of district/precinct stations, and

neighborhood/community substations operated by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 61 18 3 2 --

2,500-9,999 61 43 8 3 --

10,000-24,999 53 58 21 5 2

25,000-49,999 47 60 49 8 2

50,000-99,999 54 64 63 14 7

100,000-249,999 57 83 89 14 18

250,000-499,999 76 83 93 32 59

500,000-999,999 79 95 100 41 63

1,000,000 or more 75% 100% 81% 63% 63%

 All sizes 59% 38% 14% 4% 2%

Marine Horse

Motor-

 Foot Bicycle cycle

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each

type of patrol on a routine basis

Table 24. Types of routine patrol other than 

automobile used by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Figure 9
All but a few small local police departments regularly responded to citizen

calls for service. An estimated 38% of

agencies dispatched calls as well (table

25). This included at least 70% of the

departments in each population category

of 10,000 or more. 

Nearly a quarter (23%) of local police

departments dispatched calls for fire

services. Fire dispatch responsibilities

were most common among departments serving 10,000 to 99,999

residents, where more than 40%

performed this function.

 

About in 1 in 10 departments used sworn

personnel as communications technicians such as call-takers and dispatchers (table 26). This included about a

quarter of those serving 500,000 or more

residents. Among departments having

sworn communications technicians, the

average number of such personnel was

7, ranging from 2 in the smallest

departments to more than 30 in those

serving 250,000 to 999,999 residents.

Overall, local police departments had

an estimated 8,675 full-time sworn

personnel serving in this capacity.

9-1-1 emergency telephone system

In 2003, 92% of local police departments

participated in a 9-1-1 emergency

telephone system (table 27). At least

89% of departments in each population

category were 9-1-1 participants,

including all of those serving 100,000 to

999,999 residents. 

Seventy-three percent of departments

had an enhanced 9-1-1 system,

capable of automatically displaying

information such as a caller’s phone

number, address, and special needs.

This included more than 90% of those

serving a population of 50,000 or more.

Sixty-one percent of departments in

jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500

residents had enhanced 9-1-1.

Among the enhanced 9-1-1 systems in

use during 2003, 63% had the ability to

display the phone number of wireless

callers, and 19% could display the

location of wireless callers. 

In 2003, 98% of all local police officers

worked for a department with 9-1-1,

compared to 60% in 1987 (figure 10).

Ninety percent of officers were

employed by a department with

enhanced 9-1-1 in 2003, compared to

26% in 1987.

14 Local Police Departments, 2003

*Excludes agencies not employing technicians.

Under 2,500 7 752 2

2,500-9,999 9 2,287 6

10,000-24,999 15 2,524 9

25,000-49,999 16 1,409 11

50,000-99,999 15 845 14

100,000-249,999 12 312 14

250,000-499,999 7 101 33

500,000-999,999 27 362 34

1,000,000 or more 25% 84 20

 All sizes 10% 8,675 7

Total Average*

Population Number of officers

served

Percent of

agencies

using

Table 26. Full-time sworn personnel 

in local police departments serving 

as communications technicians,

by size of population served, 2003

Note: Participating agencies are those whose

units can be dispatched as result of a call to

9-1-1. Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.

Under 2,500 89 61 27

2,500-9,999 92 75 16

10,000-24,999 98 85 13

25,000-49,999 97 89 8

50,000-99,999 97 93 4

100,000-249,999 100 94 7

250,000-499,999 100 98 2

500,000-999,999 100 97 3

1,000,000 or more 94% 94% 0%

 All sizes 92% 73% 19%

Total Enhanced Basic

Percent of agencies 

participating in a

Population 9-1-1 phone system

served

Table 27. Participation in a 9-1-1

emergency telephone system 

by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 14 8

2,500-9,999 40 27

10,000-24,999 70 41

25,000-49,999 74 44

50,000-99,999 77 46

100,000-249,999 77 33

250,000-499,999 81 17

500,000-999,999 76 5

1,000,000 or more 81% 6%

 All sizes 38% 23%

Fire 

services

Police

services

Population

served

Percent of agencies

dispatching calls for C

Table 25. Dispatch functions 

of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

1987 1990 1993 1997 2000 2003

0

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% Any 9-1-1

Local police department participation

in a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system, 1987-2003

Enhanced 9-1-1

Percent of officers employed

by departments with 9-1-1

2003

Figure 10
Crime investigation

Overall, 92% of local police departments had investigative responsibility

for at least some types of crimes during

the 12-month period ending June 30,

2003. Sixty-four percent of

departments, employing 91% of all

officers, handled homicide investigations (table 28). This included more

than 9 in 10 departments serving

25,000 or more residents. 

Sixty-two percent of departments,

employing 74% of all officers,

conducted arson investigations. This

included more than 80% of the departments serving 10,000 to 99,999

residents.

Forty-five percent of departments,

employing 75% of all officers,

conducted cybercrime investigations,

including more than 7 in 10 departments in each population category of

10,000 or more. 

Drug enforcement activities

About 9 in 10 local police departments

regularly performed drug enforcement

functions (table 29). More than 90% 

of the departments in each population

category of 2,500 or more had drug

enforcement responsibilities, including

all of those serving 250,000 or more

residents. Departments with drug

enforcement responsibilities employed

97% of all local police officers.

Eighteen percent of local police departments operated a special unit for drug

enforcement with one or more officers

assigned full-time (table 30). The

majority of departments serving a

population of 50,000 or more residents

had a full-time drug enforcement unit.

There were an estimated 12,212 local

police officers assigned full time to

drug enforcement units nationwide.

The average number of officers assigned

ranged from 233 in jurisdictions with 1

million or more residents to 1 in those

with fewer than 2,500 residents. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 15

Under 2,500 46 46 24

2,500-9,999 66 65 48

10,000-24,999 88 83 73

25,000-49,999 93 84 77

50,000-99,999 95 82 75

100,000-249,999 98 70 78

250,000-499,999 100 56 88

500,000-999,999 92 54 81

1,000,000 or more 100% 69% 94%

All sizes 64% 62% 45%

Homicide Arson Cybercrime

Population Percent of agencies investigating —

served

Table 28. Local police departments with primary 

investigative responsibility for selected crimes, 

by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 87

2,500-9,999 92

10,000-24,999 95

25,000-49,999 94

50,000-99,999 96

100,000-249,999 99

250,000-499,999 100

500,000-999,999 100

1,000,000 or more 100%

All sizes 91%

Percent of agencies

regularly providing 

drug enforcement

Population 

served

Table 29. Drug enforcement in local

police departments, by size of

population served, 2003

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

Under 2,500 6 440 1

2,500-9,999 14 833 2

10,000-24,999 26 1,040 2

25,000-49,999 43 1,025 3

50,000-99,999 66 1,545 6

100,000-249,999 83 1,791 12

250,000-499,999 93 964 25

500,000-999,999 97 1,199 32

1,000,000 or more 88% 3,375 233

 All sizes 18% 12,212 6

 Total Average*

Percent Number of full-time officers

of agencies

Population

served

Full-time unit for drug enforcement

Table 30. Special units for drug enforcement in local

police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Drug task force participation

In 2003 an estimated 23% of local

police departments had one or more

officers assigned full time to a multiagency drug enforcement task force

(table 31), including more than threequarters of departments serving 50,000

or more residents. About 65% of all

local police officers worked for a

department that assigned officers to a

task force. 

Nationwide, an estimated 5,959 local

police officers were assigned full time

to a drug task force. The average

number assigned full time ranged from

39 in departments serving a population

of 1 million or more to 1 or 2 in those

serving fewer than 50,000 residents.

Drug asset forfeiture receipts

Thirty-six percent of all local police

departments received money, property,

or goods from a drug asset forfeiture

program during 2002 (table 32). These

departments employed 78% of all local

police officers. At least 80% of the

departments in each population

category of 25,000 or more had drug

asset forfeiture receipts.

The overall median amount received

from drug asset forfeiture programs by

local police departments during 2002

was $7,000. By population category,

the median amount received ranged

from about $1.2 million among

departments serving a population of 1

million or more to $2,000 among those

serving fewer than 2,500 residents. 

Local police departments received an

estimated $298 million in money,

goods, and property from drug asset

forfeitures during 2002. Including both

departments with receipts and those

without, this was the equivalent of $642

per sworn officer employed. Departments with 100 to 249 officers received

the most — $990 per officer (figure 11).

Next highest were departments with

250 to 999 officers with $928 per

officer. Departments with fewer than 50

officers received the least — about

$400 per officer. 

16 Local Police Departments, 2003

Figure 11

Under 25

25-49

50-99

100-249

250-999

1,000 or more

$0 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000

departments, by size of agency, 2002

Drug receipts per sworn officer*

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5 assigned.

Number of full-time

sworn personnel

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of local police

*Excludes agencies not having officers assigned full time.

Under 2,500 8 565 1

2,500-9,999 18 1,132 2

10,000-24,999 38 1,000 1

25,000-49,999 59 881 2

50,000-99,999 75 802 3

100,000-249,999 80 557 4

250,000-499,999 95 261 6

500,000-999,999 89 277 8

1,000,000 or more 75% 484 39

 All sizes 23% 5,959 2

Total Average*

Number of officers

assigned full time

Percent of

agencies

participating

Population

served

Multi-agency drug enforcement task force

Table 31. Participation by local police departments 

in multi-agency drug enforcement task forces, 

by size of population served, 2003

*Excludes agencies not having drug asset forfeiture receipts. 

