U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bulletin

October 2019, NCJ 252835

Revised January 27, 2021

Local Police Departments, 

2016: Personnel

Shelley S. Hyland, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Davis, BJS Statisticians

As of June 30, 2016, the 15,322 generalpurpose law enforcement agencies in 

the United States employed an estimated 

701,000 full-time sworn officers. Local police 

departments made up 80% (12,261) of these 

agencies and employed 67% (468,000) of these 

full-time sworn officers. 

From 1997 to 2016, the total number of 

full-time sworn officers in general-purpose law 

enforcement agencies increased by 8%, while 

the number of full-time sworn officers in local 

police departments increased by 11% (figure 1, 

table 1). During the same period, the total 

U.S. population increased by 21%, which resulted 

in the number of full-time sworn officers in 

general-purpose law enforcement agencies 

decreasing from 2.42 per 1,000 residents in 1997 

to 2.17 per 1,000 residents in 2016 (down 11%).1

1See Full-Time Employees in Law Enforcement Agencies, 

1997-2016 (NCJ 251762, BJS, August 2018).

Figure 1

Full-time employees in local police departments,

1997-2016

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

2016*20132007200320001997

Number

Sworn

Civiliana

†

Note: See table 1 for estimates and appendix table 2 for 

standard errors. 

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 

95% confidence level shown for total full-time employees.

aIncludes officers/deputies with limited or no arrest powers and 

non-sworn employees.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement 

Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 1997-2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Local police departments employed about 

468,000 full-time sworn officers in 2016.

 Of the 50 largest local police departments, about 

two-thirds (33) had fewer full-time sworn officers 

per 10,000 residents in 2016 than in 1997. 

 About 3% of all local police departments served 

populations of 100,000 or more, and they 

employed about 52% of all full-time sworn police 

officers. 

 More than two-thirds (71%) of local police 

departments served populations of less than 

10,000 residents.

 About 1 in 8 local police officers, and about 

1 in 10 first-line supervisors, were female.

 About 1 in 4 local police officers, and about 

1 in 5 first-line supervisors, were black 

or Hispanic.

 The majority of departments serving 100,000 

or more residents had specialized units with 

personnel assigned full-time to address child 

abuse, drug enforcement, and gangs.

 An estimated 2.5% of full-time local police officers 

(11,870) served as school resource officers.

General-purpose law enforcement agencies 

include municipal, county, and regional police 

departments; most sheriffs’ offices; and primary 
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 2

state and highway patrol agencies. They do not include 

special-purpose agencies, sheriffs’ offices with only 

jail and court duties, and federal law enforcement 

agencies. Full-time sworn officers are those with general 

arrest powers.

Findings in this report are based on the 2016 Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative 

Statistics (LEMAS) survey from the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics (BJS). Data were collected from a nationally 

representative sample of general-purpose law 

enforcement agencies.

About two-thirds of full-time sworn officers in 

general-purpose agencies worked for local police 

departments

In 2016, 1,050,000 full-time employees worked for 

general-purpose law enforcement agencies at the state, 

county, or local level (table 2).

2 Of these full-time 

employees, 600,000 (57%) worked for local police 

departments. The 468,000 full-time local police officers 

nationwide accounted for two-thirds (67%) of all 

full-time state and local sworn officers (701,000) working 

for general-purpose agencies. The 131,000 full-time 

civilian personnel in local police departments accounted 

for 38% of all full-time civilian employees (349,000) 

working in general-purpose law enforcement agencies. 

Local police departments also employed about 65,000 

persons part-time. Among local police departments, 

about 78% of full-time employees and 42% of part-time 

employees were sworn officers.

2For sheriffs’ offices estimates, see Sheriffs’ Offices, 2016: Personnel

(NCJ 252834, BJS Web, October 2019).

Table 1

Full-time employees in local police departments,

1997-2016

Year Total Sworn Civilian

1997 531,313† 419,996† 111,317†

2000 565,644 440,770‡ 124,874 

2003 580,749 451,737 129,013 

2007 601,027 463,147 137,880 

2013 604,959 477,317 127,642 

2016* 599,548 468,274 131,274 

Note: See appendix table 2 for standard errors.

*Comparison group. 

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

‡Significant difference from comparison group at the 90% confidence level.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 1997-2016.

Table 2

Personnel in general-purpose state and local law enforcement agencies, by type of agency, 2016

Number of 

agencies

Full-time employees Part-time employees

Type of agency Total Sworn Civiliana Total Sworn Civiliana

Total 15,322 1,050,488 701,273 349,214 97,379 39,334 58,045

Local police 12,261 599,548 468,274 131,274 65,472 27,782 37,690

Sheriff’s officeb 3,012 359,843 173,354 186,489 30,511 11,377 19,135

Primary statec 49 91,097 59,645 31,452 1,395 175 1,220

Note: Counts are estimates as of June 30, 2016. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 3 for standard errors. aIncludes officers/deputies with limited or no arrest powers and non-sworn employees.

bExcludes sheriffs’ offices with only jail and court duties. cHawaii does not have a primary state law enforcement agency.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 3

About half of all local police departments employed 

less than the equivalent of 10 officers

In 2016, following historical trends, about half (48%) 

of all local police departments employed less than the 

equivalent of 10 full-time sworn officers (table 3).

3 An 

additional 27% of local police departments employed 

the equivalent of 10 to 24 full-time sworn officers. These 

three-quarters (75%) of departments that employed 

less than the equivalent of 25 full-time sworn officers 

employed about 14% of all full-time sworn local 

police officers.

3The number of full-time-equivalent sworn officers is the number 

of officers plus half the number of part-time sworn officers (who are 

counted as 0.5 full-time equivalents).

In 2016, a total of 624 local police departments had 

100 or more full-time sworn officers. These departments 

employed 62% of all full-time officers nationwide. This 

was similar to 1997, when 541 departments employed 

100 or more full-time sworn officers, which represented 

61% of all full-time sworn officers.4

The New York City Police Department remained 

the largest local police department in 2016, as its 

36,008 full-time sworn officers were more than three 

times the number employed by any other department. 

The second largest department was the Chicago Police 

Department, which had 11,965 full-time sworn officers. 

(See appendix table 1.)

4See Local Police Departments 1997 (NCJ 173429, BJS, February 2000).

