Bureau of Justice Statistics

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs 

Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics

Local Police

Departments 2000

 

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of 9-1-1 systems

with enhanced capabilities

2000

Population served

1990

In 2000 nearly all local police departments

such as callers' phone numbers, addresses, and special needs

in jurisdictions with 10,000 or more residents had

enhanced 9-1-1 systems that could display information
 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Local Police

Departments 2000

Matthew J. Hickman and 

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statisticians

January 2003, NCJ 196002
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Lawrence A. Greenfeld

Director

Matthew J. Hickman and Brian A.

Reaves prepared this report. Tom

Hester and Tina Dorsey edited the

report. Jayne Robinson administered

final report production. 

The Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services COPS) provided

partial funding for the 2000 Census.

Debra Cohen and Matthew Scheider of

COPS assisted with questionnaire

development More information on

COPS can be obtained at their website

www.usdoj.gov/cops>.

Data were collected and processed by

the U.S. Census Bureau, with assistance from BJS. Census Bureau staff,

under the supervision of Latrice

Brogsdale-Davis and Charlene Sebold

included Theresa Reitz, Martha

Greene, Patricia Torreyson, Bill Bryner,

and Paula Kinard.

Sample design selection and imputation procedures were conducted by

Suzanne Dorinski and Yukiko Ellis of

the Economic Statistical Methods and

Programming Division of the Census

Bureau under the supervision of

Carma Hogue.

Data presented in this report may be

obtained from the National Archive of

the 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>.

Highlights iii

The LEMAS survey 1

Personnel 1

Budget and pay 7

 Operations 10

Community policing 14

Equipment 18

Computers and information systems 23

Special arrest policies 27

Methodology 28

ii Local Police Departments 2000
Personnel

• As of June 2000, local police departments had 565,915 full-time employees, including about 441,000 sworn

personnel. Local police employment

was up an average of about 2% per

year since 1990. 

• Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 22.7% of full-time sworn personnel in 2000, up from 17.0% in 1990.

Females comprised 10.6% of officers

in 2000, up from 8.1% in 1990.

• From 1990 to 2000, the number of

African American local police officers

increased by 13,300, or 35%; Hispanic

officers by 17,600, or 93%; and female

officers by 17,300, or 59%. 

• Nearly all officers worked for a department using criminal record checks

(99%), background investigations (98%),

driving record checks (98%), personal

interviews (97%) and medical exams

(96%) to screen applicants. Drug tests

(88%) and psychological evaluations

(88%) were also widely used. 

• In 2000, 15% of departments, employing 32% of all officers, required new

recruits to have completed at least some

college, up from 6% of departments,

employing 10% of officers, in 1990.

• State-mandated field and academy

training requirements for new officers 

averaged about 750 hours combined.

Additional training beyond state requirements averaged about 300 hours. 

Budget and pay

• Departments had total operating

budgets of $36.7 billion during fiscal

2000, 33% more than in 1990 after

adjusting for inflation. Operating

expenditures in 2000 averaged $80,600

per sworn officer, and $179 per resident.

• In 2000 starting salaries for local police

officers ranged from an average of about

$21,000 in the smallest jurisdictions to

about $34,000 in the largest. About 3

in 4 officers worked for a department

that authorized collective bargaining.

Operations

• All departments used automobiles

for routine patrol. In addition, 62% of

departments, including 86% of those

serving 250,000 or more residents,

used foot patrol routinely. An estimated

43%, including 94% of those serving

100,000 or more residents, used

bicycle patrol on a regular basis.

• In 2000, 89% of local police departments, employing 98% of all officers,

participated in a 9-1-1 emergency

system compared to 48% and 78% in

1990. In 2000, 71% of departments,

employing 89% of all officers, had

enhanced 9-1-1, compared to 18% and

49% in 1990.

• Fifteen percent of departments had

officers assigned full time to a special

unit for drug enforcement, with 13,600

officers so assigned nationwide. About

a fifth of departments had officers

assigned to a multi-agency drug task

force, with a total of 5,800 officers

assigned full time nationwide.

• Thirty-seven percent of departments,

employing 79% of all officers, had drug

asset forfeiture receipts during 1999.

Collectively, departments received an

estimated $320 million in receipts, or

$872 per sworn officer employed.

• Thirty percent of local police departments were responsible for providing

court security, 21% for serving civil

process, and 14% for operating a jail.

Community policing

• Sixty-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 90% of all

officers, had a community policing plan

of some type. Eighteen percent of 

departments, employing 50% of

officers, had a formal, written plan. 

• Two-thirds of all departments,

employing 86% of all officers, used fulltime community policing officers in

2000. Collectively, there were about

103,000 local police officers so

designated.

• More than two-thirds of the departments serving a population of 25,000

or more, and more than four-fifths of

those serving a population of 250,000

or more, trained all new officer recruits

in community policing. 

• More than 9 in 10 departments

serving a population of 10,000 or more

regularly met with community groups

during 2000. Nearly 7 in 10 departments

serving 50,000 or more residents

conducted a citizen police academy.

• About a third of all departments,

including about two-thirds of those

serving 50,000 or more residents,

upgraded technology in 2000 to support

community policing efforts. 

• Forty-four percent of departments,

employing 74% of all officers, used fulltime school resource officers in 2000.

Collectively, these agencies employed

about 14,000 such officers.

Highlights

Local Police Departments 2000 iii

1990

2000

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

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

Female and minority local police officers, 1990 and 2000

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

2000 1990

Female All minorities Black Hispanic Other*
Equipment

• Ninety-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 99% of all 

officers, authorized the use of semiautomatic sidearms in 2000. These were

increases from 73% and 91% in 1990. 

• An estimated 91% of departments,

employing 93% of all officers, authorized

use of chemical agents such as pepper

spray during 2000, up from 51% and

72% in 1990.

• In 2000, 56% of departments,

employing 57% of all officers, required

all field officers to wear protective body

armor, compared to 24% and 25% in

1990.

• Nationwide, local police departments

in 2000 operated an estimated 231,000

cars, or about 1 car for every 2 officers

employed. About a third of these cars

were unmarked. 

• About 1 in 4 departments used dogs

for law enforcement work, including

more than 90% of those serving a

population of 100,000 or more. Just

2% of departments used horses;

however, a majority of those serving

250,000 or more residents did so.

• Forty-five percent of all local police

departments regularly used video

cameras in 2000. Thirty-seven percent

used them in patrol cars. Seven

percent of departments used video

cameras for traffic enforcement.

Computers and information systems

• From 1990 to 2000, the percentage of

local police departments using in-field

computers increased from 5% to 40%.

Departments using in-field computers

employed 75% of all officers in 2000,

up from 30% in 1990.

• The percentage of local police departments using computers for Internet

access rose from 24% in 1997 to 56%

in 2000. During 2000, about 9 in 10

departments serving 50,000 or more

residents had this capability.

• From 1997 to 2000, the percentage of

officers employed by a department with

in-field computer access to vehicle

records increased from 56% to 69%,

driving records from 51% to 58%, calls

for service histories from 23% to 37%,

and criminal histories from 25% to 29%.

• In 2000, 75% 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 19%.

Written policy directives

• Nearly all departments (93%) had a

written policy on pursuit driving. Threefifths 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. Seven percent discouraged

all vehicle pursuits.

• Ninety-three percent of local police

departments, employing 99% of all

officers, had a written policy on the use

of deadly force. Eighty-seven percent,

employing 95% of all officers, had a

policy on the use of nonlethal force. 

• About 9 in 10 departments, employing

97% of officers, had a special policy

regarding arrest for domestic assaults.

Seventy-two percent had a mandatory

arrest policy, and 17% had a pro-arrest

policy. 

• About 8 in 10 departments, employing

93% of officers, had a special policy

regarding arrest for violations of

protection orders. Sixty-three percent

had a mandatory arrest policy, and

18% had a pro-arrest policy.

iv Local Police Departments 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

1990

2000

Population served

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using in-field computers or terminals, 1990 and 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Local police departments requiring all regular field officers

to wear protective armor, 1990 and 2000

Population served

Percent of agencies

1990

2000
The LEMAS survey

During 2000, the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics (BJS), as a part of its Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program,

surveyed a nationally representative

sample of State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide.

Previous LEMAS surveys were

conducted in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997,

and 1999.

This report presents data from the

2000 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, equipment, computers and

information systems, and written

policies. Comparisons are made with

prior years where appropriate.

Nearly all local police departments are

operated by municipal (85%) or

township (13%) governments. As of

2000, a total of 171 local police departments were operated by tribal governments, and 52 by county governments.

The 2000 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,132 State and local

law enforcement agencies, including all

881 agencies with 100 or more sworn

officers (see Methodology for a

description of the sample). The overall

response rate was 97.4%. Among

local police departments, 1,975 of

2,019 surveys were returned for a

97.8% response rate. 

This report and its companion report

(Sheriffs’ Offices 2000, NCJ-196534),

summarize data collected from

agencies of all sizes. Trend data on

the police departments serving the 62

largest U.S. cities were previously

published in the BJS Special Report 

(Police Departments in Large Cities: 

1990-2000, NCJ-175703).

Personnel

As of June 30, 2000, local police

departments had 565,915 full-time

employees (table 1). They also

employed about 62,000 persons on a

part-time basis. Approximately 441,000,

or 78%, of full-time local police employees were sworn personnel (those with

general arrest powers).

Local police departments employed

62% of all State and local sworn

officers nationwide. Their 124,995 fulltime civilian employees comprised 40%

of all nonsworn State and local law

enforcement employees.

There were about 106,000, or 23%,

more full-time local police employees 

in 2000 than in 1990 (figure 1). When

only sworn personnel are considered,

employment by local police departments increased by about 78,000, or

21.5%, from 1990 to 2000. 

Overall, the number of part-time local

police employees increased by about

8,400, or 16%, from 1990 to 2000.

When only sworn personnel are

considered, part-time employment by

local police departments was up by

about 2,800, or 11.4%, from 1990 to

2000.

 Local Police Departments 2000 1

Note: Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 2000. 

Sworn employees are those with general arrest powers. 

*State and local law enforcement agencies that serve special 

jurisdictional areas or have special enforcement responsibilities.

Texas constable 623 3,080 2,630 450 484 418 66

Special jurisdiction* 1,376 69,650 43,413 26,237 13,583 4,667 8,916

Primary State 49 87,028 56,348 30,680 817 95 722

Sheriff 3,070 293,823 164,711 129,112 22,737 10,300 12,437

Local police 12,666 565,915 440,920 124,995 62,110 27,323 34,787

Total 17,784 1,019,496 708,022 311,474 99,731 42,803 56,928

Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Number of Full-time Part-time

agencies

Type of 

agency

Number of employees

Table 1. Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies 

in the United States, 2000

1990 2000 1990 2000

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies,

1990 and 2000

Number of employees

All State

and local

Local

police

only

Full-time employees Full-time officers

Figure 1
According to a census of law enforcement agencies conducted by BJS

during 2000, 582 local police departments employed at least 100 sworn

personnel (4.6%), including 47 with

1,000 or more officers (0.4%) (table 2).

A total of 5,894 departments employed

fewer than 10 sworn personnel

(46.5%), including nearly 700 with just

one officer (5.3%). (See Census of

State and Local Law Enforcement

Agencies, 2000, NCJ-194066).

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.

Although 74% of all local police departments served fewer than 10,000

residents, these agencies employed

 just 15% of all officers (table 3). About

half of all officers served a jurisdiction

with 100,000 or more residents. 

2 Local Police Departments 2000

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

Excludes agencies employing less than the equivalent of one full-time officer. 

1 676 5.3 657 0.1 65 0.1

2-4 2,133 16.8 4,672 1.1 415 0.3

5-9 3,085 24.4 15,058 3.4 2,515 2.0

10-24 3,700 29.2 44,667 10.1 10,515 8.4

25-49 1,683 13.3 53,469 12.1 14,170 11.3

50-99 807 6.4 53,236 12.1 15,466 12.4

100-249 395 3.1 56,574 12.8 17,503 14.0

250-499 103 0.8 35,896 8.1 11,593 9.3

500-999 37 0.3 25,733 5.8 8,661 6.9

1,000 or more 47 0.4% 150,958 34.2% 44,092 35.3%

 Total 12,666 100% 440,920 100% 124,995 100%

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, 2000

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.