Under 2,500 16 4,963,600 2,000

2,500-9,999 35 25,905,900 4,000

10,000-24,999 57 28,116,700 8,000

25,000-49,999 80 26,664,200 12,400

50,000-99,999 89 45,156,900 39,300

100,000-249,999 97 50,556,700 126,900

250,000-499,999 98 30,275,200 294,800

500,000-999,999 100 30,710,200 579,300

1,000,000 or more 93% $55,964,900 $1,177,000

 All sizes 36% $298,314,300 $7,000

Total Median*

Value of money, goods, 

and property received

Percent of 

agencies with

receipts*

Population

served

Asset forfeiture receipts during 2002

Table 32. Drug asset forfeiture program receipts 

of local police departments, by size of population 

served, 2002
Court-related functions

A large majority of local police departments executed arrest warrants (91%)

and enforced protection orders (84%)

during 2003 (table 33). Less common

responsibilities included providing court

security (27%), serving civil process

(18%), enforcing child support orders

(16%), or serving eviction notices

(10%). 

Detention-related functions

About one-third (32%) of local police

departments provided inmate transport

services during 2003 (table 34). About

a quarter (24%) operated a temporary

holding cell not used for overnight

detention.

Nine percent of local police departments operated at least one jail during

2003. No more than 23% of the departments in any population category were

operating a jail. Sixteen percent of all

local police officers worked for a

department with a jail.

Twenty-five percent of departments

operated at least one temporary

holding (lockup) facility for overnight

detention of adults that was separate

from a jail (table 35). The median

maximum holding time for these 

facilities was 20 hours.

The median total capacity of adult

lockups ranged from 76 in jurisdictions

with 1 million or more residents to 4 in

those with fewer than 10,000 residents.

The estimated total adult capacity of

local police lockups nationwide was

about 25,500.

Thirteen percent of departments had 

a lockup facility for juveniles, with a

median maximum holding time of 16

hours. The median capacity of juvenile

lockups ranged from 40 in jurisdictions

with 1 million or more residents to 1 in

those with fewer than 2,500 residents.

Nationwide, local police lockups for

juveniles had a estimated total capacity

of about 4,600. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 17

Under 2,500 89 81 27 26 20 16

2,500-9,999 93 87 28 14 15 8

10,000-24,999 92 85 27 11 12 3

25,000-49,999 95 87 29 13 11 2

50,000-99,999 91 81 27 8 12 4

100,000-249,999 82 71 15 9 11 3

250,000-499,999 81 71 10 5 10 0

500,000-999,999 79 65 13 13 13 5

1,000,000 or more 81% 69% 25% 13% 25% 13%

All sizes 91% 84% 27% 18% 16% 10%

Serving

eviction

notices

Enforcing

child

support

orders

Serving 

civil

process

Providing

court

security

Enforcing

protection

orders

Executing

arrest

warrants

Population 

served

Percent of agencies —

Table 33. Court-related functions of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

*Not for overnight detention.

Under 2,500 24 10 6

2,500-9,999 33 26 9

10,000-24,999 41 40 13

25,000-49,999 54 47 15

50,000-99,999 46 46 19

100,000-249,999 40 44 23

250,000-499,999 44 46 15

500,000-999,999 25 54 5

1,000,000 or more 50% 69% 19%

 All sizes 32% 24% 9%

Operating 

1 or more jails

Operating a 

temporary 

holding cell*

Providing

inmate 

transport

Population 

served

Percent of agencies —

Table 34. Detention functions of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Note: Median capacity is based on total for all lockups, and excludes departments not

operating a facility.

*For overnight detention and physically separate from a jail.

Under 2,500 8 4 3 1

2,500-9,999 26 4 12 2

10,000-24,999 48 5 29 2

25,000-49,999 52 8 33 2

50,000-99,999 51 12 34 3

100,000-249,999 43 32 28 4

250,000-499,999 32 58 12 5

500,000-999,999 25 67 25 12

1,000,000 or more 31% 76 19% 40

 All sizes 25% 4 13% 2

Median total

capacity

Percent with 

lockup

Median total

capacity

Percent with 

lockup

Population 

served

Adult Juvenile

Agencies operating temporary holding (lockup) facilities*

Table 35. Temporary holding (lockup) facilities operated

 by local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Special public safety functions

About three-quarters (74%) of local

police departments in 2003 provided

crime prevention education to citizens,

including more than 9 in 10 agencies

serving populations of 10,000 or more

(table 36).

About two-thirds (65%) of departments

provided animal control services in

2003. Other special public safety

functions included: school crossing

services (42%); emergency medical

services (26%); civil defense (19%);

and fire services (10%).

Traffic and vehicle-related functions

Nearly all local police departments

enforced traffic laws (100%) and investigated traffic accidents (97%) (table

37). Nearly 9 in 10 performed traffic

direction and control (89%) and also

parking enforcement (86%) functions.

Thirty-eight percent of departments

handled commercial vehicle enforcement functions, including a majority of

those serving a population of 25,000 or

more. 

Special operations functions

One quarter of departments performed

tactical operations in 2003, utilizing

what are commonly known as SWAT

(Special Weapons and Tactics) teams

(table 38). These departments

employed 73% of all local police

officers. Nearly all departments serving

a population of 100,000 or more

performed tactical operations.

An estimated 21% of local police

departments, employing 36% of all

officers, performed search and rescue

operations on a regular basis during

2003. This included 63% of the departments serving 1 million or more

residents and 49% of those serving

500,000 to 999,999 residents. 

Four percent of local police departments, employing 24% of all officers,

were responsible for underwater recovery operations during 2003. This

included about half of the departments

serving populations of 500,000 or

more. 

Three percent of departments, employing 43% of officers, had primary

responsibility for explosives disposal.

This included more than three-quarters

of the departments serving 250,000 or

more residents.

18 Local Police Departments, 2003

Under 2,500 58 70 33 30 20 14

2,500-9,999 79 68 47 27 18 8

10,000-24,999 92 61 49 21 21 7

25,000-49,999 95 57 51 19 18 4

50,000-99,999 95 49 54 13 16 3

100,000-249,999 94 35 56 9 18 2

250,000-499,999 90 32 46 7 17 5

500,000-999,999 87 25 59 8 17 3

1,000,000 or more 94% 25% 50% 19% 31% 0%

All sizes 74% 65% 42% 26% 19% 10%

Fire 

services

Civil 

defense

Emergency

medical

services

School

crossing

services

Animal

control

Crime

prevention

education

Population 

served

Percent of agencies responsible for —

Table 36. Special public safety functions of local

police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 100 94 86 81 32

2,500-9,999 100 98 90 89 39

10,000-24,999 100 99 95 92 45

25,000-49,999 100 99 91 93 52

50,000-99,999 100 99 90 88 51

100,000-249,999 100 99 94 81 56

250,000-499,999 100 100 95 73 61

500,000-999,999 100 100 97 71 57

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 88% 88% 81%

All sizes 100% 97% 89% 86% 38%

Commercial

vehicle

enforcement

Parking

enforcement

Traffic

direction/

control

Accident

investigation

Traffic law 

enforcement

Population 

served

Percent of agencies responsible for C

Table 37. Traffic and vehicle-related functions of

 local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 8 22 2 --

2,500-9,999 20 20 2 1

10,000-24,999 43 19 6 3

25,000-49,999 68 20 8 6

50,000-99,999 86 19 16 18

100,000-249,999 93 26 17 42

250,000-499,999 100 29 27 76

500,000-999,999 97 49 44 87

1,000,000 or more 100% 63% 56% 88%

 All sizes 25% 21% 4% 3%

Bomb/

explosives

disposal

Underwater

recovery

Search 

and 

rescue

Tactical 

operations

(SWAT)

Population 

served

Percent of agencies responsible for C

Table 38. Special operations functions of local 

police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Community policing

Community policing promotes and

supports organizational strategies to

address the causes and reduce the

fear of crime and social disorder

through problem-solving tactics and

police-community partnerships.

Balancing responses to calls for

service with proactive problem solving,

effective community policing requires

police and citizens to join together in

identifying and addressing underlying

causes of crime and disorder. The

implementation of a community policing plan is designed to support and

empower front-line officers, decentralize command, and encourage innovative problem solving. For more

information see the COPS office

website at <http://www.cops.

usdoj.gov>. 

In 2003, 14% of local police

departments, employing 44% of all local

police officers, had a formally written

community policing plan (table 39).

This included at least 40% of the

departments in each population

category of 50,000 or more. 

Among the two-thirds of local police

departments that had an agency

mission statement in 2003, 70%, representing 47% of all departments, had

one that included some aspect of

community policing (table 40). These

departments employed 73% of all local

police officers.

Community policing training

During the year ending June 30, 2003,

39% of local police departments,

employing 72% of all officers, trained 

at least some new recruits in community

policing skills such as problem-solving;

Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment (SARA); and developing community partnerships (table 41). 

Thirty-one percent of departments,

employing 67% of all officers, trained

all new recruits in community policing.

The proportion of departments that

trained all recruits ranged from over

three-quarters among those serving

100,000 or more residents to about a

sixth among those serving fewer than

2,500 residents.

Forty-eight percent of departments,

employing 57% of officers, trained at

least some inservice officers during the

1-year period. Seventeen percent of

departments, employing 19% of all

officers, trained all inservice officers 

in community policing.