Table 3

Local police departments and full-time employees, by size of agency, 2016

Size of agencya

Departments Full-time sworn officers Full-time civilian personnelb

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All departments 12,261 100% 468,274 100% 131,274 100%

1,000 or more full-time-

 equivalent sworn officersa 45 0.4 153,438 32.8 46,127 35.1

500-999 53 0.4 37,738 8.1 10,313 7.9

250-499 101 0.8 34,634 7.4 11,036 8.4

100-249 425 3.5 62,782 13.4 19,833 15.1

50-99 845 6.9 57,398 12.3 16,854 12.8

25-49 1,587 12.9 54,677 11.7 13,762 10.5

10-24 3,358 27.4 47,083 10.1 10,549 8.0

5-9 2,875 23.4 15,219 3.3 2,140 1.6

2-4 2,203 18.0 4,653 1.0 569 0.4

1 770 6.3 652 0.1 91 <0.1

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 4 for standard errors.

aSize of agency is based on the number of full-time sworn officers plus half the number of part-time sworn officers (who are counted as the equivalent of 

0.5 full-time sworn officers).

bIncludes officers/deputies with limited or no arrest powers and non-sworn employees.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 4

Revised January 27, 2021

Half of local police officers were employed in 

jurisdictions with 100,000 or more residents

The distribution of local police departments by 

population served was similar to their distribution 

by department size. In 2016, an estimated 8,700 

departments (71%) served less than 10,000 residents 

(table 4). Less than 3% of departments served 100,000 

or more residents, but these departments employed 

about half (52%) of all officers. This was similar to 1997, 

where 2% of local police departments served 100,000 or 

more residents and those departments employed 51% of 

all officers.

Local police departments serving populations of less 

than 10,000 residents employed an average of 2.3 

officers per 1,000 residents

Local police departments serving populations of 

50,000-99,999 residents and 100,000-249,999 residents 

employed an average of 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents 

(figure 2). Departments serving larger populations 

had more officers per capita, with departments serving 

1,000,000 or more residents employing an average of 

2.3 officers per 1,000 residents. Departments serving 

smaller populations also had more officers per capita, with 

departments serving 1,000 to 9,999 residents employing an 

average of 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents.

Table 4

Local police departments and full-time employees, by size of population served, 2016

Population served

Departments Full-time sworn officers Full-time civilian personnel*

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 12,261 100% 468,274 100% 131,274 100%

1 million or more 17 0.1 103,739 22.2 35,055 26.7

500,000-999,999 33 0.3 50,092 10.7 11,717 8.9

250,000-499,999 57 0.5 37,395 8.0 11,006 8.4

100,000-249,999 207 1.7 52,955 11.3 16,943 12.9

50,000-99,999 429 3.5 50,327 10.7 16,387 12.5

25,000-49,999 915 7.5 54,889 11.7 14,428 11.0

10,000-24,999 1,910 15.6 58,824 12.6 13,896 10.6

2,500-9,999 3,951 32.2 44,533 9.5 9,731 7.4

2,499 or less 4,743 38.7 15,519 3.3 2,111 1.6

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 5 for standard errors.

*Includes officers/deputies with limited or no arrest powers and non-sworn employees.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

Figure 2

Average number of full-time-equivalent sworn local 

police officers per 1,000 residents, by size of population 

served, 2016

Population served

0.0 0.5 2.0 2.5

1,000-9,999

10,000-24,999 

25,000-49,999

50,000-99,999

100,000-249,999*

250,000-499,999

500,000-999,999

1,000,000 or more

1.0 1.5

Officers per 1,000 residents

†

†

†

†

†

†

Note: Excludes departments serving less than 1,000 residents. The mean 

for each population-served category is reported. See appendix table 6 for 

estimates and standard errors.

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 5

Revised January 27, 2021

About 1 in 8 local police officers were female

In 2016, about 12% of full-time sworn officers in local 

police departments were female (table 5). The percentage 

of female officers in jurisdictions with 250,000 or more 

residents (16%) was twice that of jurisdictions with less 

than 25,000 residents (8%).

The number of female officers in local police 

departments increased by 36% from 1997 to 2016

From 1997 to 2016, the percentage of female officers 

in local police departments increased from 10.0% to 

12.3% (figure 3). The estimated 57,000 full-time sworn 

female officers employed in 2016 represented an increase 

of about 15,000 (up 36%) from 1997. (See appendix 

table 8.) The percentage of female officers stayed about 

the same from 2013 to 2016. Table 5

Sex of full-time sworn officers in local police 

departments by size of population served 2016 , ,

Population served Total Male Female

All sizes 100% 87.7% 12.3%

1 million or more 100% 82.4 17.6

500,000-999,999 100% 85.4 14.6

250,000-499,999 100% 84.8 15.2

100,000-249,999 100% 88.0 12.0

50,000-99,999 100% 89.4 10.6

25,000-49,999 100% 90.5 9.5

10,000-24,999 100% 91.0 9.0

9,999 or less 100% 92.7 7.3

Note: See appendix table 7 for standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

Figure 3

Percent of full-time sworn local police officers who were 

female, 1997-2016

Percent

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1997 2000 2003 2007 2013 2016*

† †

Note: See appendix table 8 for estimates and standard errors.

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 1997-2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 6

Revised January 27, 2021

About 1 in 4 local police officers were black 

or Hispanic

About 71% of full-time sworn officers in local police 

departments were white, while 27% were black, Hispanic, 

or of other races (Asian, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific 

Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native, or two or more 

races) in 2016 (table 6). (Slightly over 1% of officers were 

of unknown races.) Approximately 37% of sworn officers 

in jurisdictions with 250,000 or more residents, and 11% 

of officers in jurisdictions with less than 25,000 residents, 

were black or Hispanic.

From 1997 to 2016, the percentage of Hispanics in 

local police departments increased by 61%

In 2016, 72% of full-time sworn officers in local police 

departments were white (table 7). In comparison, 78% of 

full-time sworn officers were white in 1997. 

An estimated 58,000 Hispanic full-time sworn officers 

were employed by local police departments in 2016. 

Between 1997 and 2016, the percentage of Hispanic 

officers rose from 8% to 13% (up 61%).

In 2016, 11% of full-time sworn officers in local police 

departments were black. The percentage of officers 

who were black remained relatively constant from 1997 

to 2016.

In 2016, about 16,500 officers, accounting for 3.6% of 

all full-time sworn local police officers, were of other 

races (Asian, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian, Alaska Native, or two or more races), 

up from 2.1% in 1997.

Table 6

Race or ethnicity of full-time sworn officers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2016

Population served Total Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Unknown

All sizes 100% 71.5% 11.4% 12.5% 3.6% 1.1%

1 million or more 100% 51.1 16.3 26.5 5.7 0.4 !

500,000-999,999 100% 59.0 22.4 10.7 6.7 1.2 !