New Orleans (LA) 1,664 34 63 Buffalo (NY) 928 32 64

Columbus (OH) 1,744 25 88 Tucson (AZ) 928 19 55

Baltimore Co. (MD) 1,754 23 69 Tampa (FL) 939 31 72

Honolulu (HI) 1,792 20 91 Portland (OR) 1,007 19 48

Cleveland (OH) 1,822 38 44% Oklahoma City (OK) 1,011 20 57%

San Antonio (TX) 1,882 16 67 Montgomery Co. (MD) 1,019 12 53

Memphis (TN) 1,904 29 74 Cincinnati (OH) 1,030 31 44

Milwaukee (WI) 1,998 33 70 Pittsburgh (PA) 1,036 31 65

San Diego (CA) 2,022 17 44 Indianapolis (IN) 1,045 13 54

Boston (MA) 2,164 37 69% El Paso (TX) 1,057 19 55%

Las Vegas-Clark Co (NV) 2,168 16 45 Miami (FL) 1,110 31 62

San Francisco (CA) 2,227 29 70 Austin (TX) 1,144 17 47

Suffolk Co. (NY) 2,564 18 63 Fairfax Co. (VA) 1,163 12 85

Phoenix (AZ) 2,626 20 36 Fort Worth (TX) 1,196 22 40

Dallas (TX) 2,862 24 40% Nashville (TN) 1,249 22 36%

Miami-Dade Co. (FL) 3,008 13 52 Kansas City (MO) 1,253 28 54

Baltimore (MD) 3,034 47 60 Seattle (WA) 1,261 22 63

Nassau Co. (NY) 3,038 23 54 San Jose (CA) 1,408 16 74

Washington (DC) 3,612 63 51 Prince George’s Co. (MD) 1,431 18 42

Detroit (MI) 4,154 44 53% Charlotte-Mecklenberg Co. (NC) 1,442 27 64%

Houston (TX) 5,343 27 67 Newark (NJ) 1,466 54 61

Philadelphia (PA) 7,024 46 59 Atlanta (GA) 1,474 35 76

Los Angeles (CA) 9,341 25 63 St. Louis (MO) 1,489 43 61

Chicago (IL) 13,466 47 76 Denver (CO) 1,489 27 42

New York (NY) 40,435 50 65% Jacksonville-Duval Co. (FL) 1,530 21 56%

 Percent

 responding

 to callsb

Number

per 10000

residentsa

Total

number Jurisdiction

 Percent 

 responding

 to callsb

 Number 

 per 10,000

 residentsa

Total

number Jurisdiction

Full-time sworn personnel Full-time sworn personnel

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, 2000
Departments serving 1 million or more

residents had an average of 8,334 fulltime employees, including 6,445 sworn

personnel (table 4). In contrast, departments serving fewer than 2,500

residents had an average of 4 full-time

employees, including 3 sworn officers.

The vast majority of part-time local

police employees were nonsworn, with

an average of more than 500 such

employees in the largest jurisdictions.

The average number of sworn parttime employees was no higher than 3 in

any population category.

Among municipal police departments

serving a population of 1,000 or more,

the average ratio of full-time officers

per 1,000 residents was 2.6. Those 

serving 25,000 to 249,999 residents

had the lowest average ratio (1.8).

 Average ratio

 Population of full-time officers 

 served per 1,000 residents 

All sizes 2.6

 

250,000 or more 2.5

100,000 - 249,999 1.8

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 2.5

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 slightly more than 6 in 10 in

departments serving 50,000 or more

residents, to about 9 in 10 in those

serving fewer than 10,000 residents.

As of June 30, 2000, local police

departments collectively employed

97% of the maximum number of fulltime sworn personnel authorized by

their budgets (table 6). The lowest

actual-to-authorized ratio for full-time

sworn personnel was among departments serving 250,000 to 499,999

residents (93%). 

 Local Police Departments 2000 3

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

Under 2,500 5,297 41.8 18,007 4.1 2,373 1.9

2,500-9,999 4,108 32.4 46,695 10.6 11,014 8.8

10,000-24,999 1,826 14.4 56,237 12.8 14,712 11.8

25,000-49,999 771 6.1 48,224 10.9 13,311 10.6

50,000-99,999 388 3.1 47,314 10.7 14,093 11.3

100,000-249,999 182 1.4 49,906 11.3 16,626 13.3

250,000-499,999 41 0.3 31,845 7.2 11,443 9.2

500,000-999,999 38 0.3 46,017 10.4 13,093 10.5

1,000,000 or more 15 0.1% 96,675 21.9% 28,330 22.7%

 All sizes 12,666 100% 440,920 100% 124,995 100%

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, 2000

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

--Less than 0.5.

Under 2,500 4 3 -- 2 2 --

2,500-9,999 14 11 3 4 3 1

10,000-24,999 39 31 8 5 2 3

25,000-49,999 80 63 17 7 2 5

50,000-99,999 158 122 36 11 2 10

100,000-249,999 366 274 91 19 2 18

250,000-499,999 1,056 777 279 28 2 26

500,000-999,999 1,556 1,211 345 51 2 48

1,000,000 or more 8,334 6,445 1,889 507 0 507

 All sizes 45 35 10 5 2 3

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, 2000

*Includes all uniformed officers whose

regularly assigned duties included responding

to citizens calls/requests for service.

Under 2,500 17,090 95

2,500-9,999 40,041 86

10,000-24,999 42,546 76

25,000-49,999 33,115 69

50,000-99,999 29,412 62

100,000-249,999 30,586 61

250,000-499,999 18,505 58

500,000-999,999 28,334 62

1,000,000 or more 60,802 63

 All sizes 300,431 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, 2000

Note: Sworn employees are those with

general arrest powers.

Under 2,500 18,205 99

2,500-9,999 47,795 98

10,000-24,999 57,446 98

25,000-49,999 49,458 98

50,000-99,999 48,427 98

100,000-249,999 51,419 97

250,000-499,999 34,205 93

500,000-999,999 47,895 96

1,000,000 or more 98,808 98

 All sizes 453,658 97%

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, 2000
Gender and race of officers

Of the 440,920 full-time sworn personnel

in local police departments as of June

2000, an estimated 10.6% were women

(table 7). The percentage of female

officers ranged from 16.5% in departments serving a population of 500,000

or more to about 4% of the officers in

jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500

residents. 

In 2000, an estimated 22.6% of fulltime local police officers were members

of a racial or ethnic minority. Minority

officers comprised more than a third of

the total in jurisdictions with 500,000 or

more residents.

Blacks or African Americans accounted

for 11.7% of all local police officers in

2000. Black employment was highest

among departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 (25.2%).

An estimated 8.3% of local police

officers nationwide were Hispanic or

Latino, with the highest representation

among departments serving a population of 1 million or more (17.3%).

In 2000 the estimated 46,659 female

officers represented an increase of

about 17,300, or 59%, from 1990.

During this time female representation

among local police officers increased

from 8.1% to 10.6% (figure 2).

The number of local police officers who

were members of a racial or ethnic

minority in 2000 (99,591) represented

an increase of about 38,000, or 61%,

over 1990 levels. From 1990 to 2000,

minority representation in local police

departments increased from 17.0% to

22.7%.

The estimated 51,363 full-time black or

African American local police officers

employed in 2000 represented an

increase of about 13,300, or 35%,

compared to 1990. This resulted in an 

increase in the percentage of officers

who were black from 10.5% to 11.7%.

An estimated 36,442 Hispanic or Latino

officers were employed by local police

departments in 2000. This was about

17,600, or 93%, more than in 1990.

From 1990 to 2000, the percentage of

local police officers who were Hispanic

or Latino rose from 5.2% to 8.3%. 

From 1990 to 2000 representation by

other minority groups such as Asians,

Pacific Islanders, and American Indians

increased by 150% to about 11,800

officers. These groups comprised 2.7%

of local police officers in 2000

compared to 1.3% in 1990.

4 Local Police Departments 2000

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 96.1 3.9 87.9 84.7 3.2 5.8 5.5 0.3 3.1 3.0 0.1 3.2 2.9 0.3

2,500-9,999 100 94.5 5.5 90.1 85.5 4.6 4.5 4.1 0.4 3.9 3.5 0.4 1.5 1.4 0.1

10,000-24,999 100 94.3 5.7 90.6 85.8 4.8 4.6 4.1 0.5 3.4 3.2 0.2 1.4 1.2 0.2

25,000-49,999 100 93.0 7.0 87.8 82.1 5.7 6.1 5.2 0.8 4.6 4.2 0.4 1.5 1.4 0.1

50,000-99,999 100 91.8 8.2 85.2 78.8 6.4 7.3 6.1 1.1 5.7 5.2 0.5 1.8 1.7 0.1

100,000-249,999 100 89.3 10.7 76.2 68.7 7.5 12.2 10.1 2.1 8.0 7.2 0.7 3.7 3.3 0.4

250,000-499,999 100 85.8 14.2 67.9 59.1 8.8 19.0 15.0 4.0 10.7 9.5 1.1 2.4 2.2 0.3

500,000-999,999 100 84.5 15.5 62.4 54.7 7.7 25.2 18.6 6.5 6.8 6.0 0.8 5.6 5.1 0.5

1,000,000 or more 100% 83.5% 16.5% 63.5% 55.7% 7.8% 16.1% 11.0% 5.1% 17.3% 14.2% 3.1% 3.1% 2.6% 0.4%

 All sizes 100% 89.4% 10.6% 77.4% 70.9% 6.5% 11.7% 9.0% 2.7% 8.3% 7.2% 1.1% 2.7% 2.4% 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 7. Gender and race of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000 

Figure 2

1990

2000

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

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

Female and minority local police officers, 1990 and 2000

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

2000 1990

Female All minorities Black Hispanic Other*
Screening of officer applicants 

Local police departments employed a

variety of screening methods when

hiring new officers. Nearly all used

personal interviews (96%), and a

majority used medical exams (81%),

drug tests (67%), and psychological

evaluations (61%) (table 8). 

Among departments serving 25,000 

or more residents, about 8 in 10 used

physical agility tests and written

aptitude tests. More than half the

departments in these population

categories used personality inventories

and polygraph exams.

In addition to interviews, tests, and

examinations, nearly all departments

screened recruits through background

investigations (96%), criminal record

checks (96%), and driving record

checks (93%) (table 9). About half

conducted credit record checks (48%).

Nearly all local police officers were

employed by departments that screened

recruits with criminal record checks

(99%), background investigations

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

personal interviews (97%), and medical

exams (96%) (figure 3). About 7 in 8

were employed by departments that

used psychological evaluations (88%)

and drug tests (88%). About 3 in 4

worked for departments that used

physical agility tests (77%), aptitude

tests (76%), and credit checks (75%).

 Local Police Departments 2000 5

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

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 94 65 52 41 24 21 20 7 -- --

2,500-9,999 96 87 74 65 48 48 29 23 1 1

10,000-24,999 98 98 78 86 69 68 45 32 4 --

25,000-49,999 98 99 87 95 81 79 54 50 8 1

50,000-99,999 99 98 87 97 81 78 60 53 8 4

100,000-249,999 95 96 89 94 83 84 62 72 8 4

250,000-499,999 95 100 90 93 90 80 60 80 5 5

500,000-999,999 94 94 85 94 88 91 71 61 12 9

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 93% 87% 73% 47% 73% 0% 7%

All sizes 96% 81% 67% 61% 44% 43% 31% 21% 2% 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 8. Interviews, tests and examinations used in selection of new officer recruits 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

Under 2,500 95 93 89 28 5

2,500-9,999 97 98 96 52 5

10,000-24,999 98 99 96 73 10

25,000-49,999 99 99 99 76 7

50,000-99,999 99 100 100 80 9

100,000-249,999 99 99 98 79 7

250,000-499,999 98 100 100 93 13

500,000-999,999 94 97 94 85 12

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 87% 20%

All sizes 96% 96% 93% 48% 6%

 Volunteer

 service

 check

 Credit 

 history

 check

 Driving 

 record

 check

 Criminal

 record 

 check

 Background

 investigation

Population

served

Background checks used to select new officer recruits

Table 9. Background checks used in selection of new officer recruits

 in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Local police officers employed by departments using

Screening methods

Polygraph exam

Personality inventory

Credit history check

Written aptitude test

Physical agility test

Drug test

Psychological evaluation

Medical exam

Personal interview

Driving record check

Background investigation

Criminal record check

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

Percent of local police officers employed

various recruit screening methods, 2000

Figure 3
Education and training requirements

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

for new officer recruits (table 10). The

typical minimum requirement was a

high school diploma (83%). Fifteen

percent of departments had some type

of college requirement, usually a 2-year

degree (8%). Just 1% required new

recruits to have a 4-year college degree.