Twelve percent of departments,

employing 28% of nonsworn local

police employees, trained at least

some civilian employees in community

policing during the 1-year period. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 19

Under 2,500 7

2,500-9,999 11

10,000-24,999 21

25,000-49,999 29

50,000-99,999 40

100,000-249,999 53

250,000-499,999 68

500,000-999,999 40

1,000,000 or more 50%

 All sizes 14%

Percent of

agencies with

a community 

policing plan 

Population 

served

Table 39. Local police departments

with a formal, written community

policing plan, by size of population

served, 2003

Under 2,500 50 32 18

2,500-9,999 71 47 24

10,000-24,999 87 65 23

25,000-49,999 95 76 19

50,000-99,999 97 76 21

100,000-249,999 99 87 12

250,000-499,999 98 83 15

500,000-999,999 100 61 39

1,000,000 or more 100% 88% 13%

 All sizes 67% 47% 20%

No community

policing

component

With a

community

policing 

 Total component

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with a mission statement

Table 40. Local police departments with a mission statement that

includes community policing, by size of population served, 2003

*During 1-year period ending June 30, 2003.

Under 2,500 4 2 2

2,500-9,999 12 5 7

10,000-24,999 18 6 12

25,000-49,999 30 4 26

50,000-99,999 29 4 25

100,000-249,999 42 5 37

250,000-499,999 32 3 29

500,000-999,999 25 6 19

1,000,000 or more 25% 6% 19%

 All sizes 12% 4% 8%

Civilian personnel

Under 2,500 37 18 19

2,500-9,999 50 16 34

10,000-24,999 60 18 42

25,000-49,999 66 17 49

50,000-99,999 71 17 54

100,000-249,999 72 19 53

250,000-499,999 64 20 44

500,000-999,999 49 17 32

1,000,000 or more 75% 31% 44%

 All sizes 48% 17% 31%

Inservice sworn personnel

Under 2,500 23 17 6

2,500-9,999 40 29 11

10,000-24,999 59 51 8

25,000-49,999 67 58 9

50,000-99,999 72 63 9

100,000-249,999 84 76 8

250,000-499,999 88 85 3

500,000-999,999 79 76 3

1,000,000 or more 81% 81% 0%

 All sizes 39% 31% 8%

New officer recruits

Total All Some

Percent of agencies 

that trained personnel 

for 8 or more hours in

Population community policing 

served

Table 41. Community policing 

training in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003
Community policing personnel

Overall, 58% of departments, employing

82% of all officers, had full-time sworn

personnel serving as community policing officers (table 42). In some jurisdictions these officers are known as

community relations officers, community resource officers, or some other

name indicative of the community policing approach they employ. Nationwide,

local police departments employed

about 55,000 community policing

officers or their equivalent. 

A majority of departments in all population categories had full-time community

policing officers. Those serving a

population of 1 million or more

employed 287 such officers on

average. Departments serving fewer

than 2,500 residents had 3 on average.

In all population categories the percentage of local police departments using

community policing officers in 2003

was greater than in 1997, but less than

in 2000 (figure 12). In jurisdictions with

fewer than 10,000 residents, the

percentage rose from 26% in 1997 to

62% in 2000, then dropped to 54% in

2003; in those with 10,000 to 49,999

residents, from 57%, to 75%, to 67%; 

in those with 50,000 to 249,999

residents, from 76% to 93% to 88%;

and in those with 250,000 or more

residents, from 75% to 92% to 89%.

An estimated 43% of local police

departments, employing 74% of all

local police officers, had full-time sworn

personnel assigned as school resource

officers during 2003 (table 43). More

than two-thirds of the departments in

each population category of 10,000 or

more used school resource officers,

including 93% of those in jurisdictions

with 250,000 to 499,999 residents. 

School resource officers use a community policing approach to provide a safe

environment for students and staff. In

addition to handling calls for service

within the school, they work closely 

with school administrators and staff 

to prevent crime and disorder by

monitoring crime trends, problem

areas, cultural conflicts, and other

areas of concern. 

As of June 2003 local police departments had an estimated 14,337 fulltime sworn personnel assigned as

school resource officers, about 600

more than in June 2000. The average

number of school resource officers in

2003 ranged from 75 in departments

serving 1 million or more residents, to 

2 in those serving fewer than 25,000

residents.

20 Local Police Departments, 2003

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time community policing officers.

Under 2,500 52 7,060 3

2,500-9,999 55 11,377 5

10,000-24,999 62 7,582 7

25,000-49,999 80 6,071 10

50,000-99,999 88 5,329 14

100,000-249,999 89 5,152 33

250,000-499,999 85 3,388 94

500,000-999,999 89 4,135 120

1,000,000 or more 100% 4,756 287

 All sizes 58% 54,849 7

Average

number 

of full-time

sworn*

Total 

number

of officers

Percent 

of agencies

using

Population 

served

Community policing officers

Table 42. Full-time community policing officers in local

police departments, by size of population served, 2003

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time school resource officers.

Under 2,500 20 1,611 2

2,500-9,999 44 2,861 2

10,000-24,999 70 2,441 2

25,000-49,999 84 1,734 3

50,000-99,999 83 1,893 5

100,000-249,999 87 1,468 10

250,000-499,999 93 715 18

500,000-999,999 73 760 27

1,000,000 or more 69% 855 75

 All sizes 43% 14,337 3

Average

number 

of full-time

sworn*

Total

number

of officers

Percent 

of agencies

using

Population

served

School resource officers

Table 43. Full-time school resource officers in local

police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Population served

Percent of agencies

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

1997

2003

Percent of local police departments using full-time

community policing officers, 1997, 2000 and 2003

2000

Figure 12
Community policing policies 

and programs

In an effort to hire officers more suited

to community policing, 27% percent of

local police departments, employing

32% of all officers, assessed new

recruits’ analytical and problem-solving

abilities as part of the selection process

(table 44). Fourteen percent of departments, employing 23% of officers,

assessed recruits’ understanding of

culturally diverse populations. Ten

percent of departments, employing

12% of officers, assessed mediation

skills and ability to manage interpersonal conflicts.

Thirty-one percent of departments,

employing 70% of all officers, gave

patrol officers responsibility for specific

geographic areas or beats during 2003

(table 45). Most departments serving

10,000 or more residents assigned

patrol officers to geographic areas.

About 1 in 4 departments, employing

nearly half (45%) of all officers, actively

encouraged patrol officers to become

involved in problem-solving projects.

Most departments serving 50,000 or

more residents had such a policy.

Fourteen percent of departments,

employing 34% of all officers, included

participation in collaborative problemsolving projects in the performance

evaluation criteria for patrol officers. 

An estimated 37% of departments,

employing 73% of all officers,

partnered with citizen groups to elicit

feedback for developing community

policing strategies (table 46). This

included more than two-thirds of

departments serving a population of

25,000 or more.

Twenty-one percent of departments,

employing 54% of all officers, upgraded

technology during 2003 to support the

analysis of community problems. This

included a majority of departments

serving 50,000 or more residents. 

Eighteen percent of departments,

employing 53% of all officers, offered

training to citizens on community policing topics such as community

mobilization and problem-solving. A

majority of departments serving 50,000

or more residents offered such training.

Seventeen percent of departments,

employing 58% of all officers,

conducted a citizen police academy.

About 80% of the departments serving

a population of 100,000 or more

conducted citizen academies. 

Sixty percent of departments, employing 84% of all officers, had problemsolving partnerships or written

agreements with community groups,

local agencies, or others during the

year ending June 30, 2003. This

included about 9 in 10 departments

serving 50,000 or more residents.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 21

Under 2,500 16 13 8

2,500-9,999 28 14 10

10,000-24,999 38 16 12

25,000-49,999 45 16 11

50,000-99,999 42 21 10

100,000-249,999 44 16 14

250,000-499,999 51 24 17

500,000-999,999 41 19 19

1,000,000 or more 44% 31% 31%

 All sizes 27% 14% 10%

Mediation

skills/conflict

management

Understanding 

of culturally

diverse

populations

Analytical 

problemsolving ability

Population

served

Percent of agencies using —

Table 44. Ability assessments related to community 

policing used by local police departments for selecting 

new officers, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 14 16 9

2,500-9,999 26 19 13

10,000-24,999 54 36 16

25,000-49,999 66 47 30

50,000-99,999 82 57 40

100,000-249,999 87 71 47

250,000-499,999 88 68 49

500,000-999,999 79 54 27

1,000,000 or more 81% 56% 31%

 All sizes 31% 24% 14%

 Included in

evaluation

Actively 

encouraged

Population

served

Patrol officer 

involvement in problemGeographic solving projects

assignments for

patrol officers

Table 45. Community policing policies for sworn 

personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 50 23 10 10 2

2,500-9,999 59 33 22 13 12

10,000-24,999 70 54 29 28 32

25,000-49,999 82 67 44 38 54

50,000-99,999 86 73 54 51 65

100,000-249,999 91 86 67 65 78

250,000-499,999 95 85 73 71 78

500,000-999,999 92 81 70 65 78

1,000,000 or more 88% 94% 69% 75% 81%

 All sizes 60% 37% 21% 18% 17%

Conducted

citizen police

academy

 

Trained

citizens in

community

policing

Upgraded

technology 

for analysis 

of community

problems

Partnered

with citizen

groups to

elicit

feedback

Problemsolving

partnerships

or written

agreements

Population

served

Activities in year ending June 30, 2003

Table 46. Community policing activities of local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2003
Local police departments had partnerships or written agreements with a wide

variety of groups. About three-fifths of

local police officers worked for a

department that had partnerships or

agreements with other law enforcement

agencies (63%), school groups (62%),

neighborhood associations (62%), or

local public agencies (57%) (figure 13).