250,000-499,999 100% 68.0 14.8 12.6 4.0 0.6

100,000-249,999 100% 72.9 11.7 10.0 3.4 2.0

50,000-99,999 100% 74.7 7.6 12.9 2.6 2.2

25,000-49,999 100% 86.9 6.0 5.2 1.3 0.6

10,000-24,999 100% 85.2 6.0 5.9 1.8 1.1

9,999 or less 100% 87.1 4.7 5.5 1.8 0.9

Note: See appendix table 9 for standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).

bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, or persons of two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

Table 7

Race or ethnicity among local police officers, 1997-2016

Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Unknown

Year Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

1997 329,568 78.5% † 48,928 11.6% 32,666 7.8% † 8,835 2.1% † ~ ~

2000 341,179 77.4 † 51,363 11.7 36,442 8.3 † 11,786 2.7 † ~ ~

2003 345,147 76.4 † 52,792 11.7 41,068 9.1 † 12,729 2.8 † ~ ~

2007 343,765 74.6 54,935 11.9 47,393 10.3 ‡ 14,080 3.1 624 0.1%

2013 340,809 71.4 57,012 11.9 54,591 11.4 16,552 3.5 8,353 1.8

2016* 331,096 71.5 52,617 11.4 57,959 12.5 16,528 3.6 4,891 1.1

Note: Prior to 2007, respondents did not have the option to indicate “unknown” race for full-time sworn officers in the Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics (LEMAS). See appendix table 10 for standard errors.

*Comparison group. 

~Not applicable.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

‡Significant difference from comparison group at the 90% confidence level.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).

bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, or persons of two or more races. Beginning in 2013, the 

LEMAS survey included the option for respondents to indicate “two or more races” for law enforcement personnel. “Other” includes this option.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 1997-2016
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 7

Revised January 27, 2021

About 1 in 5 local police officers in jurisdictions with 

1 million or more residents were Hispanic males

In 2016, 64% of full-time sworn officers were white 

males (table 8). White females made up 7% of full-time 

sworn officers. About 10% of full-time sworn officers 

were Hispanic males, and 2% were Hispanic females. The 

largest local police departments (those serving 1 million 

or more residents) employed the highest percentage 

of Hispanic male officers (21%) and Hispanic female 

officers (5%).

In 2016, 9% of full-time sworn officers were black 

males and 3% were black females. About 17% of officers 

employed by local police departments serving 500,000 

to 999,999 residents were black males, which was greater 

than the percentage of black males in other sizes of 

departments. Local police departments serving 500,000 

or more residents employed the highest percentages of 

black female officers (5%). 

About 10% of first-line supervisors in local police 

departments were female

In 2016, an estimated 3% of local police chiefs were 

female (table 9). This was the same percentage as in 

2013, the first year the LEMAS survey asked about 

the sex of supervisory personnel.5

5See Local Police Departments, 2013: Personnel, Policies, and Practices

(NCJ 248677, BJS, May 2015).

 In 2016, 3% of 

departments (313) served 100,000 or more residents, 

and these had a median number of 304 full-time sworn 

officers. An estimated 6% of these departments had 

female police chiefs (not shown in tables). Meanwhile, 

97% of departments (11,948) served less than 100,000 

residents, and these had a median number of 8 full-time 

sworn officers. An estimated 3% of these departments 

had female police chiefs.

In 2016, about 8% of intermediate supervisors (those 

below chief and above sergeant or first-line supervisor) 

were female. About 10% of first-line supervisors 

(sergeant or equivalent) were female. The percentages of 

female first-line supervisors and intermediate supervisors 

were more than twice as high in departments serving 

250,000 or more residents as in those serving less than 

10,000 residents.

Table 8

Sex and race or ethnicity of full-time sworn officers in local police departments, by size of population served, 2016

Male Female

Population served Total Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Unknown Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Unknown

All sizes 100% 64.4% 8.7% 10.4% 3.2% 0.9% 7.0% 2.7% 2.1% 0.4% 0.1%

1 million or more 100% 44.7 11.1 21.0 5.1 0.4 ! 6.4 5.2 5.5 0.6 <0.1 !

500,000-999,999 100% 52.1 17.1 9.2 6.0 1.0 ! 6.9 5.3 1.5 0.7 <0.1 !

250,000-499,999 100% 58.6 11.7 10.6 3.5 0.5 ! 9.4 3.1 2.0 0.5 <0.1 !

100,000-249,999 100% 65.0 9.6 8.6 3.0 1.9 7.9 2.1 1.4 0.4 0.2

50,000-99,999 100% 67.7 6.3 11.1 2.3 2.0 6.9 1.3 1.8 0.3 0.2 !

25,000-49,999 100% 79.4 4.9 4.5 1.2 0.6 7.5 1.1 0.7 0.1 <0.1 !

10,000-24,999 100% 78.1 5.1 5.3 1.7 0.9 ! 7.1 0.9 0.6 0.2 ! 0.2 !

9,999 or less 100% 81.5 4.0 4.8 1.5 0.8 5.6 0.7 0.7 0.2 <0.1 !

Note: Statistical testing not shown. See appendix table 11 for standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).

bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, or persons of two or more races. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

Table 9

Percent of chiefs, intermediate supervisors, and first-line 

supervisors in local police departments who were female,

by size of population served, 2016

Population served Chief

Intermediate 

supervisor

Sergeant or 

first-line equivalent

All sizes 2.9% 7.5% 9.7%

250,000 or more* 8.5 ! 12.7 14.3

50,000-249,999 5.3 ‡ 7.9 † 8.9 †

10,000-49,999 3.1 † 4.0 † 6.1 †

9,999 or less 2.6 † 5.0 † 6.1 †

Note: See appendix table 12 for standard errors.

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

‡Significant difference from comparison group at the 90% confidence level.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or 

coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 8

About 19% of first-line supervisors in local police 

departments were black or Hispanic

Among chiefs in all local police departments, 90% were 

white, 4% were black, 3% were Hispanic, and 2% were 

of other races (Asian, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific 

Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native, or two or more 

races) (table 10). (About 1% of chiefs were of unknown 

races.) In departments serving 250,000 or more 

residents, 65% of chiefs were white, 19% were black, and 

13% were Hispanic. In departments serving 100,000 or 

more residents, which employed about half (52%) of 

all full-time sworn officers, 71% of chiefs were white, 

15% were black, 10% were Hispanic, and 4% were of 

other races (not shown in tables). In departments serving 

less than 100,000 residents, which employed the other 

48% of all full-time sworn officers, 90% of chiefs were 

white, 4% were black, 3% were Hispanic, and 2% were of 

other races.

In 2016, the LEMAS survey for the first time collected 

the race and ethnicity of full-time sworn officers in 

supervisory and managerial positions. About 81% 

of intermediate supervisors (those below chief and 

above sergeant or first-line supervisor) were white, 9% 

were black, 6% were Hispanic, and 3% were of other 

races. Twelve percent of intermediate supervisors in 

departments serving 250,000 or more residents were 

Hispanic, compared with 4% of intermediate supervisors 

in departments serving less than 10,000 residents.

About 77% of first-line supervisors were white, 9% were 

black, 10% were Hispanic, and 4% were of other races. 