The percentage of officers employed by

a department with some type of college

requirement for new officers in 2000

(32%) was about 3 times that of 1990

(10%) (figure 4). From 1990 to 2000,

the percentage of officers employed by

a department with a degree requirement increased from 3% to 9%.

In 2000 new local police recruits were

required to complete an average of

about 1,600 hours of academy and field

training in departments serving 100,000

or more residents, compared to about

800 hours in those serving a population

of less than 2,500 (table 11). On

average, about 70% of these training

hours were State mandated, with the

remainder a departmental requirement.

The average annual in-service training

requirement for non-probationary

officers was 73 hours, including 26 

State-mandated hours (table 12).

Overall, just 4% of departments operated

a training academy; however, nearly all

of those serving a population of

250,000 or more did so. Nationwide, 

47% of all officers were employed by a

department that operated an academy.

6 Local Police Departments 2000

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

*Non-degree requirements.

--Less than 0.5%

Under 2,500 97 86 4 6 --

2,500-9,999 99 85 4 9 1

10,000-24,999 99 78 8 12 1

25,000-49,999 99 73 11 13 2

50,000-99,999 99 65 17 16 1

100,000-249,999 99 71 18 9 2

250,000-499,999 98 65 18 10 5

500,000-999,999 100 71 18 6 6

1,000,000 or more 100% 67% 33% 0% 0%

 All sizes 98% 83% 6% 8% 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:

Table 10. Minimum educational requirement for new officers

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Figure 4

Under 2,500 25 20

2,500-9,999 27 77

10,000-24,999 27 28

25,000-49,999 27 34

50,000-99,999 28 34

100,000-249,999 23 30

250,000-499,999 21 24

500,000-999,999 28 15

1,000,000 or more 24 16

All sizes 26 47

Other 

StatemandatedPopulation 

served

Average number of

hours required annually

Table 12. Annual in-service training

requirements for non-probationary

officers in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 1

2,500-9,999 3

10,000-24,999 5

25,000-49,999 6

50,000-99,999 18

100,000-249,999 46

250,000-499,999 88

500,000-999,999 91

1,000,000 or more 100%

All sizes 4%

 Percent with

 training academy

Population

served

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

Under 2,500 532 469 63 244 153 91

2,500-9,999 611 514 97 389 235 154

10,000-24,999 751 574 177 537 297 240

25,000-49,999 763 586 177 680 334 346

50,000-99,999 790 604 186 689 414 275

100,000-249,999 853 601 252 757 425 322

250,000-499,999 991 577 414 659 336 323

500,000-999,999 950 586 364 784 425 359

1,000,000 or more 1,051 564 487 534 189 345

All sizes 637 514 123 417 228 189

Other

required

StateTotal mandatedOther

required

StateTotal mandatedPopulation 

served

Academy Field

Average number of hours required

Table 11. Training requirements for new officer recruits in local police

departments, by size of population served, 2000

requirement

2000

Minimum education requirement

*Nondegree requirements only.

Local police officers in departments with a college

Percent of local police officers employed

1990

education requirement for new recruits, 1990 and 2000

Some college*

2-year degree

4-year degree

Any college

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

2000

1990
Budget and pay

Operating budgets

The total operating budget of local

police departments during fiscal 2000

was about $36.7 billion, 78% more than

in 1990 (table 13). Controlling for inflation, the net increase in total budget

was 33%. (These figures do not

include budgets for capital expenditures such as equipment purchases or

construction projects.) Local police

departments accounted for 56% of the

$65.7 billion in total operating budgets

for State and local law enforcement

agencies during fiscal 2000. 

Nationwide, operating budgets were

about $2.9 million per department for

fiscal 2000, ranging from about $553

million for departments serving a

population of 1 million or more, to

$195,000 among those serving fewer

than 2,500 residents. 

The overall operating cost per resident

was $179, with departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or

more costing the most to operate, $262

per resident. Departments serving a

population of 2,500 to 9,999 had the

lowest per resident cost — $142. 

Nationwide, local police departments

cost an estimated $80,600 per sworn

officer to operate for fiscal 2000,

ranging from $96,100 per officer in

jurisdictions with a population of

250,000 to 499,999, to $42,300 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 $61,400 per

employee for the year. Operating costs

ranged from more than $69,000 per

employee in jurisdictions with 250,000

to 999,999 residents to about $35,800

per employee in those with fewer than

2,500 residents. 

After controlling for inflation, per officer

operating costs for 2000 were $7,100,

or 9.7%, higher than in 1990 (figure 5).

The largest increase, from $73,400 to

$90,500, was recorded in jurisdictions

with 50,000 to 249,999 residents. The

smallest increase, from $46,200 to

$53,400, was in jurisdictions with under

10,000 residents. 

 Local Police Departments 2000 7

Under 10,000

10,000-49,999

50,000-249,999

250,000 or more

All sizes

Annual per officer operating costs of local police departments, 1990 and 2000

Population served

Annual operating costs per officer in 2000 dollars

2000

1990

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

Figure 5

Other 4.6 3.1

State police 6.7 5.0

Sheriff 17.7 12.2

Local police $36.7 $27.6

 Total $65.7 $47.8

2000 1990

Agency operating

expenditures (in billions)

Note: Figures are for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, 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 1,045,859,000 195,000 42,300 35,800 156

2,500-9,999 3,005,089,000 744,000 58,800 47,100 142

10,000-24,999 4,258,348,000 2,297,000 72,100 55,300 146

25,000-49,999 4,106,538,000 5,278,000 83,500 63,800 152

50,000-99,999 4,194,379,000 11,009,000 88,700 66,700 159

100,000-249,999 4,562,209,000 26,525,000 92,300 67,500 175

250,000-499,999 3,065,187,000 76,630,000 96,100 69,800 216

500,000-999,999 4,167,422,000 122,571,000 90,500 69,400 180

1,000,000 or more $8,287,504,000 $552,500,000 $85,700 $64,300 $262

 All sizes $36,692,534,000 $2,896,000 $80,600 $61,400 $179

 Per 

 resident

 Per 

 employee

 Per 

 sworn officer

 Per 

Total agency

Population

served

Operating budget, 2000

Table 13. Operating budget of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000
Salaries

The overall average base starting

salary for local police chiefs was

$43,700 in 2000 (table 14). Average

starting salaries for chiefs ranged from

$104,400 in jurisdictions with 1 million

or more residents to $30,200 in those

with a population under 2,500.

Salaries for first-line supervisors

(sergeant or equivalent) increased with

jurisdiction size in a pattern similar to

that for entry-level officers. Overall, the

average starting salary for sergeants

was $35,100, ranging from $53,700 

in the largest jurisdictions to $26,000 

in the smallest. When size of department is considered, the average

minimum salary earned by local police

sergeants was an estimated $46,900.

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

officers in 2000 was $25,500. Starting

salaries ranged from $20,900 in jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500 residents

to more than $34,000 in those with a

population of 50,000 to 499,999. When

size of department is factored in, it is

estimated that new entry-level local

police officers started at an average

salary of about $31,700 during 2000. 

From 1990 to 2000 average starting

salaries increased 35% for entry-level

officers from $18,900 to $25,500.

However, after controlling for inflation,

the increase was 0.8%. By population

category, the largest increase was in

jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents, where salaries rose an

average of 30.7% after adjusting for

inflation, from $17,791 to $23,254

(figure 6). 

Smaller increases occurred in jurisdictions with 50,000 to 249,999 residents,

from $31,841 to $34,276 (7.6%); and

jurisdictions with 10,000 to 49,999

residents, from $29,568 to $30,624

(3.4%). In jurisdictions with 250,000 or

more residents, starting salaries for

officers declined 0.8%, from $34,124 

to $33,867.

Special pay

Nationwide, 38% of local police departments, employing 58% of all officers,

offered tuition reimbursement to

officers (table 15). This included a

majority of departments serving 10,000

or more residents. 

An estimated 30% of departments

offered education incentive pay to

qualifying officers, including a majority

of those serving a population of 10,000

or more. About half (49%) of all local

police officers worked for a department

that offered this type of incentive pay.

Twenty-one percent of local police

departments, employing 30% of all

local police officers, offered merit pay

to qualifying sworn personnel.

Nineteen percent of departments

offered shift differential pay to full-time

officers. This included a majority of the

departments serving a population of

250,000 or more. Nationwide, 49% of

local police officers were employed by

a department with shift differential pay.

Twelve percent of departments offered

special skills pay, including two-thirds

of departments serving a population of

1 million or more and about two-fifths of

departments serving a population of

50,000 to 999,999. Overall, 31% of

local police officers worked in a department that offered special skills pay.

8 Local Police Departments 2000

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 20,900 22,900 26,000 29,200 30,200 32,600

2,500-9,999 25,900 30,900 34,200 38,200 43,300 48,700

10,000-24,999 29,700 36,600 41,800 46,700 58,000 65,800

25,000-49,999 32,800 42,500 46,700 54,000 70,100 82,200

50,000-99,999 34,100 44,300 49,800 57,300 78,300 92,700

100,000-249,999 34,700 46,800 49,100 58,900 84,400 104,300

250,000-499,999 34,200 48,400 49,000 59,400 85,000 111,600

500,000-999,999 33,400 47,500 50,000 59,000 99,600 116,000

1,000,000 or more $33,900 $51,300 $53,700 $65,300 $104,400 $136,400

 All sizes $25,500 $30,300 $35,100 $39,600 $43,700 $49,200

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

Chief

Sergeant or

Population Entry-level officer equivalent

served

 Average base annual salary, 2000

Table 14. Average base annual salary for selected positions 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Figure 6

Average starting salary in 2000 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, 1990 and 2000

2000

1990

$0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000
Hazardous duty pay was available in

4% of all local police departments,

employing 22% of all officers. About

half of the departments serving a

population of 500,000 or more offered

this type of pay.

Work-related policies

Forty-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 69% of all

officers, had a written policy on the

maximum number of hours that officers

can work (table 16). About threefourths of departments serving a

population of 500,000 or more

residents maintained such a policy,

compared to about a third of those

serving a population of less than 2,500.

Seventy-eight percent of departments,

employing 94% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to off-duty

employment by officers. More than

90% of departments serving 10,000 or

residents or more had such a policy. 

Unions and collective bargaining

Nationwide, 40% of all local police

departments, employing 72% of all 

officers, authorized collective bargaining

for sworn personnel (table 17). At least

65% of the departments in each

population category of 10,000 or more

authorized collective bargaining for

officers. 

Nonsworn personnel in local police

departments were less likely to have

collective bargaining rights than sworn

employees. Overall, 20% of local

police departments, employing 57% 

of all nonsworn local police personnel,

authorized collective bargaining for

civilian employees.

The average starting salary for entrylevel officers was about $8,000 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 7). In 

jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents the difference was about

$6,200, 10,000 to 49,999 residents,

$6,400; 50,000 to 249,999 residents,

$6,300; and 250,000 or more

residents, $1,500.