About half of all officers worked for a

department that had problem-solving

partnerships or written agreements with

business groups (49%), advocacy

groups (49%), or youth service organizations (49%). 

More than two-fifths of all officers were

employed by a department that had

partnerships or written agreements with

senior citizen groups (45%) or faithbased organizations (43%). 

Twenty-two percent of local police departments, employing 43% of all officers,

surveyed citizens in their jurisdiction

during the year ending June 30, 2003

(table 47). Seventeen percent of

departments, employing 38% of all

officers, surveyed citizens regarding

their satisfaction with police services. 

A majority of the departments serving

250,000 to 499,999 residents

conducted citizen satisfaction surveys.

Twelve percent of departments,

employing 23% of all officers, surveyed

citizens regarding their perceptions of

crime problems; 10%, employing 17%

of all officers, surveyed citizens regarding crime reporting; and 7%, employing

17% of all officers, surveyed citizens

about their personal crime experiences.

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

agency performance (76%) or to

provide information to officers (61%)

(figure 14). Other common uses

included evaluating officer performance

(49%), evaluating program effectiveness (45%), prioritizing crime and

disorder problems (43%), allocating

resources to neighborhoods (38%), and

training development (37%). 

22 Local Police Departments, 2003

Redistrict beats/reporting areas

Training development

Allocate resources to neighborhoods

Prioritize crime/disorder problems

Evaluate program effectiveness

Evaluate officer performance

Provide information to patrol officers

Evaluate agency performance

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens

Uses of citizen survey information by local police departments, 2003

Faith-based organizations

Senior citizen groups

Youth service organizations

Advocacy groups

Business groups

Local public agencies

Neighborhood associations

School groups

Other law enforcement agencies

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

Percent of local police officers employed by

agencies partnering with each type of group

Type of group

Groups with which local police departments had problem-solving

partnerships or written agreements during the year ending June 30, 2003

Figure 13

Under 2,500 17 10 8 9 2

2,500-9,999 19 15 8 8 6

10,000-24,999 28 26 19 12 13

25,000-49,999 38 33 25 12 16

50,000-99,999 45 40 34 27 25

100,000-249,999 53 48 38 26 30

250,000-499,999 58 58 50 33 28

500,000-999,999 43 43 30 30 24

1,000,000 or more 31% 25% 13% 6% 19%

 All sizes 22% 17% 12% 10% 7%

Personal

crime

experiences

Reporting of

crimes to law

enforcement

Perceptions

of crime

problems

Satisfaction

with services

Any

topic

Population

served

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens during

12-month period ending June 30, 2003 regarding —

Table 47. Surveying of citizens by local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003

Figure 14
Policies and procedures

Local police departments typically have

numerous written policies and procedures to structure officer discretion and

decision making. These policies and

procedures guide officers through their

diverse work activities.

Special populations

Eighty-four percent of local police

departments, employing 95% of all

local police officers, had written policies

or procedures for handling juveniles.

This included all agencies serving a

population of 1 million or more

residents (table 48). 

A majority of departments had written

policies or procedures on responding 

to the mentally ill (59%). These departments employed 81% of all officers.

Twenty-seven percent of local departments, employing 42% of officers, had

policies or procedures for interactions

with homeless persons.

Work-related policies

Forty-nine percent of local police

departments, employing 72% of all

officers, had a written policy on the

maximum number of hours that officers

can work (table 49). Eighty-one percent

of departments, employing 96% of all

officers, had a written policy pertaining

to off-duty employment by officers. This

included all departments serving

250,000 or more residents, and nearly

all of those serving a population of

10,000 to 249,999.

Use of force

Ninety-five percent of departments,

employing 99% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the use of

deadly force (table 50). All departments

serving 10,000 or more residents, and

98% of those serving 2,500 to 9,999

residents, had such a policy. Ninety

percent of departments, employing

97% of all officers, had a written policy

pertaining to the use of nonlethal force.

Officer conduct and appearance

Ninety-four percent of departments,

employing 99% of officers, had a

written code of officer conduct and

appearance. This included all departments serving 25,000 or more

residents (table 51). Eighty-six percent

of departments, employing 96% of

officers, had a written policy covering

off-duty conduct.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 23

Under 2,500 66 36

2,500-9,999 88 53

10,000-24,999 95 63

25,000-49,999 99 69

50,000-99,999 98 67

100,000-249,999 99 71

250,000-499,999 100 63

500,000-999,999 100 81

1,000,000 or more 100% 94%

 All sizes 81% 49%

Maximum

work hours

Off-duty 

employment

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

with a written policy on C

Table 49. Work-related policies in local police

departments, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 73 49 24

2,500-9,999 89 60 25

10,000-24,999 94 65 32

25,000-49,999 94 79 34

50,000-99,999 97 86 33

100,000-249,999 99 88 44

250,000-499,999 98 88 54

500,000-999,999 94 89 51

1,000,000 or more 100% 94% 31%

 All sizes 84% 59% 27%

Homeless

persons

Mentally ill 

Juveniles persons

Population

served

Percent of agencies with a 

written policy for handling C

Table 48. Policies on handling special populations in local police

departments, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 89 83

2,500-9,999 98 93

10,000-24,999 100 96

25,000-49,999 100 98

50,000-99,999 100 98

100,000-249,999 100 100

250,000-499,999 100 95

500,000-999,999 100 97

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 95% 90%

Nonlethal forceDeadly 

force 

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

with a written policy

on C

Table 50. Policies on officer use 

of force in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 89 76

2,500-9,999 97 91

10,000-24,999 99 93

25,000-49,999 100 96

50,000-99,999 100 97

100,000-249,999 100 99

250,000-499,999 100 100

500,000-999,999 100 94

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 94% 86%

Off-duty

conduct

Conduct and

appearance

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

with a written policy on C

Table 51. Written policy directives

pertaining to officer conduct and

appearance In local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003
Vehicle-related policies

Forty-nine percent of local police

departments, employing 40% of local

police officers, allowed officers to take

marked vehicles home (table 52).

Eleven percent of departments allowed

officers to use the vehicle for personal

errands.

Ninety-four percent of local police

departments, including all of those

serving 25,000 or more residents, had

a written policy governing pursuit

driving (table 53). Sixty-one percent of

departments, employing 82% of

officers, had a restrictive pursuit driving

policy, one that restricts pursuits

according to specific criteria such as

type of offense or maximum speed.

Twenty-five percent of departments,

employing 13% of officers, had a

judgmental pursuit policy, one that

leaves pursuit decisions to the officer’s

discretion. Six percent of departments,

employing 3% of all officers, had a

policy that discouraged pursuits.

Additional policies

Eighty-seven percent of departments

had written policies on the handling of

domestic disputes and citizen complaints (table 54). These departments

employed more than 95% of all local

police officers.

Seventy-five percent of departments,

employing 93% of all officers, had

written policies about interactions with

the media. This included all departments serving 500,000 or more

residents, and more than 90% of those

serving 25,000 to 499,999 residents.

Sixty-two percent of departments,

employing 79% of all officers, had

written policies pertaining to racial

profiling by officers. This included about

9 in 10 agencies serving 250,000 or

more residents. 

Sixty percent of departments, employing 86% of all officers, had a written

policy on strip searches. This included

more than 9 in 10 departments serving

a population of 100,000 or more, and

more than 8 in 10 departments serving

25,000 to 99,999 residents.

Fifty-two percent of departments,

serving 83% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to employee

counseling. More than 9 in 10 departments serving 100,000 or more

residents had such a policy.

Thirty-nine percent of departments had

a written plan specifying the actions to

be taken in the event of terrorist

attacks. This included about 9 in 10

departments serving a population of

100,000 or more. Agencies having a

written plan specifying their response 

to terrorist events employed 75% of all

local police officers in 2003.

24 Local Police Departments, 2003

Under 2,500 78 80 60 55 43 32 27

2,500-9,999 92 87 82 60 65 58 36

10,000-24,999 96 95 85 71 77 69 55

25,000-49,999 98 96 95 77 84 84 63

50,000-99,999 98 99 94 74 85 87 72

100,000-249,999 99 99 99 82 93 94 87

250,000-499,999 100 100 98 90 95 93 95

500,000-999,999 94 97 100 89 95 95 89

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 94% 94% 94% 88%

 All sizes 87% 87% 75% 62% 60% 52% 39%

Response

to terrorism

Employee

counseling 

Strip

searches

Racial

profiling

Interacting

with the

media

Citizen

complaints

Domestic

disputes

Population

served

Percent of agencies with a written policy on C

Table 54. Additional written policy directives of local police departments 

by size of population served, 2003

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

Under 2,500 61 13 48

2,500-9,999 43 8 35

10,000-24,999 35 11 25

25,000-49,999 31 12 19

50,000-99,999 49 20 29

100,000-249,999 53 19 33

250,000-499,999 68 15 54

500,000-999,999 51 22 30

1,000,000 or more 44% 19% 25%

 All sizes 49% 11% 38%

Total Allowed Not allowed

Population Personal use

served

Percent of agencies allowing officers

to take marked vehicles home

 

Table 52. Vehicle use policies in local police

departments, by size of population served, 2003

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

Under 2,500 89 47 33 7 2

2,500-9,999 98 63 23 9 3

10,000-24,999 99 79 15 2 3

25,000-49,999 100 83 12 1 4

50,000-99,999 100 79 14 2 5

100,000-249,999 100 82 12 2 4

250,000-499,999 100 81 15 2 2

500,000-999,999 100 81 14 5 0

1,000,000 or more 100% 81% 19% 0% 0%

 All sizes 94% 61% 25% 6% 3%

Other

DiscourRestrictive Judgmental agement

Total 

with policy

Population

served

Percent of agencies with a written policy on pursuit driving

Table 53. Pursuit driving policies of local departments,

by size of population served, 2003
Equipment

Sidearms

In 2003 nearly all local police departments authorized patrol officers to

carry one or more types of semiautomatic sidearms (table 55). Seventeen

percent of them authorized revolvers.