The percentage of first-line supervisors who were black 

was more than twice as high in departments serving 

250,000 or more residents (15%) as in those serving less 

than 10,000 residents (6%).

Table 10

Race or ethnicity of chiefs, intermediate supervisors, and first-line supervisors in local police departments, by size of 

population served, 2016

Chief Intermediate supervisor First-line supervisor

Population served Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b Whitea Blacka Hispanic Othera,b

All sizes 89.6% 4.0% 3.1% 2.4% 81.5% 9.2% 6.4% 2.6 77.0% 9.4% 9.6% 3.7%

250,000 or more* 64.9 19.1 12.8 2.1 ! 69.3 14.3 11.6 4.6 63.0 15.3 15.4 6.3

50,000-249,999 77.7 † 9.3 † 6.8 † 4.6 81.4 ‡ 9.7 † 6.1 † 2.1 † 79.4 † 8.2 † 9.4 † 2.5 †

10,000-49,999 89.1 † 5.0 † 3.5 † 1.5 ! 89.4 † 6.0 † 3.3 † 0.9 † 89.2 † 4.2 † 4.2 † 1.6 †

9,999 or less 91.0 † 3.1 † 2.7 † 2.6 87.4 † 6.0 † 3.9 † 2.5 † 85.9 † 5.8 † 5.3 † 2.8 †

Note: Categories may not sum to 100% due to respondents selecting “unknown” race, which occurred for 0.8% of agencies for chief; 0.4% for intermediate 

supervisors, and 0.4% for first-line supervisors. See appendix table 13 for standard errors.

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

‡Significant difference from comparison group at the 90% confidence level.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).

bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Alaska Natives, or persons of two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 9

Revised January 27, 2021

About 2 in 5 local police departments employed 

bilingual or multilingual staff

In 2016, an estimated 40% of local police departments 

had full-time bilingual or multilingual personnel 

(table 11). A total of 46,000 sworn officers and more than 

11,000 civilian personnel were bilingual or multilingual. 

The majority (61% or more) of local police departments 

serving 10,000 or more residents employed bilingual or 

multilingual staff. Less than a third of local departments 

serving less than 10,000 residents had bilingual or 

multilingual staff (27%).

Most departments serving 10,000 or more residents 

had full-time sworn school resource officers

In 2016, an estimated 37% of local police departments 

had full-time sworn officers assigned as school 

resource officers (SROs) (table 12). More than half 

of the departments in jurisdictions serving 10,000 

or more residents had SROs, including about 80% of 

those in jurisdictions with 50,000 to 499,999 residents. 

Less than 70% of departments in jurisdictions serving 

500,000 or more residents had SROs.

On average, police departments that employed SROs 

had three of them. Among offices that employed 

SROs, the average number was 32 in jurisdictions of 

500,000 to 999,999 residents, compared to 1 in those 

with less than 10,000. An estimated 11,900 officers, or 

2.5% of full-time local police officers, were serving as 

SROs in 2016. In addition to local police departments, 

SROs were employed by sheriffs’ offices, primary state 

police agencies, and independent school-district police 

departments.6

6See Sheriffs’ Offices, 2016: Personnel (NCJ 252834, BJS, October 2019).

Table 11

Full-time personnel in local police departments who were bilingual or multilingual, by size of population served, 2016

Departments with bilingual/

multilingual personnel

Bilingual/multilingual personnel who were—

Sworn officers Civilian personnel

Population served Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 4,957 40.4% 46,000 9.8% 11,356 8.7%

1 million or more 17 100 13,903 13.4 3,304 9.4

500,000-999,999 24 72.4 2,580 5.2 483 4.1

250,000-499,999 46 82.0 3,429 9.2 1,137 10.3

100,000-249,999 180 86.9 4,284 8.1 1,302 7.7

50,000-99,999 403 94.1 7,371 14.6 2,229 13.6

25,000-49,999 755 82.5 3,899 7.1 897 6.2

10,000-24,999 1,169 61.2 4,736 8.1 1,058 7.6

9,999 or less 2,362 27.2 5,799 9.7 945 8.0

Note: See appendix table 14 for standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

Table 12

Full-time school resource officers in local police departments, by population served, 2016

Population served

Departments with school resource officers (SROs)

Number Percent Total number of SROs Average number of SROsa

All sizes 4,483 36.6% 11,870 3

1 million or more 9! 53.3 ! 554 ! 61 !

500,000-999,999 23 69.0 731 32

250,000-499,999 46 82.0 664 14

100,000-249,999 165 79.8 1,424 9

50,000-99,999 363 84.7 1,685 5

25,000-49,999 721 78.8 1,788 2

10,000-24,999 1,283 67.2 2,263 2

9,999 or less 1,873 21.5 2,761 1

Note: See appendix table 15 for standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. aBased on the number of departments that reported employing SROs.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 10

The majority of departments serving 100,000 or 

more residents had specialized units with personnel 

assigned full-time to address child abuse, drug 

enforcement, and gangs

Many local police departments had personnel designated 

to address specific crime-related problems or serve 

in various functions. In some instances, these issues 

were addressed by a specialized unit that had full-time 

personnel. Departments serving 100,000 or more 

residents were more likely than those serving less than 

100,000 residents to have the personnel necessary to 

operate such units.

In 2016, most local police departments serving 100,000 

or more residents had personnel designated to address 

child abuse (94%) and drug enforcement (93%) 

(table 13). About 9 in 10 departments in jurisdictions 

of 100,000 or more had personnel designated to address 

gangs (90%), domestic violence (89%), financial crimes 

(87%), and missing children (87%). Of departments 

serving less than 100,000 residents, about a third had 

personnel designated to address drug enforcement 

(37%), school safety (37%), and child abuse (35%).

More than two-thirds of departments serving 100,000 

or more residents assigned personnel full-time to 

specialized units for drug enforcement (89%), child 

abuse (72%), gangs (71%), and domestic violence (69%). 

Of departments serving less than 100,000 residents, 

15% had personnel assigned full-time to a specialized 

drug-enforcement unit, and 11% had personnel assigned 

full-time to a school-safety unit.