 Local Police Departments 2000 9

Under 2,500 34 61

2,500-9999 53 85

10,000-24,999 62 93

25,000-49,999 66 94

50,000-99,999 65 98

100,000-249,999 68 99

250,000-499,999 68 100

500,000-999,999 78 97

1,000,000 or more 73 100

 All sizes 48% 78%

Off-duty

employment

Maximum

work hours

Population

served

Percent of agencies 

with written policy 

directive pertaining to —

Table 16. Work-related policy 

directives maintained by local

police departments, by size of

population served, 2000

Under 2,500 15 3

2,500-9,999 47 17

10,000-24,999 72 46

25,000-49,999 71 54

50,000-99,999 77 63

100,000-249,999 66 58

250,000-499,999 65 52

500,000-999,999 74 61

1,000,000 or more 87 67

 All sizes 40% 20%

 Civilian 

 employees

 Sworn

 employees

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

authorizing collective

bargaining for —

Table 17. Collective bargaining

authorized by local police 

departments, by size of population

served, 2000

Under 2,500 19 8 13 5 2 0

2,500-9,999 40 33 23 20 11 2

10,000-24,999 58 58 24 36 24 8

25,000-49,999 67 65 37 36 33 8

50,000-99,999 75 67 32 42 37 16

100,000-249,999 78 70 37 45 40 32

250,000-499,999 83 63 43 72 43 40

500,000-999,999 66 39 30 60 40 48

1,000,000 or more 73% 60% 40% 73% 67% 53%

 All sizes 38% 30% 21% 19% 12% 4%

 

 Hazardous

 duty

 Special 

 skills

 Shift 

Merit differential 

 Education 

 incentive

 Tuition 

 reimbur-

 sement 

Population

served

Percent of agencies authorizing pay for —

Table 15. Local police departments authorizing special pay 

for full-time sworn personnel by size of population served 2000

Figure 7

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Average starting salary

Population served

Collective bargaining authorized

No collective bargaining

Base starting salaries for entry-level officers in local police

departments authorizing and not authorizing

bargaining for sworn personnel, 2000
Patrol and response

In 2000 all local police departments

used automobiles to provide routine

patrol services in their jurisdiction (table

18). In addition, 62% of all departments used foot patrol units on a

routine basis. This included 86% of

those serving a population of 250,000

or more. Departments with routine foot

patrol employed 75% of all officers.

More than 9 in 10 departments serving

100,000 or more residents had routine

bike patrols, as did about three-fourths

of the departments serving 10,000 to

99,999 residents. Overall, 43% of

departments, employing 83% of all

officers, used bicycle patrol units on a

routine basis. 

The percentage of departments using

foot and bicycle patrols has increased

since 1997, when 50% of local departments reported using foot patrols, and

28% reported using bicycle patrols

(figure 8). From 1997 to 2000, the

percentage of departments using one

or both of these patrol types increased

from 60% to 74%.

Overall, just 12% of departments used

motorcycle patrol on a routine basis

during 2000. However, 88% of those

serving 100,000 or more residents did

so. Departments using motorcycle

patrols employed 58% of all officers. 

Few departments routinely scheduled

marine (3%) or horse (2%) patrol units.

However, more than half of the departments serving 500,000 or more

residents used these types of patrol.

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

calls for service (table 19). Nearly half

of all departments dispatched calls as

well. This included all departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more, about 9 in 10 departments

serving a population of 250,000 to

999,999, and about 8 in 10 departments

serving a population of 10,000 to 249,999.

9-1-1 emergency telephone system

In 2000, 89% of local police departments

participated in an emergency telephone

system whereby one of their units could

be dispatched as a result of a call to

9-1-1 or its equivalent (table 20). At

least 9 in 10 departments in each

population category of 2,500 or more

were 9-1-1 participants, including all of

those serving 250,000 or more residents.

10 Local Police Departments 2000

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 100 61 17 1 2 --

2,500-9,999 100 64 51 6 2 1

10,000-24,999 100 59 71 18 5 1

25,000-49,999 100 58 79 48 6 3

50,000-99,999 100 65 84 65 11 9

100,000-249,999 100 65 91 88 13 26

250,000-499,999 100 93 98 88 30 63

500,000-999,999 100 78 97 91 56 53

1,000,000 or more 100% 87% 93% 87% 53% 67%

 All sizes 100% 62% 43% 12% 3% 2%

 Marine Horse

 MotorFoot Bicycle cycle Auto-

 mobile

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each

type of patrol on a routine basis

Table 18. Types of patrol used on a routine basis by local

police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Figure 8

a

Rounded from 99.8%.

b

Rounded from 99.9%.

DRounded from 99.7%.

100 25 c Under 2,500

100 54 b 2,500-9999

10,000-24,999 100 77

25,000-49,999 100 79

50,000-99,999 100 78

100,000-249,999 100 82

250,000-499,999 100 90

500,000-999,999 100 88

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 100%a 48%

Dispatching

calls for

service

Responding

to calls

for service

Population

served

 Percent of agencies

Table 19. Calls for service functions

of local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2000

Either type

Foot patrol

Bicycle patrol

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Local police departments using foot

Percent of agencies

2000

1997

 and bicycle patrols, 1997 and 2000

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 83 59 24

2,500-9,999 90 73 17

10,000-24,999 98 88 10

25,000-49,999 98 90 8

50,000-99,999 99 91 9

100,000-249,999 97 92 8

250,000-499,999 100 98 3

500,000-999,999 100 100 0

1,000,000 or more 100% 93% 7%

 All sizes 89% 71% 18%

Total Enhanced Basic

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

served

Table 20. Participation in a 9-1-1

emergency telephone system 

by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000
About 7 in 10 local police departments

had enhanced 9-1-1 systems, capable

of automatically displaying information

such as a caller’s phone number,

address, and special needs. This

included approximately 9 in 10 departments serving a population of 10,000

or more. About three-fifths of departments in jurisdictions with fewer than

2,500 residents had enhanced 9-1-1.

The 89% participation rate in 9-1-1

during 2000 was a substantial increase

from 1990 when 48% of departments

were 9-1-1 participants (figure 9). In

2000, 98% of all local police officers

worked for departments with 9-1-1.

The 71% of departments participating

in an enhanced 9-1-1 system in 2000

also represented a large increase over

1990 when 18% were participants. In

2000, 90% of local police officers were

employed by a department with

enhanced 9-1-1.

Among existing local police 9-1-1

systems, there were about twice as

many with enhanced capabilities in

2000 (80%) as in 1990 (38%). The

percent of systems that were enhanced

was up significantly in all population

categories (see cover graph). In jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000

residents, the percent of systems with

enhanced capabilities went from 28%

in 1990 to 75% in 2000; 10,000 to

49,999 residents, from 53% to 90%;

50,000 to 249,999 residents, from 63%

to 92%; 250,000 or more residents,

from 74% to 98%.

Crime investigation

Overall, 93% of local police departments regularly investigated at least

some types of crimes during the

12-month period ending June 30,

2000. Fifty-eight percent handled

homicide investigations (table 21).

This included all departments

serving 250,000 or more residents

and more than 9 in 10 departments

serving a population of 25,000 to

249,999. 

Sixty-one percent of all departments

conducted arson investigations. This

included more than four-fifths of the

departments serving 10,000 to 99,999

residents and more than two-thirds of

those serving 100,000 or more

residents.

Drug enforcement activities

About 9 in 10 local police departments

regularly performed drug enforcement

functions (table 22). More than 90% 

of the departments in each population

category of 2,500 or more had drug

enforcement responsibilities, including

all of those serving 100,000 or more

residents. Departments with drug

enforcement responsibilities employed

98% of all local police officers.

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

enforcement with one or more officers

assigned full-time (table 23). All

departments serving 1 million or more

residents had a full-time drug enforcement unit, as did the majority of those

serving a population of 50,000 to

999,999, and nearly half of those

serving 25,000 to 49,999 residents. 

There were an estimated 13,644 local

police officers assigned full time to

drug enforcement units nationwide.

The average number of officers assigned

ranged from 335 in jurisdictions with 1

million or more residents to 1 in those

with fewer than 10,000 residents.

 Local Police Departments 2000 11

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percent of agencies

Type of 9-1-1 systems

1990

2000

Any Enhanced Basic

Local police departments

emergency telephone

participating in a 9-1-1

system, 1990 and 2000

Under 2,500 39 43

2,500-9,999 60 66

10,000-24,999 77 82

25,000-49,999 92 90

50,000-99,999 97 86

100,000-249,999 99 74

250,000-499,999 100 68

500,000-999,999 100 65

1,000,000 or more 100% 67%

All sizes 58% 61%

Homicide Arson

Percent of 

Population agencies investigating —

served

Table 21. Homicide and arson 

investigation in local police 

departments, by size of population

served, 2000

Figure 9

Under 2,500 84

2,500-9,999 94

10,000-24,999 97

25,000-49,999 99

50,000-99,999 99

100,000-249,999 100

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 22. Drug enforcement in local

police departments, by size of

population served, 2000

*Excludes agencies not having a 

unit with full-time officers.

Under 2,500 4 263 1

2,500-9,999 10 552 1

10,000-24,999 24 902 2

25,000-49,999 44 1,091 3

50,000-99,999 67 1,615 6

100,000-249,999 79 1,678 12

250,000-499,999 93 1,008 27

500,000-999,999 82 1,494 53

1,000,000 or more 100% 5,044 335

 All sizes 15% 13,644 7

 Total Average*

Number of 

full-time officers

Percent 

of

agencies

Population

served

 Full-time unit for 

 drug enforcement

Table 23. Special units for drug 

enforcement in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000
Drug task force participation

In 2000 an estimated 21% of local

police departments had one or more

officers assigned full time to a multiagency drug enforcement task force

(table 24). About two-thirds of all local

police officers worked for a department

that assigned officers to a task force. 

Nationwide, about 5,800 local police

officers were assigned full time to a

drug task force. The average number

assigned full time ranged from 35 in

departments serving a population of 1

million or more to about 2 in those

serving fewer than 100,000 residents.

Drug asset forfeiture receipts

Thirty-seven percent of all local police

departments received money, property,

or goods from a drug asset forfeiture

program during 1999 (table 25). These

departments employed 79% of all local

police officers. At least 82% 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 1999

was $5,000. By population category,

the median amount received ranged

from about $1.9 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 $320 million in money goods,

and property during 1999. Including 

both departments with receipts and

those without, this was the equivalent

of $703 per sworn officer employed.

Departments with at least 100 but

fewer than 1,000 full-time officers

received the most — more than $900

per officer (figure 10). Next highest

were departments with 50 to 99 officers

or 1,000 or more officers with about

$800 per officer. Departments with

fewer than 25 officers received the

least -- $178 per officer. 

12 Local Police Departments 2000

*Excludes agencies not having officers assigned full time.

Under 2,500 24576

2,500-9,999 198416

10,000-24,999 36 1,155 2

25,000-49,999 65 2892

50,000-99,999 78 2673

100,000-249,999 84 4614

250,000-499,999 726590

500,000-999,999 928188

87%1,000,000 or more 455 35

 All sizes 21% 25,778

Total Average*

Population

served

Number of officers

assigned full time

Percent of

agencies

participating

Multi-agency drug enforcement task force

Table 24. Participation by local police departments 

in multi-agency drug enforcement task forces, 

by size of population served, 2000

Note: Computation of median and per officer receipts exclude agencies 

that did not have drug asset forfeiture receipts. 

*During calendar year 1999.

Under 2,500 17 3,230,500 2,000

2,500-9,999 3,50011,298,40036

10,000-24,999 31,473,70060 7,900

25,000-49,999 20,00052,290,20082

50,000-99,999 49,80038,275,70086

100,000-249,999 95 36,189,300 136,200

250,000-499,999 100 39,105,300 453,100

500,000-999,999 29,003,40097 607,500

100%1,000,000 or more $79,172,800 $1,882,500

 All sizes 37% $320,039,300 $5,000

Total Median

Value of money, goods, 

and property received

Percent of 

agencies with

receipts*

Population 

served

Table 25. Drug asset forfeiture program receipts of local police

departments, by size of population served, 1999

Figure 10 

Under 25

25-49

50-99

100-249

250-999

1,000 or more

departments, by size of agency, 1999

Drug receipts per sworn officer*

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

Number of full-time

sworn personnel

$0 $250 $500 $750 $1,000 $1,250 $1,500

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of local police
Court-related functions

Although 90% of local police departments executed arrest warrants, just

30% provided court security and 21%

served civil process (table 26). 

Departments handling court security

employed 29% of all officers and 

those serving civil process, 24%.

Detention-related functions

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

2000 (table 27). No more than 35% 

of the departments in any population

category were operating a jail, and just

6% of the departments in jurisdictions

with fewer than 2,500 residents

operated one. Twenty-seven percent

of all local police officers worked for 

a department with a jail.

Twenty-six percent of departments

operated at least one temporary

holding (lockup) facility for adults that

was separate from a jail (table 28). 