The most common sidearm was the

.40-caliber semiautomatic, authorized

by 62% of all departments, employing

55% of all officers. About a third of

departments authorized 9mm and

.45-caliber semiautomatics. Other

semiautomatic sidearms authorized

included the .357-caliber (16%), the

10mm (10%), and the .380-caliber (3%).

Nineteen percent of departments,

employing 8% of officers, had a policy

that authorized officers to carry any of

the above semiautomatic sidearms,

provided the officer qualifies with the

weapon on a firing range.

Sixty-five percent of local police departments, employing 81% of all officers,

supplied field officers with their primary

sidearm. Three percent of departments,

employing 6% of all officers, provided a

cash allowance for sidearms.

Body armor

In 2003, 71% of local police departments, employing 74% of all officers,

required field officers to wear protective

body armor at least some of the time

while on duty (table 56). 

Fifty-nine percent of departments,

employing 59% of all officers, required

field officers to wear body armor at all

times while on duty. Twelve percent of

departments, employing 15% of officers,

required officers to wear body armor in

certain high-risk circumstances, such as

when serving warrants.

Eighty-three percent of departments,

employing 87% of all officers, supplied

armor to officers and 5% provided a

cash allowance.

From 1990 to 2003, the percentage of

local police officers employed by a

department with some type of body

armor requirement for field officers

increased from 30% to 74% (figure 15).

During the same period the percentage

employed by a department with a

requirement for all field officers in all

circumstances rose from 25% to 59%.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 25

Under 2,500 30

2,500-9,999 9

10,000-24,999 6

25,000-49,999 8

50,000-99,999 4

100,000-249,999 5

250,000-499,999 5

500,000-999,999 5

1,000,000 or more 6%

All sizes 19%

Percent authorizing 

any semiautomatic 

if officer qualifies

Population

served

Figure 15

1990 1993 1997 2000 2003

0

20%

40%

60%

80% Any type of

requirement

Body armor requirements in local police

departments, 1990-2003

All officers

required to

wear armor

Percent of officers employed by

agencies requiring officers to wear armor

Note: Some departments authorized more than 1 type of sidearm.

*Rounded from less than 100%.

Under 2,500 100* 58 41 37 22 13 4

2,500-9,999 100* 63 27 31 12 9 3

10,000-24,999 100* 69 29 30 12 6 2

25,000-49,999 99 65 31 31 8 7 1

50,000-99,999 99 68 43 37 12 11 3

100,000-249,999 99 59 52 47 19 9 6

250,000-499,999 100 61 59 39 15 7 7

500,000-999,999 100 65 48 24 17 3 3

1,000,000 or more 100 50% 63% 31% 6% 0% 0%

 All sizes 100%* 62% 34% 34% 16% 10% 3%

Total .40 9mm .45 .357 10mm .380

Population Percent of agencies authorizing semiautomatic sidearms

served

Table 55. Semiautomatic sidearms authorized for

use by sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 63 52 11

2,500-9,999 80 69 11

10,000-24,999 74 63 11

25,000-49,999 74 61 13

50,000-99,999 69 52 17

100,000-249,999 68 50 18

250,000-499,999 68 56 12

500,000-999,999 79 60 19

1,000,000 or more 63% 44% 19%

 All sizes 71% 59% 12%

In some

circumstances

At all

Total times

Population 

served

Percent of agencies requiring field

officers to wear armor while on duty

Table 56. Body armor requirements for 

field officers in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003
Nonlethal weapons 

In 2003 nearly all local police departments authorized officers to use one or

more types of nonlethal weapons.

Chemical agents, such as pepper

spray, were the most commonly authorized (table 57). Ninety-eight percent of

departments, employing 98% of all

officers, authorized the use of pepper

spray. 

Batons were also commonly authorized,

with 95% of all departments allowing

their use. Departments authorizing one

or more types of batons employed 98%

of all officers. Collapsible batons (88%)

were authorized by about twice as

many departments as traditional (49%)

or PR-24 (42%) batons. About 9 in 10

local police officers nationwide worked

for a department authorizing collapsible

batons (89%) and about half for one

authorizing traditional (56%) or PR-24

(45%) batons. 

An estimated 28% of departments

employing 47% of all officers, authorized the use of soft projectiles. This

included a majority of the departments

serving a population of 25,000 or more.

Twenty-three percent of departments,

employing 47% of all officers, authorized electrical devices such as stun

guns and tasers. This included 75% of

departments serving a population of 1

million or more.

Thirteen percent of departments,

employing 18% of all officers, authorized the use of carotid holds, choke

holds, or neck restraints. 

From 1990 to 2003, in population

categories of less than 250,000, there

were large increases in the percentage

of departments authorizing chemical 

agents (figure 16). These increases

were as follows: 50,000 to 249,999

residents, 65% to 99%; 10,000 to

49,999, 59% to 99%; under 10,000,

48% to 99%. 

In departments serving 250,000 or

more residents, where most departments already authorized the use of

chemical agents in 1990, the increase

was from 86% to 97%. In 2003, 98% of

officers were employed by a department that authorized chemical agents,

compared to 72% in 1990.

26 Local Police Departments, 2003

Figure 16

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of agencies

Local police departments authorizing officers

2003

Population served

1990

to use chemical agents, 1990 and 2003

--Less than 0.5%. 

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

Under 2,500 99 98 14 12 93 86 52 42 13 15 13 6 6 1

2,500-9,999 98 98 13 14 94 88 47 41 28 21 9 6 4 0

10,000-24,999 99 98 22 17 97 91 47 45 42 31 12 10 3 --

25,000-49,999 100 100 24 21 99 93 44 39 57 39 12 19 3 1

50,000-99,999 99 97 25 27 99 92 45 39 72 46 30 22 3 2

100,000-249,999 99 99 22 24 99 93 56 44 66 50 36 22 2 2

250,000-499,999 98 95 24 22 100 83 54 44 59 56 39 22 7 2

500,000-999,999 97 97 19 22 100 89 60 38 48 43 16 16 3 0

1,000,000 or more 94% 94% 19% 19% 100% 88% 56% 44% 69% 75% 31% 25% 6% 0%

 All sizes 99% 98% 16% 14% 95% 88% 49% 42% 28% 23% 13% 8% 5% 1%

High

intensity

light

Blackjack

Rubber

bullet

Holds/

neck 

restraints

Electrical 

devices*

Soft

projec-

 PR-24 tile

 

Traditional 

 Collap-

 sible

Any

type in 

survey

 

CS

 

Tear

gas

Pepper

spray

Any 

type in

survey

Population

served

Chemical agents (personal use) Batons Other weapons/actions

Percent of agencies authorizing C

Table 57. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for personal use by sworn personnel

 in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Vehicles

Nationwide, local police departments 

operated about 243,000 cars, or about

52 cars per 100 sworn personnel (table

58). By population category the ratio of

cars to officers was lowest in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents C

26 cars per 100 officers. The proportion ranged from 54 to 64 cars per 100

officers in other population categories.

About a third of the cars operated by

local police departments were unmarked

(34%). The percentage of cars that

were unmarked ranged from 45% in

jurisdictions with a population of 1

million or more to 17% in jurisdictions

with fewer than 2,500 residents.

In addition to cars 54% of departments

used other 4-wheel motorized vehicles

such as sport utility vehicles, trucks or

vans (table 59). This included a large

majority of departments in jurisdictions

serving 10,000 or more residents.

Overall, there were about 39,000 such

vehicles operated, or about 8 per 100

sworn personnel employed.

Sixteen percent of local police departments used motorcycles during 2003,

including more than 9 in 10 departments serving a population of 100,000

or more. Nationwide, local police

operated about 10,000 motorcycles, or

about 2 for every 100 officers

employed.

Nearly half (45%) of all departments

were using bicycles as of June 2003,

with a total of nearly 29,000 nationwide

(table 60). The ratio of bicycles to

officers was highest in jurisdictions with

a population of 2,500 to 9,999 (11 per

100), with an overall ratio for all population categories of 6 bicycles per 100

sworn personnel.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 27

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5 assigned.

Under 2,500 15,259 64 17

2,500-9,999 31,154 61 23

10,000-24,999 35,162 59 31

25,000-49,999 27,248 56 35

50,000-99,999 30,420 61 36

100,000-249,999 31,599 63 38

250,000-499,999 19,646 61 39

500,000-999,999 26,826 54 38

1,000,000 or more 25,376 26 45%

 All sizes 242,691 52 34%

Per 100

Total officers*

Population 

served

Percent of 

cars that

were unmarked

Number of cars

Table 58. Number of cars operated by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2003

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5 assigned. 