Table 13

Percent of local police departments with personnel designated to address specific crime-related issues, by size of 

population served, 2016

Departments serving 100,000 or more residentsa Departments serving less than 100,000 residentsb

Specific problem or task

Departments 

with designated 

personnel

Departments 

with personnel 

assigned full-time 

to specialized unit

Departments with 

other designated 

personnelc

Departments 

with designated 

personnel

Departments 

with personnel 

assigned full-time 

to specialized unit

Departments with 

other designated 

personnelc

Child abuse 94.2% 71.8% 22.4% 34.6% 6.1% 28.5%

Drug enforcement 93.1% 89.2 4.0 37.5% 14.5 22.9

Gangs 90.3% 70.8 19.5 14.9% 3.4 11.5

Domestic violence 88.8% 69.0 19.9 24.0% 5.8 18.2

Financial crimes 87.4% 62.1 25.3 23.9% 4.4 19.5

Missing children 87.0% 57.4 29.6 23.4% 5.0 18.3

Terrorism/homeland security 81.2% 41.5 39.7 10.9% 1.9 9.0

Cybercrimes 78.3% 46.2 32.1 18.9% 2.8 16.1

School safety 78.3% 58.8 19.5 37.0% 10.7 26.2

Juvenile crimes 75.8% 50.2 25.6 29.3% 7.2 22.0

Impaired driving 74.4% 44.0 30.3 21.6% 4.8 16.7

Firearms 74.0% 45.5 28.5 26.2% 5.1 21.1

Human trafficking 72.2% 35.4 36.8 11.9% 1.8 10.1

Repeat offenders 45.8% 22.0 23.8 11.9% 2.7 9.2

Bias/hate crimes 45.1% 12.3 32.9 11.1% 1.1 10.0

Environmental crimes 22.7% 9.0 13.7 7.6% 1.4 6.2

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 16 for standard errors.

aThere were 313 (3%) local police departments that served 100,000 or more residents, with a median number of 304 full-time sworn officers.

bThere were 11,948 (97%) local police departments that served 99,999 or fewer residents, with a median number of 8 full-time sworn officers. cAgencies did not have a specialized unit with full-time personnel but had designated personnel to address this problem/task.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 11

Most departments serving 100,000 or more residents 

had full-time specialized units to address internal 

affairs and crime analysis

Most local police departments serving jurisdictions of 

100,000 or more residents had personnel designated 

to address internal affairs (99%), special operations 

(99%), and crime analysis (97%) (table 14). In those 

jurisdictions, personnel were assigned full-time to 

internal affairs in 94% of departments and to crime 

analysis in 90% of departments.

Among departments serving less than 100,000 residents, 

53% had personnel designated to address internal 

affairs, and 35% had personnel designated to address 

drug education. About 10% of local police departments 

serving less than 100,000 residents had assigned 

personnel full-time to a special unit for internal affairs or 

drug education.

Table 14

Percent of local police departments with personnel designated to specific functional areas, by size of population 

served, 2016

Departments serving 100,000 or more residents Departments serving less than 100,000 residents

Specific functional area

Departments 

with designated 

personnel

Departments 

with personnel 

assigned full-time 

to specialized unit

Departments with 

other designated 

personnela

Departments 

with designated 

personnel

Departments 

with personnel 

assigned full-time 

to specialized unit

Departments with 

other designated 

personnela

Internal affairs 99.3% 93.9% 5.4% 52.7% 10.0% 42.7%

Special operations (e.g., SWAT) 98.9% 57.8 41.2 28.6% 5.3 23.3

Crime analysis 97.5% 90.3 7.2 23.7% 5.9 17.9

Crime prevention 89.9% 69.7 20.2 29.8% 8.0 21.9

Community policing 87.4% 69.0 18.4 28.5% 9.1 19.4

Research/planning 76.2% 55.2 20.9 28.3% 4.5 23.8

Victim assistance 65.7% 45.8 19.9 17.1% 4.6 12.5

Drug education 60.3% 33.6 26.7 35.3% 10.4 25.0

Bomb/explosive disposal 56.7% 28.2 28.5 5.1% 1.0 4.1

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See appendix table 17 for standard errors.

aAgencies did not have a specialized unit with full-time personnel but had designated personnel to address this problem/task. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 12

Methodology

Conducted approximately every 4 years since 1987, the 

Law Enforcement Management and Administrative 

Statistics (LEMAS) survey collects data on a range 

of topics from a nationally representative sample of 

state, county, and local law enforcement agencies. The 

methodology for the 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2013 

LEMAS surveys was discussed in previously published 

reports on the Bureau of Justice Statistics website. Results 

from these LEMAS surveys may be reproduced using the 

most current versions of the datasets available through 

the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.7 Results 

using these data may differ from previously published 

tables due to some minor revisions after publication.

Survey overview

The sample for the 2016 LEMAS was derived from the 

2016 Law Enforcement Agency Roster (LEAR) database. 

The LEAR originated from a variety of sources, including 

the 2008 and 2014 Census of State and Local Law 

Enforcement Agencies and the 2013 LEMAS. The 2016 

LEAR contained a census of 15,810 general-purpose 

law enforcement agencies, including 12,695 local and 

county police departments, 3,066 sheriffs’ offices, and 

49 primary state police departments.

The full 2016 LEMAS sample included 3,499 state and 

local law enforcement agencies. The sample represented 

all general-purpose state and local law enforcement 

agencies in the U.S. with the equivalent of at least one 

full-time sworn officer, with separate samples drawn 

for local police departments and sheriffs’ offices. All 

49 primary state police agencies were included (Hawaii 

does not have a primary state police agency). Agencies 

serving special jurisdictions (such as tribal lands, 

schools, airports, or parks) or with special enforcement 

responsibilities (such as enforcing conservation laws or 

alcohol laws) were out of scope for the survey. Sheriffs’ 

offices without primary law enforcement jurisdiction in 

the counties they served and federal law enforcement 

agencies were also ineligible for the LEMAS.

7See https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/series/92.

Sample design and selection

The 2016 LEMAS sample design included 2,640 local 

police departments. During the initial contact phase, 

28 departments were determined to be out of scope for 

the survey. Of these, two agencies were serving special 

jurisdictions or had special enforcement responsibilities. 

Fourteen local police departments had closed, and two 

had contracted out their law enforcement services to 

another agency. Ten local police departments had either 

no sworn officers or one part-time sworn officer. After 

removing out-of-scope cases, the final eligible sample size 

for local police departments was 2,612.

Consistent with previous LEMAS administrations, all 

agencies with the equivalent of 100 or more full-time 

sworn officers were selected. Agencies with less than 

100 sworn officers were selected using a stratified 

random sample based on the number of full-time 

sworn officers (part-time sworn officers were counted 

as 0.5 full-time equivalents) and agency type. The final 

sample included 638 self-representing (SR) local police 

departments with the equivalent of 100 or more full-time 

sworn officers and 1,974 non-self-representing (NSR) 

local police departments employing fewer than the 

equivalent of 100 full-time sworn officers.

The base weight for all SR local police departments 

was 1.000 (table 15). For NSR departments, the base 

weights were equal to the ratio of the sampling frame 

counts for each stratum (at the time of sampling before 

removing ineligible agencies) divided by the number of 

departments sampled in the strata.