The median maximum holding time 

for these facilities was 12 hours. 

The median total capacity of adult

lockups ranged from 100 in jurisdictions

with 250,000 to 499,999 residents to 3

in those with fewer than 10,000

residents. The total adult capacity of

local police lockups nationwide was

about 25,500.

Thirteen percent of departments had a

lockup facility for juveniles. The

median capacity of juvenile lockups

ranged from 15 in jurisdictions with

500,000 to 999,999 residents to 2 in

those with fewer than 50,000 residents.

Nationwide local police lockups for

juveniles had a total capacity of about

4,600 with a median maximum holding

time of 6 hours. 

Special operations functions

An estimated 30% of local police

departments, employing 53% of all

officers, performed search and rescue

operations on a regular basis during

2000 (table 29). A majority of departments serving a population of 250,000

or more performed this function,

compared to about a third of those

serving fewer than 100,000 residents.

Twenty-two percent of departments

performed tactical operations, utilizing

what are commonly known as SWAT

(Special Weapons and Tactics) teams.

These departments employed 72% of

all local police officers. All departments serving a population of 250,000

or more performed tactical operations,

and a large majority of those serving a

population of 50,000 to 249,999 did so

as well.

 Local Police Departments 2000 13

Under 2,500 87 30 29

2,500-9,999 89 32 15

10,000-24,999 96 34 15

25,000-49,999 97 30 17

50,000-99,999 95 26 13

100,000-249,999 94 20 18

250,000-499,999 93 15 13

500,000-999,999 94 18 18

1,000,000 or more 93% 33% 27%

All sizes 90% 30% 21%

Serving 

civil

process

Providing

court

security

Executing

arrest

warrants

Population 

served

Percent of agencies —

Table 26. Court-related functions of local

police departments, by size of population

served, 2000

Under 2,500 6

2,500-9,999 13

10,000-24,999 23

25,000-49,999 32

50,000-99,999 35

100,000-249,999 35

250,000-499,999 32

500,000-999,999 9

1,000,000 or more 27%

 All sizes 14%

Percent of agencies

operating 1 or 

more jails

Population 

served

Table 27. Jail facilities operated

by local police departments, by

size of population served, 2000

Note: Median capacity is based on total for all lockups, 

and excludes departments not operating a facility.

Under 2,500 9 3 2 2

2,500-9,999 26 3 13 2

10,000-24,999 53 4 30 2

25,000-49,999 61 6 40 2

50,000-99,999 57 12 32 3

100,000-249,999 45 24 32 4

250,000-499,999 43 100 25 10

500,000-999,999 44 37 33 15

1,000,000 or more 53% 77 33% 12

 All sizes 26% 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 28. Temporary holding (lockup) facilities operated by local 

police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 28 5

2,500-9,999 28 16

10,000-24,999 36 44

25,000-49,999 38 59

50,000-99,999 34 84

100,000-249,999 45 95

250,000-499,999 63 100

500,000-999,999 80 100

1,000,000 or more 73% 100%

 All sizes 30% 22%

Tactical 

operations

(SWAT)

Search 

and 

rescue

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

routinely performing —

Table 29. Special operations

functions of local police departments,

by size of population served, 2000
Community policing

Community policing promotes organizational strategies to address the

causes and reduce the fear of crime

and social disorder through problemsolving tactics and community partnerships. A fundamental shift from traditional reactive policing, community

policing stresses the prevention of

crime before it occurs. The implementation of a community policing plan

supports and empowers front-line

officers, decentralizes command, and

encourages innovative problem solving.

In 2000, 18% of local police departments,

employing 52% of all local police

officers, had a formally written community policing plan (table 30). More than

three-fifths of departments serving

100,000 or more residents had a formal

plan, as did about half of those serving

a population of 50,000 to 99,999. 

In all population categories, a majority

of departments had either a formal,

written community policing plan or an

informal, unwritten plan (figure 11).

Departments serving a population of

less than 50,000 were more likely to

have an informal, unwritten plan than a

formal, written one. Overall, 90% of local

police officers worked for a department

with some type of community policing

plan.

Community policing training

During the year ending June 30, 2000,

51% of local police departments,

employing 84% 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 31). 

Thirty-eight percent of departments,

employing 75% of all officers, trained all

new recruits in community policing. The

proportion of departments that trained

all recruits ranged from nearly 8 in 10

among those serving 50,000 or more

residents to 2 in 10 among those

serving fewer than 2,500 residents.

Fifty-nine percent of departments,

employing 59% of officers, trained at

least some in-service officers during the

1-year period. Twenty-one percent of

departments, employing 25% of all

officers, trained all in-service officers in

community policing.

Fifteen percent of departments,

employing 32% of nonsworn local

police employees, trained at least some

civilian employees in community policing

during the 1-year period. This included

about half of the departments serving a

population of 50,000 to 249,999. 

14 Local Police Departments 2000

Under 2,500 9 46

2,500-9,999 16 56

10,000-24,999 26 55

25,000-49,999 41 50

50,000-99,999 49 44

100,000-249,999 61 32

250,000-499,999 70 30

500,000-999,999 68 22

1,000,000 or more 60% 40%

 All sizes 18% 50%

Informal,

unwritten

Formal,

written 

Population 

served

Percent of agencies

with community 

policing plan

Table 30. Local police departments

with a community policing plan, 

by size of population served, 2000

Figure 11

*During 1-year period ending June 30, 2000.

Under 2,500 7 2 5

2,500-9,999 15 5 10

10,000-24,999 24 6 18

25,000-49,999 36 9 27

50,000-99,999 45 11 34

100,000-249,999 50 10 40

250,000-499,999 38 3 35

500,000-999,999 31 9 22

1,000,000 or more 34% 7% 27%

 All sizes 15% 4% 11%

Civilian personnel

Under 2,500 42 21 21

2,500-9,999 62 20 42

10,000-24,999 78 17 61

25,000-49,999 83 27 56

50,000-99,999 87 33 54

100,000-249,999 84 28 56

250,000-499,999 83 28 55

500,000-999,999 71 34 37

1,000,000 or more 87% 27% 60%

 All sizes 59% 21% 38%

In-service sworn personnel

Under 2,500 32 21 11

2,500-9,999 54 40 14

10,000-24,999 70 53 17

25,000-49,999 81 67 14

50,000-99,999 87 75 12

100,000-249,999 86 77 9

250,000-499,999 95 85 10

500,000-999,999 90 90 0

1,000,000 or more 87% 80% 7%

 All sizes 51% 38% 13%

New officer recruits

Total All Some

Percent of agencies 

that trained personnel 

for 8 or more hours in 

Population community policing 

served

Table 31. Community policing 

training in local police departments,

by size of population served, 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Population served

Percent of agencies

Community policing plans of local police departments, 2000

None

Formal, written

Informal,unwritten
Community policing personnel

Overall, 66% of departments, employing 86% of all officers, had full-time

sworn personnel serving as community

policing officers (table 32). In some

jurisdictions, these officers may be

known as community relations officers,

community resource officers, or some

other name indicative of the community

policing approach they employed.

Nationwide, local police departments

employed about 103,000 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 2,208 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 was

greater in 2000 than in 1997 (figure

12). In jurisdictions with fewer than

10,000 residents, the percentage rose

from 26% to 62%; in those with 10,000

to 49,999 residents, from 57% to 75%;

in those with 50,000 to 249,999

residents, from 76% to 93%; and in

those with 250,000 or more residents,

from 75% to 92%.

An estimated 44% of local police

departments, employing 74% of all

local police officers, had full-time sworn

personnel assigned as school resource

officers during 2000 (table 33). A

majority of departments serving a

population of 10,000 or more used

school resource officers, including

more than 80% of those in jurisdictions

with 25,000 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. 

Overall, local police departments had

nearly 14,000 full-time sworn personnel

assigned as school resource officers

as of June 2000. The average number

of school resource officers ranged from

85 in departments serving 1 million or

more residents, to 2 in those serving

fewer than 25,000 residents.

 Local Police Departments 2000 15

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time community policing officers.

Under 2,500 60 8,370 3

2,500-9,999 63 12,745 5

10,000-24,999 72 9,184 7

25,000-49,999 83 7,854 12

50,000-99,999 93 7,167 20

100,000-249,999 94 8,580 53

250,000-499,999 95 6,866 180

500,000-999,999 85 8,617 297

1,000,000 or more 100% 33,214 2,208

 All sizes 66% 102,598 12

Average

number 

of full-time

sworn*

Total 

number

of officers

Percent 

of agencies

using

Population 

served

Community policing officers

Table 32. Full-time community policing officers in local

police departments, by size of population served, 2000

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time school resource officers.

Under 2,500 25 2,167 2

2,500-9,999 45 3,095 2

10,000-24,999 66 2,127 2

25,000-49,999 82 1,757 3

50,000-99,999 86 1,380 4

100,000-249,999 85 1,193 8

250,000-499,999 85 497 15

500,000-999,999 67 603 26

1,000,000 or more 73% 942 85

 All sizes 44% 13,760 2

Average

number 

of full-time

sworn*

Total

number

of officers

Percent 

of agencies

using

Population

served

School resource officers

Table 33. Full-time school resource officers in local

police departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

Percent of local police departments using full-time

community policing officers, 1997 and 2000

2000

Figure 12
Community-oriented policies 

and programs

Forty percent of local police departments, employing 78% of local police

officers, gave patrol officers responsibility for specific geographic areas or

beats during 2000 (table 34). This

included a majority of the departments

serving a population of 10,000 or more.

Just 9% of departments, employing

46% of all officers, assigned cases to

investigators by geographic area,

although a majority of the departments

serving a population of 100,000 or

more did so.

Thirty-two percent of departments, 

employing 56% of all officers, actively

encouraged patrol officers to become

involved in problem-solving projects.

More than half of the departments

serving 50,000 or more residents had

such a policy, as did half of those

serving 25,000 to 49,999 residents.

Fourteen percent of departments

included problem-solving projects in the

performance evaluation criteria for

patrol officers. This included at least

30% of those in each population

category of 25,000 or more. Departments including problem-solving projects

in performance evaluation criteria

employed 35% of all officers.

Thirty-two percent of departments,

employing 63% of all officers, upgraded

technology during 2000 to support their 

community policing efforts (table 35).

This included a majority of departments serving 25,000 or more

residents, and half of departments

serving 10,000 to 24,999 residents. 

An estimated 18% of departments

enhanced their proactive role in solving

community problems by forming

problem-solving partnerships with

community groups, local agencies, or

others through written agreements.

This included about half of the

departments serving a population of

50,000 or more. Departments forming

partnerships through written agreements employed 39% of all officers.

Seventeen percent of departments,

employing 51% of all officers, offered

training to citizens on community

policing topics such as community

mobilization and problem-solving

during the 12-month period ending

June 30, 2000. A majority of departments serving 50,000 or more

residents offered such training. 

Fifteen percent of all departments,

employing 57% of all officers,

conducted a citizen police academy

during the year ending June 30, 2000.

A majority of departments serving a

population of 50,000 or more

conducted citizen academies during

this period, while fewer than 1 in 10

departments serving a population of

under 10,000 did so. 

About three-quarters of departments,

including more than 90% of those

serving 10,000 or more residents, met

regularly with community groups during

the year ending June 30, 2000. 

Departments holding regular community group meetings employed 94% of

all officers. 

16 Local Police Departments 2000

Under 2,500 23 3 22 8

2,500-9,999 39 9 35 14

10,000-24,999 63 11 34 19

25,000-49,999 77 15 50 30

50,000-99,999 87 27 59 34

100,000-249,999 87 51 70 42

250,000-499,999 95 75 80 40

500,000-999,999 85 70 53 32

1,000,000 or more 93% 80% 73% 47%

 All sizes 40% 9% 32% 14%

 Included in

 evaluation

Actively 

Investigators encouraged

 Patrol 

 officers

Population

served

Patrol officer involvement 

in problem-solving projects

 

Geographic assignments

Table 34. Community-oriented policies for sworn personnel 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 59 16 8 8 2

2,500-9,999 80 33 16 15 9

10,000-24,999 90 50 31 29 28

25,000-49,999 96 57 40 38 49

50,000-99,999 98 66 47 52 69

100,000-249,999 99 70 54 60 82

250,000-499,999 100 68 53 70 80

500,000-999,999 91 61 56 70 70

1,000,000 or more 100% 73% 47% 80% 86%

 All sizes 74% 32% 18% 17% 15%

 

 

 Conducted 

 citizen police 

 academy

Trained

citizens in

community

policing

 Formed

 problem- 

 solving 

 partnerships

Upgraded

technology

to support

community

policing

Community

group

meetings

Population

served

Activities in year ending June 30, 2000

Table 35. Community policing activities of local police departments

by size of population served, 2000
Most departments met with a wide

variety of community groups. Those that

regularly met with neighborhood

associations (77%) and school groups

(76%) employed about three-fourths of

all local police officers (figure 13).