Under 2,500 26 2,021 8 3 206 1

2,500-9,999 60 5,122 10 9 502 1

10,000-24,999 87 5,329 9 25 1,018 2

25,000-49,999 95 4,560 9 57 1,380 3

50,000-99,999 98 4,824 10 71 1,571 3

100,000-249,999 99 4,664 9 92 1,788 4

250,000-499,999 95 2,254 7 90 994 3

500,000-999,999 95 5,442 11 95 1,377 3

1,000,000 or more 100% 4,599 5 100% 1,238 1

 All sizes 54% 38,811 8 16% 10,074 2

Per 100

Total officers*

Per 100

Total officers*

Population 

served

 Percent Number operated

 of agencies

 using

Percent of Number operated

agencies

using

Motorcycles

4-wheel motorized vehicles 

other than cars

Table 59. Number of motorcycles and 4-wheel motorized vehicles other than

cars operated by local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

*Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5 assigned. 

Under 2,500 18 1,809 8

2,500-9,999 51 5,477 11

10,000-24,999 75 5,647 9

25,000-49,999 82 3,905 8

50,000-99,999 89 3,382 7

100,000-249,999 93 2,657 5

250,000-499,999 90 1,200 4

500,000-999,999 89 1,862 4

1,000,000 or more 100% 2,785 3

 All sizes 45% 28,724 6

Per 100

Total officers*

Population 

served

 Percent Number of bicycles

 of agencies

 using bicycles

Table 60. Number of bicycles operated by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003
Off-land vehicles

About 5% of local police departments,

employing 39% of all officers, operated

at least one boat during 2003 (table

61). This included a majority of those

serving 250,000 or more residents.

Nationwide, local police operated about

1,200 boats.

One percent of departments, employing

30% of all officers, used helicopters. Of

departments serving 250,000 or more

residents, a majority used helicopters.

An estimated 253 local police helicopters were in use nationwide in 2003.

Less than 1% of local police departments

operated fixed-wing aircraft, with an

estimated total of 47 in use nationwide.

Nearly half of departments serving 1

million or more residents operated at

least 1 airplane. Departments using

airplanes employed 9% of all officers.

Animals

Twenty-nine percent of local police

departments, employing 74% of all

officers, used dogs for law enforcement

activities (table 62). This included more

than 90% of those serving 100,000 or

more residents. Overall, about 7,500

dogs were maintained by local police

departments in 2003.

About 2% of departments, employing

37% 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 approximately 1,500 horses.

Video cameras

Sixty percent of all local police departments used video cameras on a regular

basis during the year ending June 30,

2003 (table 63). Agencies regularly

using video cameras employed 67% 

of all local police officers. 

Video cameras were most commonly

used in patrol cars (55%). A majority 

of the departments serving fewer than

100,000 residents used in-car cameras,

as did nearly half of those serving

larger populations. An estimated total

of 48,800 were in use in 2003, with an

average of 7 cameras each among

departments using them. 

Fourteen percent of departments used

video cameras for fixed-site surveillance, including about two-fifths of

those serving a population of 250,000

or more. Among departments using

such cameras, the average number in

use ranged from 2 in the smallest jurisdictions to over 500 in the largest. 

Eleven percent of departments used

video cameras for traffic enforcement.

The average number in use ranged

from 2 in the smallest jurisdictions to 34

in the largest.

Eight percent of departments used

video cameras for mobile surveillance,

with the average number in use ranging

from 2 among departments serving

fewer than 100,000 residents, to 22

among departments serving 250,000 to

499,999 residents. 

28 Local Police Departments, 2003

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 2 0 0

2,500-9,999 4 0 0

10,000-24,999 8 0 0

25,000-49,999 12 1 --

50,000-99,999 19 3 --

100,000-249,999 25 11 3

250,000-499,999 51 51 24

500,000-999,999 57 64 16

1,000,000 or more 69% 88% 44%

 All sizes 5% 1% --

 Air-

 planes

 HeliBoats coptersPopulation

served

Percent of agencies with —

Table 61. Off-land vehicles operated

by local police departments, by size of

population served, 2003

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 11 --

2,500-9,999 30 --

10,000-24,999 46 1

25,000-49,999 59 4

50,000-99,999 76 9

100,000-249,999 94 26

250,000-499,999 98 59

500,000-999,999 94 68

1,000,000 or more 100% 75%

 All sizes 29% 2%

Dogs Horses

Population Percent of agencies with —

served

Table 62. Animals maintained 

by local police departments, by size

of population served, 2003

*Excludes agencies that did not use video cameras in particular application.

Under 2,500 52 51 2 8 2 12 2 4 2

2,500-9,999 62 57 5 13 4 8 5 7 2

10,000-24,999 68 62 9 23 7 9 5 10 2

25,000-49,999 67 58 15 27 11 13 4 15 2

50,000-99,999 69 57 25 30 10 19 5 20 2

100,000-249,999 73 47 46 28 16 21 8 32 7

250,000-499,999 68 43 86 43 11 19 13 31 22

500,000-999,999 73 51 147 38 19 33 12 26 10

1,000,000 or more 69% 41% 37 35% 548 12% 34 29% 3

 All sizes 60% 55% 7 14% 8 11% 4 8% 3

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Mobile

 surveillance

 Traffic

 enforcement

 Fixed-site

In patrol cars surveillance

Percent of

agencies

regularly using

video cameras

Population

served

Percent of agencies using video cameras and the average number used 

Table 63. Use of video cameras by local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
From 2000 to 2003 local police departments in all population categories

increased their use of video cameras 

in patrol cars (figure 17). In jurisdictions

with a population of 250,000 or more,

54% of departments were using them

in 2003 compared to 34% in 2000. The

increases in other categories were as

follows: 50,000 to 249,999 residents,

from 46% to 61%, 10,000 to 49,999

residents, from 42% to 54%, under

10,000 residents, from 33% to 46%. 

Special technologies

Twenty-three percent of local police

departments, employing 50% of all

officers, used infrared (thermal)

imagers on a regular basis (table 64).

This included a majority of the departments serving 50,000 or more

residents.

Ten percent of departments, employing 25% of all officers, used image

intensifiers. Laser range finders were

used regularly by 8% of all departments, employing 28% of all officers. 

Tire deflation spikes were used

regularly by 31% of all departments,

employing 45% of all officers. This

included a majority of the departments

serving a population of 25,000 or more. 

Seven percent of departments,

employing 38% of all officers, used

stolen vehicle tracking technology on a

regular basis. This included a majority

of the departments serving 250,000 or

more residents. 

Electrical/engine disruption technology

was used by less than 0.5% of all

departments and no more than 8% of

the departments in any population

category. Such departments employed

3% of all officers. 

Nearly half (48%) of departments,

employing 80% of all officers, regularly

used digital imaging technology for

mug shots. This included at least 80%

of the departments in each population

category of 25,000 or more.

About a quarter (26%) of departments,

employing 65% of all officers, regularly

used digital imaging technology for

fingerprints. This included a majority of

the departments serving 25,000 or

more residents.

A fifth of departments, employing 41%

of all officers, used digital imaging

technology for suspect composites. 

A majority of the departments serving

25,000 to 999,999 residents used it for

this purpose. 

Digital imaging technology for facial

recognition was used by 4% of local

police departments, including 19% of

those serving 1 million or more

residents. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 29

Figure 17

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using video

cameras in patrol cars, 2000 and 2003

2003

Population served

2000

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 13 5 1 16 1 -- 24 18 6 2

2,500-9,999 20 10 7 33 4 0 55 22 17 3

10,000-24,999 34 16 12 43 10 1 73 29 37 7

25,000-49,999 43 18 21 61 21 1 80 55 55 9

50,000-99,999 55 19 31 57 31 -- 83 71 55 9

100,000-249,999 53 25 26 60 42 5 85 81 62 6

250,000-499,999 54 17 17 66 56 7 88 85 59 10

500,000-999,999 76 30 24 54 68 8 87 67 59 5

1,000,000 or more 69% 25% 44% 50% 69% 6% 88% 81% 44% 19%

 All sizes 23% 10% 8% 31% 7% --% 48% 26% 20% 4%

Facial

recognition

Suspect

composites

Fingerprints Mug

 shots

 Electrical/

 engine

 disruption

 Stolen 

 vehicle 

 tracking

 Tire 

 deflation 

 spikes

 

 Laser 

 range 

 finders

 Image 

 intensi-

 fiers

 Infrared 

 (thermal) 

 imagers

Population

served

Night vision/electro-optic Vehicle stopping/tracking Digital imaging

Percent of agencies using —

Table 64. Special technologies used by local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Computers and information systems

Computer functions

Local police departments used computers for a wide variety of functions in

2003. For example, 77% of all departments, employing 83% of all officers,

used computers for Internet access

(table 65). More than 3 times as many

local police departments used computers for Internet access in 2003 as in

1997 (24%).

During 2003, 69% of all departments,

employing 80% of all officers, used

computers for records management.

Half of departments used computers 

for crime investigations. Those using

computers for crime investigations

employed 71% of all officers. 

Forty-five percent of departments,

employing 64% of all officers, used

computers to maintain personnel

records. 

A third of local police departments used

computers to aid the dispatching of

calls for service. A majority of departments serving a population of 10,000 

or more had computer-aided dispatch,

and 72% of all local police officers

worked for such a department.

Thirty-one percent of local

departments, employing 53% of all

officers, used computers for interagency information sharing.

About a fifth of local police departments

used computers for fleet management

(21%) or automated booking (20%),

and 10% used computers for resource

allocation.