Table 15

Base weights, non-response adjustments, and final 

weights for local police departments, by strata, 2016

Size of agency Base weight Non-response adjustment Final weight

100 or more 1.000 1.131 1.131

50-99.5 5.879 1.222 7.185

25-49.5 5.897 1.172 6.914

10-24.5 5.897 1.183 6.978

5-9.5 5.873 1.244 7.305

2-4.5 5.893 1.380 8.134

1-1.5 5.885 1.563 9.200

Note: Size of agency is based on the number of full-time sworn officers 

plus half the number of part-time sworn officers (who are counted as the 

equivalent of 0.5 full-time sworn officers).

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 13

Agency response rate

Data were collected using two self-administered modes: 

web and paper surveys. The mode used was based on 

agency preference. Among local police departments, 

75.0% responded via web and 25.0% submitted 

paper surveys.

Submitted surveys were considered complete if 

at least 60% of the questionnaire was filled out. A total 

of 2,135 local police departments completed their 

LEMAS questionnaires, for a response rate of 81.7% 

(table 16). This included 564 SR departments (88.4%) 

and 1,571 NSR departments (79.6%). An adjustment 

factor unique to each stratum was used to account for 

non-response. The non-response adjustments were 

multiplied by the respective base weight to create the 

final analytical weight for each stratum. (See table 15.)

Item non-response and imputation

Regardless of size, all local police departments were 

asked to complete the 51-item LEMAS questionnaire. 

Cold-deck imputation was used to determine the 

number of full-time sworn officers for 27 local police 

departments missing this information.

Accuracy of the estimates

The accuracy of the estimates presented in this 

report depends on two types of error: sampling and 

non-sampling. Sampling error is the variation that 

may occur by chance due to the collection of a sample 

rather than a complete enumeration of all agencies. 

Non-sampling error can be attributed to many sources, 

such as the inability to obtain information about all 

cases in the sample, inability to obtain complete and 

correct information from the administrative records, and 

processing errors. The full extent of the non-sampling 

error is difficult to measure in any survey.

As measured by an estimated standard error, the 

sampling error varies by the size of the estimate and the 

size of the sample. Variance and standard error estimates 

for the 2016 LEMAS were generated using the IBM SPSS 

statistical software package. The Taylor linearization 

method for a “stratified without replacement” design was 

used for these calculations. (See the appendix tables for 

standard error estimates.)

Standard error estimates may be used to construct 

confidence intervals around the percentages in this 

report. For example, the 95% confidence interval around 

the percentage of local police departments with bilingual 

or multilingual staff was 40.4% ± 1.96 × 0.95% (or 

approximately 42.3% to 38.5%).

Standard error estimates may also be used to construct 

confidence intervals around numerical variables such 

as personnel counts. For example, the 95% confidence 

interval around the number of full-time sworn officers 

was approximately 701,273 ± 1.96 × 17,273 (or 667,417 

to 735,128).

BJS conducted tests to determine whether differences 

in estimated numbers, percentages, and rates in this 

report were statistically significant once sampling error 

was taken into account. The primary test procedure 

was the Student’s t-statistic, which tests the difference 

between two sample estimates. Caution is required 

when comparing estimates not explicitly discussed in 

this report.

Table 16

Law Enforcement Management and Administrative 

Statistics survey response rates for local police 

departments, by size of agency, 2016

Size of agency Response rate

Total 81.7%

100 or more 88.4

50-99.5 81.8

25-49.5 85.3

10-24.5 84.5

5-9.5 80.4

2-4.5 72.4

1-1.5 64.0

Note: Size of agency is based on the number of full-time sworn officers 

plus half the number of part-time sworn officers (who are counted as the 

equivalent of 0.5 full-time sworn officers). See table 14.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
A

Name of department

2016 1997 Percent change 

from 1997 to 2016 

in officers per 

10,000 residents

Full-time sworn officers Full-time sworn officers

Population 

serveda Number

Per 10,000 

residents Population servedb Number

Per 10,000 

residents

New York (NY) Police 8,537,653 36,008 42 7,380,906 38,328 52 -19.2%

Chicago (IL) Police 2,704,958 11,965 44 2,721,547 13,271 49 -10.2

Los Angeles (CA) Police 3,976,322 9,870 25 3,553,638 9,423 27 -7.4

Philadelphia (PA) Police 1,567,872 6,031 38 1,478,002 6,782 46 -17.4

Houston (TX) Police 2,254,546 5,203 23 1,744,058 5,355 31 -25.8

Washington (DC) Metropolitan Police 681,170 3,712 54 543,213 3,618 67 -19.4

Dallas (TX) Police 1,236,028 3,408 28 1,053,292 2,817 27 3.7

Miami-Dade (FL) Police 1,345,983 2,723 20 1,146,274 2,920 25 -20.0

Phoenix (AZ) Police 1,615,017 2,689 17 1,159,014 2,428 21 -19.0

Las Vegas (NV) Metropolitan Police 1,592,178 2,566 16 1,048,717 1,709 16 0.0

Baltimore (MD) Police 614,664 2,524 41 675,401 3,082 46 -10.9

Nassau County (NY) Police 1,065,674 2,462 23 1,303,389 2,935 23 0.0

Suffolk County (NY) Police 1,320,309 2,385 18 1,356,896 2,711 20 -10.0

San Francisco (CA) Police 870,887 2,356 27 735,315 2,006 27 0.0

Detroit (MI) Police 672,795 2,250 33 1,000,272 4,070 41 -19.5

San Antonio (TX) Police 1,492,483 2,244 15 1,067,816 1,867 17 -11.8

Boston (MA) Police 673,184 2,099 31 558,394 2,190 39 -20.5

Memphis (TN) Police 652,717 2,012 31 596,725 1,498 25 24.0

Honolulu (HI) Police 992,605 1,962 20 871,766 1,691 19 5.3

Milwaukee (WI) Police 595,047 1,879 32 590,503 2,151 36 -11.1

Baltimore County (MD) Police 831,026 1,869 22 717,859 1,608 22 0.0

San Diego (CA) Police 1,406,630 1,857 13 1,171,121 1,964 17 -23.5

Columbus (OH) Police 841,563 1,838 22 657,053 1,726 26 -15.4

Austin (TX) Police 947,890 1,807 19 541,278 976 18 5.6

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police 892,705 1,743 20 441,297 1,286 29 -31.0