The corresponding percentages for

other types of groups that departments

met with were as follows: business

groups (68%), senior citizen groups

(59%), domestic violence groups

(57%), local public agencies (57%),

advocacy groups (53%), youth service

organizations (52%), religious groups

(48%), and tenants’ associations

(47%).

Twenty-six percent of local police departments, employing 50% of all officers,

surveyed citizens in their jurisdiction

during the year ending June 30, 2000

(table 36). Eighteen percent of departments, employing 44% of all officers,

surveyed citizens’ regarding their satisfaction with police services. A majority

of the departments serving 100,000 to

999,999 conducted this type of survey.

Twelve percent of departments,

employing 37% of all officers, surveyed

citizens regarding their perception of

crime problems; 11%, employing 26%

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

27% of all officers, surveyed citizens

regarding their personal crime

experiences.

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

information to officers (65%), or 

to evaluate program effectiveness

(54%) (figure 14). Other common uses

included prioritizing crime and disorder

problems (47%), formulating agency

policy and procedures (42%), training

development (39%), and allocation of

resources to neighborhoods (35%).

 Local Police Departments 2000 17

Tenants associations

Religious groups

Youth service organizations

Advocacy groups

Local public agencies

Domestic violence groups

Senior citizen groups

Business groups

School groups

Neighborhood associations

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percent of local police officers employed by

Type of group

Groups that local police departments regularly met

departments that met with each type of group

with to address crime-related problems, 2000

Figure 13

Under 2,500 20 11 7 8 3

2,500-9,999 25 17 10 11 6

10,000-24,999 31 23 20 13 9

25,000-49,999 43 36 26 17 14

50,000-99,999 50 42 33 18 19

100,000-249,999 62 56 48 26 28

250,000-499,999 63 55 48 15 30

500,000-999,999 70 59 47 32 38

1,000,000 or more 47% 40% 27% 20% 20%

 All sizes 26% 18% 12% 11% 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, 2000 regarding —

Table 36. Surveying of citizens by local police departments,

by size of population served, 2000

Uses of citizen survey information by local police departments, 2000

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens

Redistrict beats/reporting areas

Allocate resources to neighborhoods

Training development

Formulate agency policy/procedures

Prioritize crime/disorder problems

Evaluating program effectiveness

Provide information to patrol officers

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Figure 14
Equipment

Sidearms

In 2000, 98% of local police departments,

employing 99% of all local police officers,

authorized the use of some type of semiautomatic sidearm (table 37). This

represents a significant increase from

1990 when 73% of departments,

employing 91% of all officers, authorized

semiautomatics. 

In 2000, 75% of departments authorized the .40-caliber semiautomatic.

This represents an increase from 57%

in 1997, the first year for which comparable data are available. Departments

authorizing the .40-caliber in 2000

employed 60% of all officers 

Sixty-seven percent of departments,

employing 75% of all officers, authorized the 9mm. Other semiautomatic

sidearms authorized included the

.45-caliber (54%), the .380-caliber

(38%), and the 10mm (30%). Forty-four

percent of departments authorized the

use of revolvers by officers.

Sixty percent local police departments,

employing 71% of all officers, supplied

regular field officers with their primary

sidearm. Four percent of departments

employing 3% of all officers, provided a

cash allowance. 

Body armor

In 2000, 64% of departments, employing 69% of all officers, required at least

some field officers to wear protective

body armor while on duty (table 38).

Seventy-seven percent of departments,

employing 88% of all officers, supplied

armor to officers and 6% provided a

cash allowance.

The percentage of departments requiring all regular field officers to wear body

armor increased from 24% in 1990 to

56% in 2000. Such an increase was

seen in all population categories (figure

15): Under 10,000 residents, 23% to

56%; 10,000 to 49,999, 27% to 59%;

50,000 to 249,999, 22% to 50%;

250,000 or more from 21% to 45%. 

Nonlethal weapons 

In 2000 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 39). Ninety-one percent of

departments, employing 92% of

officers, authorized the use of pepper

spray. 

Batons were also commonly authorized,

with 88% of all departments allowing

their use. Departments authorizing one

or more types of batons employed 96%

of all officers. Collapsible batons (73%)

were authorized by nearly twice as

many departments as PR-24 (40%) or

traditional (38%) batons.

18 Local Police Departments 2000

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

Under 2,500 96 75 71 57 36 30

2,500-9,999 98 78 64 54 36 31

10,000-24,999 100 74 61 46 38 26

25,000-49,999 100 76 69 53 46 30

50,000-99,999 100 72 74 54 53 31

100,000-249,999 99 68 81 61 57 32

250,000-499,999 100 60 80 53 43 20

500,000-999,999 94 68 83 50 50 21

1,000,000 or more 100% 54% 73% 40% 27% 13%

 All sizes 98% 75% 67% 54% 38% 30%

 Any type .40 9mm .45 .380 10mm

Percent of agencies authorizing 

Population semiautomatic sidearms

served

Table 37. Semiautomatic sidearms authorized for use

by sworn personnel in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 59 52 7

2,500-9,999 68 60 8

10,000-24,999 71 61 10

25,000-49,999 66 54 12

50,000-99,999 66 50 16

100,000-249,999 56 50 6

250,000-499,999 57 42 15

500,000-999,999 75 44 31

1,000,000 or more 67% 53% 14%

 All sizes 64% 56% 8%

Some 

officers

All 

Total officers

Population 

served

Percent of agencies requiring field

officers to wear armor while on duty

Table 38. Body armor requirements for field

officers in local police departments, by size of

population served, 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60%

officers to wear protective armor, 1990 and 2000

Population served

Percent of agencies

1990

2000

Local police departments requiring all regular field

Figure 15
About four-fifths of local police officers

nationwide worked for a department

authorizing collapsible batons (78%)

and about half for one authorizing traditional (55%) or PR-24 (47%) batons. 

Thirteen percent of departments, employing 44% of all officers, authorized

flash/bang grenades. Seven percent of

departments, employing 24% of all

officers, authorized electrical devices

such as stun guns and tasers. This

included 40% of departments serving a

population of 1 million or more.

Seven percent of departments, employing 16% of all officers, authorized the

use of carotid holds, choke holds, or

neck restraints. Departments serving 

1 million or more (40%) were the most

likely to authorize these types of actions.

From 1990 to 2000, 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, 

65% to 97%; 10,000 to 49,999

residents, 59% to 97%; under 10,000,

48% to 89%. In departments serving

250,000 or more residents, the

increase was from 86% to 88%. In

2000, 93% of officers were employed

by a department that authorized chemical agents, compared to 72% in 1990.

Use of force policies

Ninety-three percent of departments,

employing 99% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the use of

deadly force (table 40). All departments

serving 25,000 or more residents, and

nearly all of those serving 2,500 to

9,999 residents, had such a policy. 

Eighty-seven percent of departments,

employing 95% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the use of

nonlethal force. All departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more had this type of policy, as did

more than 9 in 10 departments serving

a population of 2,500 to 999,999. 

 Local Police Departments 2000 19

-- Less than 0.5%. 

a

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

b

Includes neck restraints. 

Under 2,500 87 86 5 5 82 65 36 36 3 4 6 4 2 3 1

2,500-9,999 92 92 3 2 91 79 41 41 8 5 5 7 3 2 0

10,000-24,999 98 97 3 2 95 76 42 33 23 14 8 5 4 2 --

25,000-49,999 95 94 4 3 99 82 51 39 41 23 12 13 9 1 3

50,000-99,999 97 96 4 3 97 83 42 50 58 33 17 19 10 1 2

100,000-249,999 96 95 2 1 98 84 42 53 63 41 21 28 12 2 3

250,000-499,999 88 85 5 0 100 78 45 55 58 25 28 33 13 5 3

500,000-999,999 88 88 9 0 91 77 41 59 41 23 15 18 6 0 3

1,000,000 or more 87% 87% 0% 0% 100% 80% 53% 67% 40% 33% 40% 40% 7% 0% 0%

 All sizes 91% 91% 4% 3% 88% 73% 40% 38% 13% 9% 7% 7% 3% 3% 1%

Capture

net

BlackjackRubber

bullet

Choke/

carotid

holdb

Electrical 

devicesa

Soft

projectile

Flash/

bang

grenade

 

Tradi-

 PR-24 tional 

Collap-

 sible

Any type

listed in 

survey

 

Tear

gas

 

CS

Pepper

spray

Any type

listed in

survey

Population

served

Chemical agents — personal use Batons Other weapons/actions

Percent of agencies authorizing 

Table 39. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for personal use by sworn personnel

 in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

2000

Population served

1990

to use chemical agents, 1990 and 2000

Figure 16

Under 2,500 85 77

2,500-9,999 98 92

10,000-24,999 98 96

25,000-49,999 100 97

50,000-99,999 100 98

100,000-249,999 100 98

250,000-499,999 100 98

500,000-999,999 100 94

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 93% 87%

Nonlethal

force

Deadly 

force 

Population

served

Percent of agencies

with a policy directive

pertaining to use of:

Table 40. Written policy directives

pertaining to officer use of force 

In local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2000
Vehicles

Nationwide, local police departments 

operated an estimated 231,363 cars, or

about 51 cars per 100 sworn personnel 

(table 41). 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. 

It ranged from 51 to 64 cars per 100

officers in other population categories.

About a third of the cars operated by

local police departments were unmarked

(35%). The percentage of cars that

were unmarked ranged from 47% in

jurisdictions with a population of 1

million or more to 14% in jurisdictions

with fewer than 2,500 residents.

In addition to cars, 44% of departments

used other 4-wheel motorized vehicles

such as sport utility vehicles, trucks or

vans (table 42). This included a large

majority of departments in jurisdictions

serving 10,000 or more residents.

Overall, there were about 24,000 such

vehicles operated, or about 5 per 100

sworn personnel employed.

About 1 in 8 departments used motorcycles during 2000, including about 9 in

10 departments serving a population of

100,000 or more. Nationwide, local

police operated about 9,800 motorcycles, or about 2 for every 100 officers

employed. 

Nearly half of all departments were

using bicycles as of June 2000, with a

total of nearly 29,000 nationwide (table

43). 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.

.

20 Local Police Departments 2000

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

Under 2,500 15,400 62 14

2,500-9,999 29,618 58 24

10,000-24,999 33,490 57 32

25,000-49,999 27,372 56 36

50,000-99,999 27,131 57 39

100,000-249,999 31,425 64 42

250,000-499,999 18,421 58 40

500,000-999,999 23,486 51 39

1,000,000 or more 25,018 26 47%

 All sizes 231,363 51 35%

Per 100

Total officers*

Population 

served

Percent of 

cars that

were unmarked

Number of cars

Table 41. Number of cars operated by local police 

departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

--Less than 0.5.

Under 2,500 21 1,754 7 1 99 --

2,500-9,999 46 2,819 6 6 491 1

10,000-24,999 73 3,324 6 20 805 1

25,000-49,999 84 2,399 5 52 1,129 2

50,000-99,999 89 2,177 5 69 1,357 3

100,000-249,999 93 2,367 5 89 1,567 3

250,000-499,999 100 1,691 5 95 1,046 3

500,000-999,999 97 1,985 4 94 1,265 2

1,000,000 or more 100% 5,615 6 93% 2,046 2

 All sizes 44% 24,132 5 13% 9,804 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 42. Number of motorcycles and 4-wheel motorized vehicles other than

cars operated by local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

Under 2,500 18 1,643 7

2,500-9,999 53 5,415 11

10,000-24,999 74 4,993 8

25,000-49,999 86 3,979 8

50,000-99,999 89 3,107 7

100,000-249,999 95 2,552 5

250,000-499,999 98 1,367 4

500,000-999,999 97 1,940 4

1,000,000 or more 93% 3,742 4

 All sizes 45% 28,739 6

Per 100

Total officers*

Population 

served

 Percent Number of bicycles

 of agencies

 using bicycles

Table 43. Number of bicycles operated by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000
Vehicle-related policies

Forty-nine percent of local police

departments, employing 39% of local

police officers, allowed officers to take

marked vehicles home (table 44). The

percentage of departments allowing

officers to take vehicles home

exceeded 60% in jurisdictions with

250,000 to 999,999 residents, and 

in those with a population of less than

2,500.