In addition to these general uses of

computers, many departments use

computers in an analytic capacity. For

example, nearly half (46%) of departments, employing 49% of officers, used

computers for the collection of data on

traffic stops (table 66).

Thirty-two percent of departments,

employing 67% of all officers, used

computers for crime analysis. This

included a majority of the departments

serving 25,000 or more residents.

Nearly 3 in 10 departments, employing

46% of officers, used computers for

intelligence gathering in 2003. This

included more than half of departments

serving 25,000 or more residents. 

In 2003, 19% of departments, including

a majority of those serving 50,000 or

more residents, used computers in

conjunction with crime mapping.

Departments using computers for crime

mapping purposes employed 57% of all

officers.

Eleven percent of departments, including more than half of those serving a

population of 100,000 or more, used

computers to identify crime hotspots

during 2003. Departments using

computers for this purpose employed

45% of all officers.

30 Local Police Departments, 2003

Under 2,500 71 55 34 33 7 19 9 8 5

2,500-9,999 78 76 54 51 35 35 25 19 7

10,000-24,999 83 84 66 53 66 39 30 37 17

25,000-49,999 85 83 73 59 79 51 37 43 27

50,000-99,999 90 85 71 66 85 59 41 50 33

100,000-249,999 84 84 75 62 83 57 53 41 42

250,000-499,999 78 78 78 63 78 54 54 39 42

500,000-999,999 76 73 70 70 76 51 70 38 48

1,000,000 or more 75% 63% 69% 69% 69% 50% 69% 63% 44%

 All sizes 77% 69% 50% 45% 33% 31% 21% 20% 10%

 Resource 

 allocation

 

 Automated

 booking

 Fleet

 manage- 

 ment

Interagency 

information

 Dispatch sharing

 Per-

 sonnel

 records

 Crime

 investi-

 gations

 Records

 manage- 

 ment

 

 Internet

 access

Population

served

Percent of agencies using computers for —

Table 65. General functions of computers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 35 16 19 9 3

2,500-9,999 52 31 28 14 8

10,000-24,999 58 48 37 30 17

25,000-49,999 64 62 50 41 29

50,000-99,999 50 74 49 61 40

100,000-249,999 49 82 61 74 54

250,000-499,999 51 85 61 81 63

500,000-999,999 57 78 67 67 54

1,000,000 or more 56% 69% 50% 69% 56%

 All sizes 46% 32% 28% 19% 11%

Hotspot

identification

 Crime

 mapping

Intelligence

gathering

Crime

analysis

Traffic 

stop data 

collection

Population

served

Percent of agencies using computers for —

Table 66. Analytic functions of computers in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2003
Computerized files

In 2003 a majority of local police departments were maintaining computerized

files on incident reports (83%), arrests

(76%), traffic citations (70%), calls for

service (68%), traffic accidents (67%),

and stolen property (60%) (table 67). 

All of these types of information were

maintained in a computerized format 

by a majority of the departments in each

population category of 2,500 or more.

Nearly half of all departments

maintained computerized files on

warrants (48%), traffic stops (48%),

and alarms (45%), and more than a

third maintained computerized criminal

history files (36%) (table 68). A majority

of the departments in each population

category of 10,000 or more had

computerized files with these types of

information. 

About 3 in 10 departments maintained

computerized information on use-offorce incidents (32%) and summonses

(29%). A majority of the departments

serving 50,000 or more residents had

computerized use-of-force files, and

about half of those serving 1 million or

more residents had computerized

summonses information.

Ten percent of departments maintained

computer files on intelligence related to

terrorism in 2003. This included about

69% of the departments serving a

population of 1,000,000 or more, and

46% of those serving 500,000 to

999,999 residents. 

Overall, fewer than 1 in 10 departments

had computerized files on fingerprints

(9%), illegal attempts to purchase

firearms (5%), or biometric data for use

in facial recognition (1%). However, a

majority of the departments in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more residents

had computerized fingerprint files.

Less than half of local police officers

worked for a department with computer

files on fingerprints (49%), traffic stops

(49%), use-of-force incidents (45%),

intelligence related to terrorism (22%),

illegal attempts to purchase firearms

(7%), or biometric data for facial recognition (4%). A majority of officers

worked for a department that had

computer files on all other types of

information included in the 2003

LEMAS survey. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 31

Under 2,500 72 58 53 47 49 43

2,500-9,999 89 87 81 76 77 70

10,000-24,999 92 90 85 87 84 75

25,000-49,999 94 94 84 93 88 79

50,000-99,999 90 94 77 95 84 77

100,000-249,999 94 91 76 92 84 80

250,000-499,999 83 83 68 88 78 68

500,000-999,999 84 76 54 86 62 59

1,000,000 or more 88% 88% 75% 81% 69% 81%

 All sizes 83% 76% 70% 68% 67% 60%

Stolen 

property

Traffic 

accidents

Calls for 

service

Traffic 

citations

 

Arrests

Incident

reports

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining

computerized information files on —

Table 67. Types of computerized information files maintained by more

than half of local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 34 31 25 17 22 20 4 2 4 --

2,500-9,999 52 55 50 42 35 31 9 6 4 1

10,000-24,999 64 65 67 57 37 40 16 16 7 3

25,000-49,999 67 69 78 59 46 43 19 26 8 2

50,000-99,999 68 61 78 59 51 35 21 39 6 2

100,000-249,999 67 61 76 61 57 36 33 55 9 2

250,000-499,999 56 59 73 63 71 29 32 54 7 5

500,000-999,999 54 54 70 56 67 38 46 62 8 3

1,000,000 or more 69% 75% 69% 69% 69% 50% 69% 69% 25% 13%

 All sizes 48% 48% 45% 36% 32% 29% 10% 9% 5% 1%

Biometric

data for

facial

recognition

Illegal

attempts to

purchase

firearms

 Finger-

 prints

Intelligence

related to

terrorism

Summonses

Useof-force 

incidents

Criminal 

Alarms histories

Traffic

stops

 

Warrants

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining

computerized information files on —

Table 68. Types of computerized information files maintained by less than half 

of local police departments, by size of population served, 2003
Use of computers in the field

A majority (56%) of local police departments used mobile computers or terminals in the field during 2003, including

more than 80% of those serving 10,000

or more residents (table 69). Departments using infield computers or terminals employed 83% of all local police

officers.

Forty-four percent of departments,

employing 79% of all officers, used

vehicle-mounted computers in 2003.

This included a majority of those

serving 10,000 or more residents. 

Vehicle-mounted laptop computers

were used by 30% of departments,

employing 41% of all officers. Twenty

percent of departments, employing

43% of officers, used vehicle-mounted

digital/data terminals. Fifteen percent

used vehicle-mounted digital/data

computers.

Thirty-eight percent of departments

employing 57% of all officers, used

portable (not vehicle-mounted) computers in 2003. This included a majority of

all departments serving 10,000 or more

residents. 

Portable laptops were the most

common type of infield computer, used

by 33% of all departments. These

departments employed 50% of all

officers. Less common were personal

digital assistants (7%), portable

digital/data terminals (6%), and

portable digital/data computers (5%).

The percentage of local police departments using infield computers or terminals in 2003 (56%) was significantly

larger than in 2000 (40%), and it was

about 11 times greater than in 1990

(5%). Likewise, the 83% of local police

officers working for a department with

infield computers or terminals in 2003

was higher than in 2000 (75%), and

nearly 3 times that in 1990 (30%).

From 1990 to 2003 large increases in

local police use of infield computers

and terminals have occurred in jurisdictions of all sizes (figure 18). During this

period, infield computer use among

departments serving 250,000 or more

residents increased from 56% to 98%;

departments serving 50,000 to 249,999

residents, from 31% to 94%; departments serving 10,000 to 49,999

residents, from 9% to 81%; and departments serving fewer than 10,000

residents, from 2% to 46%.

32 Local Police Departments, 2003

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using infield

computers or terminals, 1990 and 2003

2003

Population served

1990

Under 2,500 36 26 20 10 4 23 20 3 3 2

2,500-9,999 58 43 31 22 14 40 34 7 7 4

10,000-24,999 78 64 43 32 26 54 47 12 10 9

25,000-49,999 89 83 55 42 44 66 59 20 12 13

50,000-99,999 93 87 45 34 40 68 60 18 8 9

100,000-249,999 96 88 34 26 48 60 52 21 11 10

250,000-499,999 95 85 56 24 54 63 54 24 5 10

500,000-999,999 100 95 36 33 57 68 49 30 3 11

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 31% 69% 31% 69% 63% 38% 31% 6%

 All sizes 56% 44% 30% 20% 15% 38% 33% 7% 6% 5%

 Digital/

 data 

 computer

 Digital/

 data 

 terminal

 Personal 

 digital 

 Laptop assistant

 Any 

 type

 Digital/

 data

 computer

 Digital/

 data 

 Laptop terminal

 Any 

 type

Vehicle-mounted Portable (not vehicle-mounted)

Any infield

computer or

terminal

Population

served

Percent of agencies using infield computers or terminals

Table 69. Types of infield computers or terminals used 

by local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Figure 18
Thirty-three percent of local police departments used infield computers or terminals for writing field reports during 2003

(table 70). These departments

employed 34% of all officers. Eighteen

percent of departments used them for

at least some infield communications.

These departments employed 49% of

all officers. 