Atlanta (GA) Police 439,856 1,730 39 401,907 1,612 40 -2.5

Prince George’s County (MD) Police 693,100 1,650 24 773,810 1,264 16 50.0

Fort Worth (TX) Police 845,237 1,541 18 479,716 1,200 25 -28.0

Cleveland (OH) Police 385,809 1,475 38 498,246 1,798 36 5.6

Denver (CO) Police 693,060 1,464 21 497,840 1,412 28 -25.0

Metropolitan Nashville (TN) Police 661,658 1,403 21 511,263 1,279 25 -16.0

Seattle (WA) Police 704,352 1,373 19 524,704 1,232 23 -17.4

Fairfax County (VA) Police 1,073,627 1,369 13 902,492 1,049 12 8.3

Kansas City (MO) Police 311,095 1,364 44 441,259 1,172 27 63.0

Louisville (KY) Metro Police 679,291 1,246 18 260,689 654 25 -28.0

Montgomery County (MD) Police 881,932 1,230 14 816,999 977 12 16.7

St. Louis (MO) Police 311,404 1,175 38 351,565 1,608 46 -17.4

Oklahoma City (OK) Police 516,201 1,101 21 469,852 988 21 0.0

Cincinnati (OH) Police 298,800 1,032 35 345,818 978 28 25.0

El Paso (TX) Police 683,080 1,026 15 599,865 1,013 17 -11.8

Newark (NJ) Police 281,764 955 34 268,510 1,407 52 -34.6

Tampa (FL) Police 377,165 950 25 285,206 916 32 -21.9

San Jose (CA) Police 1,025,350 927 9 838,744 1,336 16 -43.8

Pittsburgh (PA) Police 303,625 892 29 350,363 1,122 32 -9.4

Portland (OR) Police 637,301 881 14 480,824 962 20 -30.0

Tucson (AZ) Police 530,706 876 17 449,002 802 18 -5.6

Jersey City (NJ) Police 264,152 854 32 229,039 858 37 -13.5

Omaha (NE) Police 446,970 848 19 364,253 681 19 0.0

Minneapolis (MN) Police 413,651 841 20 358,785 890 25 -20.0

Birmingham (AL) Police 210,378 830 39 258,543 914 35 11.4

Note: Agency sort-order is based on the number of full-time sworn officers in 2016 in departments that completed the 2016 Law Enforcement 

Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. Indianapolis (IN), New Orleans (LA), and Miami (FL) police departments did not complete the 

2016 LEMAS survey but are typically in the top 50 local police departments. 

aPopulation is based on U.S. Census Bureau 1996 population estimates. 

bPopulation is based on U.S. Census Bureau 2016 population estimates. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 15

A

Year Total Sworn Civilian

1997 11,358 9,094 2,376 

2000 7,026 5,356 1,854 

2003 10,612 7,894 2,903 

2007 13,225 9,384 4,048 

2013 22,539 16,460 6,385 

2016 21,923 15,833 6,343 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 1997-2016.

A

Full-time employees Part-time employees

Type of agency Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Total 25,848 17,273 9,930 2,557 1,223 2,072

Local police 21,923 15,833 6,343 2,021 933 1,747

Sheriff’s office 13,694 6,905 7,640 1,566 789 1,112

Primary state 0 0 0 56 13 53

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

A

Size of agency

Departments Full-time sworn officers Full-time civilian personnel

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All departments ~ ~ 15,833 ~ 6,343 ~

1,000 or more full-time-

 equivalent sworn officers 2 0.02% 15,939 3.40% 6,228 4.74%

500-999 3 0.02 1,826 0.39 560 0.43

250-499 3 0.03 1,174 0.25 412 0.31

100-249 10 0.08 1,135 0.24 360 0.27

50-99 26 0.21 1,804 0.39 1,198 0.91

25-49 45 0.37 1,603 0.34 673 0.51

10-24 71 0.58 1,129 0.24 498 0.38

5-9 86 0.70 510 0.11 207 0.16

2-4 82 0.66 222 0.05 118 0.09

1 57 0.47 54 0.01 31 0.02

~Not applicable.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 16

Revised January 27, 2021

A

Population served

Departments Full-time sworn officers Full-time civilian personnel

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes ~ ~ 15,833 ~ 6,343 ~

1 million or more 1 0.01% 15,623 3.34% 6,190 4.72

500,000-999,999 2 0.02 3,396 0.73 786 0.60

250,000-499,999 3 0.02 1,914 0.41 586 0.45

100,000-249,999 4 0.03 1,291 0.28 434 0.33

50,000-99,999 30 0.24 2,347 0.50 1,265 0.96

25,000-49,999 55 0.45 3,029 0.65 1,009 0.77

10,000-24,999 78 0.63 2,561 0.55 761 0.58

2,500-9,999 103 0.84 1,477 0.32 555 0.42

2,499 or less 85 0.70 622 0.13 220 0.17

~Not applicable.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

A

Population served Estimate Standard error

1 million or more 2.3 † 0.09

500,000-999,999 2.2 † 0.06

250,000-499,999 1.9 † 0.04

100,000-249,999* 1.7 0.02

50,000-99,999 1.7 0.04

25,000-49,999 1.8 † 0.04

10,000-24,999 2.0 † 0.04

1,000-9,999 2.3 † 0.04

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

A

Population served Male Female

All sizes 2.98% 0.65%

1 million or more 13.40 2.92

500,000-999,999 6.06 1.18

250,000-499,999 4.59 0.89

100,000-249,999 2.29 0.36

50,000-99,999 4.30 0.59

25,000-49,999 5.07 0.65

10,000-24,999 3.98 0.55

9,999 or less 2.24 0.41

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 17

Revised January 27, 2021

A

Estimate Standard error

Year Number Percent Number Percent

1997 41,936 † 10.0% † 1,452 0.35%

2000 46,659 † 10.6 † 902 0.20

2003 51,166 ‡ 11.3 1,419 0.31

2007 54,966 11.9 1,894 0.41

2013 58,144 12.2 2,996 0.63

2016* 57,200 12.3 3,030 0.65

*Comparison group.

†Significant difference from comparison group at the 95% confidence level.

‡Significant difference from comparison group at the 90% confidence level.

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

survey, 1997-2016.

A

Population served White Black Hispanic Other Unknown

All sizes 1.86% 0.66% 1.02% 0.28% 0.16%

1 million or more 8.30 2.71 4.61 1.13 0.11

500,000-999,999 4.24 2.48 1.03 1.15 0.33

250,000-499,999 3.71 1.50 0.95 0.29 0.13

100,000-249,999 1.92 0.64 0.36 0.27 0.29

50,000-99,999 3.65 0.35 1.27 0.43 1.08

25,000-49,999 4.96 0.52 0.67 0.16 0.17

10,000-24,999 3.84 0.79 0.79 0.34 0.61

9,999 or less 2.09 0.49 0.59 0.20 0.38

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

survey, 2016.