In a large majority of the departments

that allowed marked vehicles to be

taken home, officers were allowed only

to drive the vehicle to and from work.

Just 10% of departments allowed

officers to operate a marked vehicle for

personal errands, with those serving

100,000 to 999,999 residents the most

likely to have such a policy.

Fifty-seven percent of departments,

employing 74% of all officers, had a

restrictive pursuit driving policy (table

45). This type of policy restricts vehicle

pursuits according to specific criteria

such as type of offense or maximum

speed. 

Twenty-seven percent of departments,

employing 17% of all officers, had a

judgmental pursuit policy, one that

leaves pursuit decisions to the officer’s

discretion. Seven percent of departments, employing 5% of all officers,

discouraged all vehicle pursuits. 

Off-land vehicles

Five percent of local police departments,

employing 38% of all officers, operated

at least one boat during 2000 (table

46). This included about two-thirds of

those serving 500,000 or more

residents. Nationwide, local police

operated nearly 1,100 boats. 

One percent of departments, employing

29% of all officers, used helicopters. A

majority of departments serving 250,000

or more residents did so. There were

an estimated 241 local police helicopters in use nationwide during 2000.

Less than 1% of local police departments

operated any fixed-wing aircraft, with a

total of about 50 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-six percent of local police

departments, employing 72% of all

officers, used dogs for law enforcement

activities (table 47). This included

more than 90% of those serving

100,000 or more residents. Overall,

about 6,900 dogs were maintained by

local police departments in 2000.

About 2% of departments, employing

36% 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 1,400 horses.

 Local Police Departments 2000 21

Under 2,500 9 0

2,500-9,999 25 1

10,000-24,999 44 2

25,000-49,999 63 2

50,000-99,999 80 9

100,000-249,999 90 24

250,000-499,999 98 60

500,000-999,999 91 59

1,000,000 or more 93% 80%

 All sizes 26% 2%

Dogs Horses

Population Percent of agencies with —

served

Table 47. Animals maintained 

by local police departments, by size

of population served, 2000

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 3 0 0

2,500-9,999 3 0 0

10,000-24,999 7 1 0

25,000-49,999 10 1 1

50,000-99,999 17 3 2

100,000-249,999 22 9 2

250,000-499,999 40 52 25

500,000-999,999 71 62 15

1,000,000 or more 67% 86% 47%

 All sizes 5% 1% --

 Air-

 planes

 HeliBoats coptersPopulation

served

Percent of agencies with —

Table 46. Off-land vehicles operated

by local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2000

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

Under 2,500 86 43 34 9 1

2,500-9,999 98 63 24 7 4

10,000-24,999 99 69 19 7 4

25,000-49,999 99 76 14 5 4

50,000-99,999 100 73 17 4 6

100,000-249,999 100 75 19 4 2

250,000-499,999 100 70 23 5 3

500,000-999,999 100 72 16 6 6

1,000,000 or more 100% 73% 27% 0% 0%

 All sizes 93% 57% 27% 7% 3%

Other

DiscourRestrictive Judgmental agement

Total 

with policy

Population

served

Agency’s written policy towards pursuit driving

Table 45. Pursuit driving policies of local departments,

by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 63 11 52

2,500-9,999 42 9 33

10,000-24,999 32 8 24

25,000-49,999 33 9 24

50,000-99,999 45 16 29

100,000-249,999 54 22 32

250,000-499,999 65 25 40

500,000-999,999 64 23 41

1,000,000 or more 27% 13% 14%

 All sizes 49% 10% 39%

Total Allowed Not allowed

Population Personal use

served

 Percent of agencies allowing officers

 to take marked vehicles home

 

Table 44. Vehicle use policies in local police

 departments, by size of population served, 2000
Video cameras

Forty-five percent of all local police

departments used video cameras on a

regular basis during the year ending

June 30, 2000 (table 48). Agencies

regularly using video cameras

employed 61% of all local police

officers. The most common use of

video cameras was in patrol cars

(37%). Departments using video

cameras in cars employed 40% of all

officers. 

Thirteen percent of departments,

employing 30% of all officers, used

video cameras for fixed-site surveillance. Nine percent of departments,

employing 25% of all officers, used

video cameras for mobile surveillance.

Seven percent of departments, employing 16% of all officers, used video

cameras for traffic enforcement. 

Special technologies

Eleven percent of local police departments, employing 38% of all officers,

use infrared (thermal) imagers on a

regular basis (table 49). Six percent of

departments, employing 26% of all

officers, used image intensifiers. Laser

range finders were used regularly by

6% of all departments, employing 15%

of all officers. 

Electrical/engine disruption technology

was used regularly by less than 0.5% 

of all local police departments, and

such departments employed just 3% of

all officers. Five percent of departments, employing 36% of all officers,

used stolen vehicle tracking technology

on a regular basis. Tire deflation

spikes were used regularly 

by 26% of all departments, employing

36% of all officers. 

Twenty-nine percent of departments,

employing 65% of all officers, regularly

used digital imaging technology for

mugshots. Sixteen percent of departments, employing 47% of all officers,

used digital imaging technology for

suspect composites. Eleven percent of

departments, employing 49% of all

officers, regularly used digital imaging

technology for fingerprints. 

22 Local Police Departments 2000

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

Under 2,500 34 29 2 7 2 4 1 6 2

2,500-9,999 47 41 3 14 3 8 1 6 2

10,000-24,999 57 46 6 19 4 12 1 6 3

25,000-49,999 63 47 9 21 4 24 2 14 3

50,000-99,999 66 44 14 24 6 30 2 16 5

100,000-249,999 64 37 33 24 12 31 3 27 5

250,000-499,999 58 33 32 20 7 43 6 23 4

500,000-999,999 68 41 53 36 53 53 6 47 12

1,000,000 or more 73% 13% 62 53% 162 67% 6 13% 8

 All sizes 45% 37% 5 13% 5 9% 2 7% 3

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Average

 number*

 Percent

 using

 Traffic

 enforcement

 Mobile

 surveillance

 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 for—

Table 48. Use of video cameras by local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

-- Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 4 3 2 15 1 -- 13 7 6

2,500-9,999 11 4 5 27 3 0 28 13 5

10,000-24,999 16 10 9 40 10 -- 50 27 13

25,000-49,999 28 14 15 45 22 0 58 43 29

50,000-99,999 27 17 19 52 25 1 71 41 52

100,000-249,999 40 17 19 56 37 2 70 55 66

250,000-499,999 58 33 23 60 35 5 63 45 68

500,000-999,999 47 36 26 38 62 9 83 53 79

1,000,000 or more 73% 53% 40% 47% 73% 20% 87% 60% 80%

 All sizes 11% 6% 6% 26% 5% --% 29% 16% 11%

 Finger- 

 prints

 Suspect

 composites

 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 49. Special technologies used by local police departments, by size of population served, 2000
Computers and information systems

Computer functions

Local police departments utilized

computers for a wide variety of 

functions in 2000. For example, 60%

of all departments, employing 85% of

all officers, used computers for records

management (table 50). 

During 2000, 56% of all departments

used computers for Internet access,

including more than 80% of those

serving a population of 25,000 or more.

Departments using computers for Internet access employed 83% of all

officers in 2000. 

More than twice as many local police

departments used computers for Internet access in 2000 (56%) as in 1997

(24%). Among departments serving

fewer than 10,000 residents, nearly 3

times as many were using computers

for this purpose in 2000 (48%) as in

1997 (17%) (figure 17). The increases

in other population categories were as

follows: 10,000 to 49,999 residents,

from 45% to 74%; 50,000 to 249,999

residents, from 68% to 89%; 250,000

or more residents, from 79% to 97%.

In 2000, 44% of departments used

computers for crime investigations.

Those using computers for crime

investigations employed 76% of all

officers. 

Forty percent of departments, employing 70% of all officers, used computers

to maintain personnel records. 

About a third of local police departments used computers for dispatching

calls for service (32%). A majority of

departments serving a population of

10,000 or more had computer-aided

dispatch, and 78% of all local police

officers worked for such departments.

Thirty percent of departments, employing 72% of all officers, used computers

for crime analysis. Related to crime

analysis efforts in local police departments is the use of crime mapping. In

2000, 15% of departments, including a

large majority of those serving 100,000

or more residents used computers in

conjunction with crime mapping.

Departments using computers for

crime mapping purposes employed

59% of all officers in 2000.

Twenty-eight percent of local departments, employing 46% of all officers,

used computers for interagency information sharing. 

Less than a fifth of local police departments used computers for automated

booking (18%), fleet management

(16%), or resource allocation (10%).

 Local Police Departments 2000 23

Under 2,500 40 42 25 27 8 13 17 7 5 6 3

2,500-9,999 66 57 50 43 32 29 29 16 17 12 10

10,000-24,999 81 72 65 54 63 48 36 32 30 22 16

25,000-49,999 86 80 72 60 79 58 51 40 33 34 22

50,000-99,999 89 88 75 67 85 76 51 50 38 53 35

100,000-249,999 89 89 80 69 90 92 61 51 50 80 41

250,000-499,999 98 98 88 90 100 98 78 48 60 90 58

500,000-999,999 88 94 88 85 85 91 83 56 85 82 65

1,000,000 or more 93% 100% 93% 93% 100% 86% 53% 47% 87% 86% 67%

 All sizes 60% 56% 44% 40% 32% 30% 28% 18% 16% 15% 10%

 Resource 

 allocation

 Crime 

 mapping

 Fleet 

 manage-

 ment

 Automated

 booking

Interagency 

information

sharing

 Crime 

 Dispatch analysis

 Pers-

 onnel

 records

 Crime

 investi-

 gations

 Internet 

 access

 

 Records

 manage-

 ment

Population

served

Percent of agencies using computers for —

Table 50. Functions of computers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Local police departments using computers for Internet access, 1997 and 2000

Population served

2000

1997

Percent of agencies

Figure 17
Computerized files

In 2000 a majority of local police departments were maintaining computerized

files on incident reports (71%), arrests

(71%), traffic citations (61%), calls for

service (60%), traffic accidents (58%),

and stolen property (57%) (table 51).

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.

Less than half of all departments

maintained computerized files on

warrants (43%), alarms (42%), traffic

stops (36%), criminal histories (33%),

summonses (25%), use of force

incidents (21%), linked files for crime

analysis (14%), and fingerprints (7%)

(table 52). However, a majority of the

departments in each population

category of 10,000 or more had

computerized files on warrants, alarms,

traffic stops, and criminal histories.

Except for use of force incidents (49%),

fingerprints (44%), traffic stops (41%),

and summonses (30%), a majority of

local police officers worked for a

department that had computer files on

each type of information included in the

2000 LEMAS survey 

Five percent of all local police departments had exclusive or shared ownership of an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that included a

file of digitized prints (table 53). These

departments employed 41% of all

officers. A majority of the departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more had exclusive or shared ownership of an AFIS. Just 2% of those

departments serving fewer than 10,000

resident had exclusive or shared

ownership of an AFIS.

Fifteen percent of local police departments used an AFIS terminal with

access to a remote system. These

departments employed 22% of all

officers. 