In more than a third of local police

departments, at least some officers in

the field could use computers to

access vehicle records, driving

records, and warrants during 2003

(table 71). This included a majority of

the departments serving a population

of 10,000 or more residents. Departments using infield computers for these

purposes employed more than 70% of

all officers. 

In 23% of departments, employing 37%

of all officers, infield computers could 

be used for the purpose of interagency

information sharing. This included 63%

of those departments serving a population of 250,000 to 499,999.

In 22% of departments, employing 43%

of all officers, infield computers or

terminals could be used to access

criminal history information. This

included a majority of the departments

serving 100,000 or more residents, and

more than a third of those serving

10,000 to 99,999 residents.

In 20% of departments, employing 39%

of all officers, infield computers or

terminals could be used to access

repeat calls for service information.

This included more than half of departments serving a population of 25,000

or more, and more than a quarter of

those serving a population of 10,000 

to 24,999.

The percentage of local police officers

employed by a department providing

infield computer access to information

has been on the increase since 1997

when LEMAS first began tracking this

capability. Departments providing

patrol officers with infield computer

access to vehicle records employed

78% of all officers in 2003 compared 

to 67% in 2000 and 56% in 1997

(figure 19). 

Other types of information and the

percentage of officers employed by a

department providing infield access

during 1997, 2000, and 2003 are as

follows: driving records C 51% in 1997,

58% in 2000, and 71% in 2003; criminal history records C 25% in 1997,

29% in 2000, and 39% in 2003; calls

for service records C 23% in 1997,

37% in 2000, and 39% in 2003. 

 Local Police Departments, 2003 33

Figure 19

Under 2,500 29 4

2,500-9,999 31 18

10,000-24,999 43 29

25,000-49,999 50 49

50,000-99,999 43 58

100,000-249,999 42 59

250,000-499,999 44 63

500,000-999,999 35 48

1,000,000 or more 6% 63%

 All sizes 33% 18%

CommunicationsField

reports

Population

served

 Percent of agencies using

 infield computers for C

Table 70. Use of infield computers

for reports and communications

by local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2003

Under 2,500 20 20 18 16 13 13 9

2,500-9,999 37 33 33 31 22 20 18

10,000-24,999 57 54 51 41 35 36 27

25,000-49,999 77 69 72 61 54 40 49

50,000-99,999 82 74 75 59 44 39 54

100,000-249,999 87 78 83 61 46 50 59

250,000-499,999 95 88 90 66 63 56 68

500,000-999,999 97 81 95 76 49 54 46

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 81% 44% 75% 50%

 All sizes 38% 35% 35% 30% 23% 22% 20%

Calls for

service

history

Criminal

history

records

Interagency

information

system

Protection

orders

WarrantsDriving

records

Vehicle

records

Population

served

Types of information accessible in the field

Table 71. Computerized information accessible to infield officers 

of local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Prior calls for service

Criminal histories

Driving records

Vehicle records

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

Percent of officers employed by

a department providing access

2003

Type of information

1997

Local police officers with infield computer

access to information, 1997-2003

2000
Automated Fingerprint Identification

In 2003, 62% percent of local police

departments, employing 88% of

officers, had access to an Automated

Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)

that included a file of digitized prints

(table 72). For 51% of agencies, this

access was through another agency.

Five percent of departments had exclusive ownership of an AFIS. This

included a majority of the departments

serving 500,000 or more residents.

Three percent of all departments had

shared AFIS ownership. Four percent

of departments, employing 13% of all

officers, used an AFIS terminal with

access to a remote system. 

Transmission of incident reports 

In 2003, 55% of local police departments

used paper reports as the primary

method to transmit criminal incident

reports from the field to the agency’s

central information system (table 73).

Computers and data devices were

used by 38%, and 5% used telephone

lines or wireless systems.

From 1997 to 2003 use of paper reports

to transmit criminal incident reports

declined from 86% to 55%. During the

same period use of computer and data

devices increased from 9% to 38%, and

use of telephone and wireless methods

increased from 4% to 5%. 

From 2000 to 2003 an increase in the

use of electronic methods of report

submission was observed in all population categories (figure 20). This continued the trend observed from 1997 to

2000. Among departments serving

250,000 or more residents, 33% used

electronic methods in 2003, compared

to 22% in 2000 and 12% in 1997. The

percentage of departments in other

population categories using electronic

methods in 2003, 2000, and 1997 are

as follows: 50,000 to 249,999 residents:

36%, 21% 20%; 10,000 to 49,999

residents: 54%, 33%, 12%; under

10,000 residents, 43%, 23%, 12%.

34 Local Police Departments, 2003

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

Under 2,500 98 65 27 5

2,500-9,999 100 47 50 3

10,000-24,999 100 45 50 5

25,000-49,999 100 49 40 11

50,000-99,999 100 65 23 12

100,000-249,999 100 62 22 16

250,000-499,999 100 68 10 22

500,000-999,999 100 71 13 16

1,000,000 or more 100% 56% 31% 13%

 All sizes 99% 55% 38% 5%

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Population

served

Primary transmission method

Table 73. Methods for transmitting criminal incident reports 

to the central information system in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2003

Note: Detail may not sum to total because agencies could select more than one category.

-- Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 47 -- 2 1 44

2,500-9,999 64 1 1 2 60

10,000-24,999 74 7 3 8 58

25,000-49,999 87 20 7 14 49

50,000-99,999 95 29 9 16 45

100,000-249,999 97 42 12 25 22

250,000-499,999 98 37 22 32 10

500,000-999,999 100 54 11 19 20

1,000,000 or more 100% 56% 31% 19% 6%

 All sizes 62% 5% 3% 4% 51%

Access 

through other

agency

 Remote 

 terminal 

 access only

 Shared 

 owner

Exclusive

owner

Total with

access

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with AFIS access 

Table 72. Use of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2003

Figure 20

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60%

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using electronic methods* for transmitting

criminal incident reports to a central information system, 1997-2003

2003

Population served

2000

*Includes computer medium, data device, telephone line, or wireless transmission.

1997
Methodology

The Law Enforcement Management

and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)

survey collects data from a nationally

representative sample of publicly

funded State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. 

This report presents data from the

2003 survey describing local police

departments in terms of their

personnel, expenditures and pay,

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

The 2003 LEMAS sample design called

for the survey questionnaire to be

mailed to 3,179 State and local law

enforcement agencies. Twenty-five

agencies were determined to be out-ofscope for the survey because they had

closed, outsourced their operations, or

were operating on a part-time basis,

resulting in a final mailout total of 3,154

agencies. The initial mailing of the

questionnaire was conducted in

December 2003. The pay period

containing June 30, 2000 was used as

the reference date for all questions,

unless otherwise noted. 

Allowing for the exclusion of special

jurisdiction agencies and Texas

constables, 955 law enforcement

agencies in the United States with 100

or more sworn officers as of June 30,

2000, were included in the sample as

self-representing (SR) agencies. This

included 574 local police departments,

332 sheriffs’ offices, and the 49 primary

State law enforcement agencies. 

The self-representing (SR) agencies

were supplemented by a nationally

representative sample of agencies with

fewer than 100 sworn personnel.

These nonself-representing (NSR)

agencies were chosen using a stratified

random sample with cells based on the

type of agency (local police or sheriff),

size of population served, and number

of sworn personnel. The 2,199 NSR

agencies selected included 1,539 local

police departments and 660 sheriffs’

offices.

A total of 2,859 agencies responded to

the LEMAS questionnaire for a

response rate of 90.6%. This included

904 SR agencies (94.7%) and 1,955

NSR agencies (88.9%). The final

database includes responses from

1,947 local police departments, 863

sheriffs’ offices, and the 49 primary

State law enforcement agencies. The

overall response rate for local police

departments was 92.1%, for sheriffs’

offices, 87.0%, and for the State law

enforcement agencies, 100%.

The base weight for all SR agencies is

one. For NSR sheriffs’ offices, it is four.

For NSR local police departments, the

base weights are determined by

number of sworn personnel employed

as reported in the 2000 BJS Census of

State and Local Law Enforcement

Agencies. For agencies with 0 to 6

sworn officers, the base weight is

15.55; for 7 to 13 officers, 9.65; for 14

to 23 officers, 7.09; for 24 to 39

officers, 4.95; for 40 to 62 officers,

3.38; and for 63 to 99 officers, the base

weight is 2.14.

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 2000, and a factor that

adjusted for any nonresponding

agencies in each cell. 

The final weight for all SR local police

agencies is 1.034234, for SR sheriffs’

offices it is 1.106667, and for the 49

primary State law enforcement

agencies, it is 1. For NSR sheriffs’

offices the final weight is 4.847247. 

For NSR local police departments, the

final weights are as follows: agencies

with 0 to 6 sworn officers, 20.355930; 7

to 13 officers, 10.925000; 14 to 23

officers, 7.707424; 24 to 39 officers,

5.313808; 40 to 62 officers, 3.555024;

and 63 to 99 officers, 2.216080.

Some responding agencies did not fully

complete the LEMAS questionnaire.

When an agency did not supply a

response to an item, hot deck imputation, median value imputation, or ratio

imputation was used. Hot deck imputation uses the value reported by a

randomly selected agency from the

same sample cell. Median value

imputation uses the median value of an

item reported by agencies in the same

sample cell. Ratio imputation uses the

median value of a ratio reported by

agencies in the same sample cell.

Because the data from agencies with

fewer than 100 sworn personnel were

collected from a sample, the results are

subject to sampling error. The survey

data are also subject to response and

processing errors.

 Local Police Departments, 2003 35