A

White Black Hispanic Other Unknown

Year Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

1997 6,063 1.44% 1,697 0.40% 1,666 0.40% 425 0.10% ~ ~

2000 3,567 0.81 1,043 0.24 1,094 0.25 467 0.11 ~ ~

2003 4,863 1.08 1,577 0.35 1,708 0.38 704 0.16 ~ ~

2007 5,652 1.23 2,115 0.46 2,554 0.55 723 0.16 63 0.01%

2013 8,650 1.81 3,261 0.68 4,389 0.92 1,236 0.26 684 0.14

2016 8,630 1.86 3,068 0.66 4,730 1.02 1,311 0.28 735 0.16

~Not applicable. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, 1997-2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 18

Revised January 27, 2021

A

Male Female

Population served White Black Hispanic Other Unknown White Black Hispanic Other Unknown

All sizes 1.66% 0.46% 0.80% 0.26% 0.15% 0.23% 0.21% 0.23% 0.03% 0.02%

1 million or more 7.36 1.81 3.57 1.03 0.11 0.97 0.91 1.06 0.10 0.01

500,000-999,999 3.74 1.82 0.89 1.03 0.29 0.52 0.68 0.15 0.12 0.04

250,000-499,999 3.20 1.16 0.80 0.25 0.11 0.55 0.34 0.16 0.05 0.01

100,000-249,999 1.71 0.51 0.31 0.25 0.27 0.23 0.14 0.06 0.02 0.02

50,000-99,999 3.29 0.29 1.11 0.39 1.04 0.41 0.08 0.24 0.07 0.05

25,000-49,999 4.55 0.44 0.57 0.15 0.16 0.54 0.12 0.15 0.03 0.02

10,000-24,999 3.54 0.67 0.75 0.31 0.51 0.43 0.15 0.10 0.06 0.11

9,999 or less 1.98 0.40 0.50 0.17 0.36 0.30 0.19 0.13 0.05 0.03

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

A

Population served Chief

Intermediate 

supervisor

Sergeant or first-line 

equivalent

All sizes 0.37% 0.38% 0.57%

250,000 or more 0.98 1.14 1.45

50,000-249,999 1.45 0.35 0.35

10,000-49,999 0.78 0.47 0.48

9,999 or less 0.44 0.67 0.92

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and 

Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

A

Chief Intermediate supervisor First-line supervisor

Population served White Black Hispanic Other White Black Hispanic Other White Black Hispanic Other

All sizes 0.66% 0.40% 0.38% 0.34% 2.19% 0.47% 0.49% 0.24% 1.91% 0.56% 0.81% 0.37%

250,000 or more 1.68 1.38 1.17 0.51 6.82 1.27 1.51 0.66 4.96 1.45 2.09 0.91

50,000-249,999 2.41 1.13 1.74 1.45 2.48 0.41 0.41 0.37 2.46 0.37 0.83 0.24

10,000-49,999 1.41 0.96 0.83 0.55 3.32 0.74 0.61 0.21 2.71 0.47 0.55 0.40

9,999 or less 0.78 0.47 0.44 0.43 3.56 0.95 0.69 0.55 2.84 0.70 0.71 0.75

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 19

Revised January 27, 2021

APPENDIX

Departments with bilingual/

multilingual personnel

Bilingual/multilingual personnel who were—

Sworn officers Civilian personnel

Population served Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 117 0.95% 2,351 0.50% 730 0.56%

1 million or more 1 ~ 2,136 2.06 572 1.63

500,000-999,999 2 2.83 282 0.56 61 0.52

250,000-499,999 2 1.85 323 0.86 138 1.25

100,000-249,999 4 0.85 190 0.36 60 0.35

50,000-99,999 29 1.57 670 1.33 360 2.20

25,000-49,999 52 3.02 340 0.62 121 0.84

10,000-24,999 68 2.72 566 0.96 205 1.47

9,999 or less 106 1.18 448 0.75 144 1.22

~Not applicable.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

APPENDIX

Population served

Departments with school resource officers (SROs)

Number Percent Total number of SROs Average number of SROs

All sizes 112 0.91% 335 0.07

1 million or more 1 4.39 166 14.19

500,000-999,999 2 2.93 109 2.89

250,000-499,999 2 1.85 66 0.83

100,000-249,999 4 1.01 73 0.31

50,000-99,999 28 2.59 109 0.20

25,000-49,999 51 3.23 153 0.15

10,000-24,999 70 2.60 199 0.13

9,999 or less 98 1.10 196 0.10

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, 2016: PERSONNEL | OCTOBER 2019 20

APPENDIX

Departments serving 100,000 or more residents Departments serving less than 100,000 residents

Specific problem or task

Departments with personnel 

assigned full-time to 

specialized unit Departments with other designated personnel

Departments with personnel 

assigned full-time to 

specialized unit Departments with other designated personnel

Child abuse 2.04% 1.89% 0.50% 0.99%

Drug enforcement 1.41 0.88 0.68 0.94

Gangs 2.06 1.79 0.36 0.67

Domestic violence 2.09 1.81 0.49 0.86

Financial crimes 2.20 1.97 0.42 0.83

Missing children 2.24 2.07 0.46 0.84

Terrorism/homeland security 2.23 2.22 0.29 0.60

Cybercrimes 2.26 2.11 0.33 0.78

School safety 2.23 1.79 0.63 0.95

Juvenile crimes 2.26 1.98 0.54 0.91

Impaired driving 2.25 2.08 0.46 0.84

Firearms 2.25 2.04 0.47 0.91

Human trafficking 2.16 2.18 0.28 0.64

Repeat offenders 1.88 1.93 0.37 0.64

Bias/hate crimes 1.49 2.13 0.23 0.65

Environmental crimes 1.30 1.56 0.26 0.54

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.

APPENDIX

Departments serving 100,000 or more residents Departments serving less than 100,000 residents

Specific functional area

Departments with personnel 

assigned full-time to 

specialized unit Departments with other designated personnel

Departments with personnel 

assigned full-time to 

specialized unit Departments with other designated personnel

Internal affairs 1.09% 1.02% 0.61% 1.04%

Special operations (e.g., SWAT) 2.24 2.23 0.46 0.83

Crime analysis 1.34 1.17 0.45 0.83

Crime prevention 2.08 1.82 0.54 0.91

Community policing 2.09 1.75 0.58 0.88

Research/planning 2.25 1.84 0.45 0.95

Victim assistance 2.26 1.81 0.44 0.74

Drug education 2.14 2.00 0.64 0.93

Bomb/explosive disposal 2.04 2.04 0.22 0.42

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, 2016.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the 

principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal 

victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, 

and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, 

tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable 

statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports 

improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and 

participates with national and international organizations to develop and 

recommend national standards for justice statistics. Jeffrey H. Anderson is 

the director.

This report was written by Shelley S. Hyland and Elizabeth Davis. 

Connor Brooks, Barbara Oudekerk, and Stephanie Mueller verified 

the report.

Edrienne Su and Jill Thomas edited the report. Tina Dorsey and Morgan 

Young produced the report.

October 2019, NCJ 252835

Office of Justice Programs

Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice

www.ojp.gov