24 Local Police Departments 2000

Under 2,500 54 51 44 38 35 39

2,500-9,999 81 78 70 67 70 65

10,000-24,999 89 92 80 88 81 80

25,000-49,999 91 95 86 90 84 77

50,000-99,999 86 92 74 90 82 76

100,000-249,999 89 91 72 92 78 79

250,000-499,999 90 90 60 95 83 80

500,000-999,999 91 85 62 91 77 83

1,000,000 or more 93% 100% 73% 93% 67% 73%

 All sizes 71% 71% 61% 60% 58% 57%

 Stolen 

 property

 Traffic 

 accidents

 Calls for 

 service

 Traffic 

 citations

 

 Arrests

 Incident

 reports

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining

computerized information files on —

Table 51. Types of computerized information files maintained by more

than half of local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 28 18 23 14 13 12 4 2

2,500-9,999 47 47 38 39 28 23 14 6

10,000-24,999 60 70 54 52 39 32 22 10

25,000-49,999 65 77 54 59 40 29 30 19

50,000-99,999 61 79 52 63 35 41 42 31

100,000-249,999 61 76 53 59 33 47 65 43

250,000-499,999 60 83 48 75 43 63 75 68

500,000-999,999 65 77 38 68 44 65 59 62

1,000,000 or more 80% 80% 40% 80% 27% 60% 86% 86%

 All sizes 43% 42% 36% 33% 25% 21% 14% 7%

 Finger-

 prints

 Linked 

 files for 

 crime 

 analysis

 Use of 

 force 

 incidents

 Summ-

 onses

 Criminal 

 histories

 Traffic

 Alarms stops

 

 Warr-

 ants

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining

computerized information files on —

Table 52. Types of computerized information files maintained by less than half

of local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 13 2 11

2,500-9,999 17 2 15

10,000-24,999 26 8 18

25,000-49,999 39 13 26

50,000-99,999 58 25 33

100,000-249,999 85 41 44

250,000-499,999 95 60 35

500,000-999,999 85 59 26

1,000,000 or more 100% 93% 7%

 All sizes 20% 5% 15%

 Remote access

 terminal only

 Exclusive or shared

 ownership

 Total with

 access

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with AFIS ownership or remote access 

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

in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000
Use of computers in the field

A majority of local police departments

serving 10,000 or more residents used

mobile computers or terminals in the

field during 2000, including more than

80% of those serving 50,000 or more

residents (table 54). Overall 40% of

departments, employing 75% of all

officers, were using in-field computers

or terminals. 

Twenty-seven percent of departments,

employing 63% of all officers, used

vehicle-mounted computers in 2000.

This included a majority of those

serving 25,000 or more residents. 

Roughly two-thirds of departments

serving a population of 500,000 or

more were using vehicle-mounted

digital/data terminals. Overall, about 1

in 8 departments, employing 40% of all

officers, used them.

Thirteen percent of departments,

employing 18% of all officers, used

vehicle-mounted laptops during 2000.

Eight percent used vehicle-mounted

digital/data computers.

Twenty-three percent of departments

employing 39% of all officers, used

portable (not vehicle-mounted) computers in 2000. This included

nearly half of all departments serving

25,000 or more residents. 

Portable laptops were the most

common type of in-field computer,

used by 21% of all departments.

These departments employed a third of

all officers. Less common were

portable digital/data terminals (2%) and

portable digital/data computers (1%).

The 40% of local police departments

using in-field computers or terminals in

2000 was 8 times the percentage in

1990 (5%). Likewise, the 75% of local

police officers working for a department

with in-field computers or terminals in

2000 was considerably more than that

in 1990 (30%). 

From 1990 to 2000, increases in local

police use of in-field computers and

terminals occurred in jurisdictions of all

sizes (figure 18). During this period,

in-field computer use among departments serving 250,000 or more

residents increased from 56% to 89%;

among departments serving 50,000 to

249,999 residents, from 31% to 81%;

among departments serving 10,000 to

49,999 residents, from 9% to 62%; and

among departments serving fewer than

10,000 residents, from 2% to 30%.

 Local Police Departments 2000 25

Under 2,500 24 12 6 4 3 16 14 1 0

2,500-9,999 39 27 14 14 6 21 18 1 1

10,000-24,999 59 45 20 18 15 33 30 2 3

25,000-49,999 70 59 23 26 19 44 41 4 3

50,000-99,999 81 70 30 32 21 47 42 5 7

100,000-249,999 82 70 28 35 28 54 43 12 5

250,000-499,999 83 68 13 33 33 48 48 5 3

500,000-999,999 97 91 32 65 23 59 53 6 3

1,000,000 or more 86% 80% 7% 73% 20% 47% 27% 27% 0%

 All sizes 40% 27% 13% 12% 8% 23% 21% 2% 1%

 Digital/data 

 computer

 Digital/data 

 Any type Laptop terminal

 Digital/data

 computer

 Digital/data 

 Any type Laptop terminal

Any in-field Vehicle-mounted Portable (not vehicle-mounted)

computer or

terminal

Population

served

Percent of agencies using in-field computers or terminals

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

by local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Figure 18

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

1990

2000

Population served

Percent of agencies

Local police departments using in-field computers or terminals, 1990 and 2000
Twenty-three percent of local police

departments used in-field computers or

terminals for writing field reports (table

55). These departments employed

27% of all officers. Nineteen percent of

departments used them for at least

some in-field communications. These

departments employed 42% of all

officers. 

In about a quarter of local police

departments, at least some officers in

the field could use computers to access

vehicle or driving records during 2000

(table 56). This included a majority of

the departments serving a population of

25,000 or more residents. Departments using in-field computers for

these purposes employed more than

half of all officers. 

In 16% of local police departments,

employing 29% of all officers, in-field

computers or terminals could be used

to access criminal history information.

This included about half of the departments serving a population of 1 million

or more, and about a third of those

serving a population of 50,000 to

999,999. 

In 18% of departments, employing 37%

of all officers, in-field computers or

terminals could be used to access calls

for service information. This included

more than half of departments serving

a population of 100,000 or more, and

about two-fifths of those serving a

population of 25,000 to 99,999. 

In 6% of all departments, employing

8% of all officers, in-field officers had

access to linked files for crime analysis.

This included about 1 in 6 departments

serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents,

and about 1 in 10 departments serving

25,000 to 249,999 residents.

From 1997 to 2000, the percentage of

local police officers employed by a

department providing at least some

officers with access to information via

in-field computers increased for each

type of information included in the

LEMAS survey (figure 19). For motor

vehicle records, the increase was from

56% to 67%; driving records, 51% to

58%; calls for service, 23% to 37%, 

criminal history records, 25% to 29%;

linked files for crime analysis, 3% to

8%.

26 Local Police Departments 2000

Under 2,500 16 7

2,500-9,999 25 17

10,000-24,999 26 32

25,000-49,999 36 43

50,000-99,999 34 53

100,000-249,999 37 63

250,000-499,999 38 60

500,000-999,999 32 62

1,000,000 or more 34% 53%

 All sizes 23% 19%

CommunicationsField

reports

Population

served

 Percent of agencies using

 in-field computers for:

Table 55. Use of in-field computers

for reports and communications

by local police departments, by size 

of population served, 2000

Under 2,500 9 4 11 13 14

2,500-9,999 18 7 15 23 25

10,000-24,999 26 7 23 38 42

25,000-49,999 34 10 27 52 56

50,000-99,999 45 10 36 66 72

100,000-249,999 54 11 42 67 74

250,000-499,999 50 8 25 60 72

500,000-999,999 59 16 31 85 97

1,000,000 or more 67% 7% 53% 86% 93%

 All sizes 18% 6% 16% 25% 27%

Vehicle 

records

Driving 

records

Criminal

histories

 Crime

 analysis 

 files (linked)

Calls for 

service

Population

served

Types of information accessible in the field:

Table 56. Computerized information accessible to in-field officers 

of local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

Linked files for crime analysis

Criminal history records

Calls for service

Driving records

Motor vehicle records

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percent of local police officers employed by a department providing

Type of information

Percent of full-time officers

2000

1997

officers with in-field computer access to information, 1997 and 2000

Figure 19
In 2000, 75% 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 57).

Other methods included computers

and data devices (19%), as well as 

telephones and wireless systems (6%).

From 1997 to 2000, use of paper reports

to transmit criminal incident reports

declined from 86% to 75%. During the

same period, use of computer and data

devices increased from 9% to 19%, and

use of telephone and wireless methods

increased from 4% to 6%. 

By jurisdiction size, the use of paper

reports declined in all population

categories (figure 20): 250,000 or

more residents, 88% to 77%; 50,000 

to 249,999, 85% to 79%; 10,000 to

49,999, 80% to 68%; under 10,000,

88% to 77%.

Special arrest policies 

Local police departments often have

special policies to guide officers’ 

decision-making in specific situations.

Two examples of this covered in the

2000 LEMAS survey are the handling

of domestic assaults and the enforcement of protection orders.

Ninety-one percent of departments,

employing 97% of all officers, reported

they had a special policy regarding

arrest for domestic assault (table 58). 

Seventy-two percent of departments,

employing 80% of all officers, had a

mandatory arrest policy for domestic

assault. Seventeen percent of departments, employing 16% of officers, had

a pro-arrest policy for domestic assault.

Eighty-two percent of departments had

a special policy regarding arrest for

violations of protective orders. These

agencies employed 93% of all local

police officers. Sixty-three percent of

departments, employing 75% of all

officers, had a mandatory arrest policy

and 18%, employing 15% of officers,

had a pro-arrest policy.

 Local Police Departments 2000 27

Under 2,500 86 69 15 74 56 16

2,500-9,999 94 75 16 85 66 18

10,000-24,999 97 74 21 92 70 19

25,000-49,999 98 72 24 94 69 23

50,000-99,999 98 73 23 90 65 24

100,000-249,999 98 73 23 93 70 22

250,000-499,999 97 88 10 97 75 18

500,000-999,999 97 78 16 90 72 16

1,000,000 or more 100% 87% 13% 93% 80% 0%

 All sizes 91% 72% 17% 82% 63% 18%

 Pro-arrest

 Mandatory 

 arrest

 Any special

 Pro-arrest policy

 Mandatory 

 arrest

 Any special

 policy

Population

served

Domestic assault Violation of protection order

Percent of agencies with special policies regarding arrest for —

Table 58. Special policies regarding arrest for domestic assault and

protection orders in local police departments, by size of population served, 2000

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

Under 2,500 100 81 14 5

2,500-9,999 100 72 21 7

10,000-24,999 100 65 29 6

25,000-49,999 100 73 19 8

50,000-99,999 100 80 14 6

100,000-249,999 100 76 11 13

250,000-499,999 100 80 8 13

500,000-999,999 100 85 9 6

1,000,000 or more 100% 54% 13% 33%

 All sizes 100% 75% 19% 6%

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Population

served

Primary transmission method

Table 57. Methods for transmitting criminal incident reports 

to the central information system in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 2000

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Percent of local police departments transmitting criminal incident reports

to their central information system primarily on paper, 1997 and 2000

Population served

Percent of agencies

2000

1997

Figure 20
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

2000 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 2000 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,132 State and local law

enforcement agencies. Sixty-seven

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.

The initial mailing of the questionnaire

was conducted in July 2000. 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, 881 law enforcement agencies in

the U.S. with 100 or more sworn

officers as of June 30, 1996 were

included in the sample as selfrepresenting (SR) agencies. This

included 528 local police departments,

304 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 2,184 NSR

agencies selected included 1,491 local

police departments and 693 sheriffs’

offices.

A total of 2,985 agencies responded to

the LEMAS questionnaire for a

response rate of 97.4%. This included

866 SR agencies and 2,119 NSR

agencies. The final database includes

responses from 1,975 local police

departments, 961 sheriffs’ offices, and

the 49 primary State police departments. Among local police departments, 1,975 of 2,019 surveys were

returned for a 97.8% response rate.

The base weight for all SR agencies is

1. For NSR sheriffs’ offices, it is 4. For

NSR local police departments, the base

weights are determined by number of

sworn personnel employed as reported

in the 1996 BJS Census of State and

Local Law Enforcement Agencies. For

agencies with 0 to 6 sworn officers, the

base weight is 15.55; for 7 to 13

officers, it is 9.65; for 14 to 23 officers,

it is 7.09; for 24 to 39 officers, it is 4.95;

for 40 to 62 officers, it is 3.38; and for

63 to 99 officers, the base weight is

2.14.

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 1996, and a factor that adjusted

for any nonresponding agencies in

each cell. 

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. Statements

of comparison in this report reflect 

observed differences between values

that are significant at 2 standard errors

(the 95-percent confidence level) or

higher. The survey data are also

subject to response and processing

errors.

28 Local Police Departments 2000