Bureau of Justice Statistics

 U.S. Department of Justice

 Office of Justice Programs 

Local Police

Departments 1997

 

Under 10,000 10,000 - 49,999 50,000 - 249,999 250,000 or more

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Percent of police departments

Population served

1990

1993

1997

using computers or terminals in the f ield
 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Local Police

Departments 1997

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

and Andrew L. Goldberg

BJS Statisticians

February 2000, NCJ 173429
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

Brian A. Reaves and Andrew L.

Goldberg prepared this report. Timothy

C. Hart provided statistical review.

Tom Hester and Tina Dorsey edited

the report and provided production

assistance. Jayne Robinson prepared

the report for printing.

Debra Cohen, Joseph B. Kuhns III,

Tammy Rinehart, Karin Schmerler, and

Meg Townsend of the Department of

Justice’s Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services (COPS) developed

the community policing content of the

1997 LEMAS questionnaire. Funding

for the community policing section of

the questionnaire was provided by the

COPS Office. Additional information

on the COPS Office is available on the

Internet at: http://www.usdoj.gov/cops.

The 1997 LEMAS data were collected

and processed by the Governments

Division of the Bureau of the Census

under the supervision of Stephanie

Brown and Stephen Owens. Census

Bureau project staff included Carolyn

Gates, Henrietta Herrin, Martha Haselbush, Martha Greene, and Patricia

Torreyson. Sample selection and

imputation procedures were done by

Yukiko Ellis and Suzanne Dorinski of

the Economic Statistical Methods and

Procedures Division of the Census

Bureau under the supervision of Carma

Hogue.

Data presented in this report may be

obtained from the National Archive of

Criminal Justice Data at the University

of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The

report and data are available on the

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

Highlights iii

The LEMAS survey 1

Personnel 1

Expenditures and pay 6

 Operations 9

Community policing 15

Equipment 20

Computers and information systems 24

Methodology 28

ii Local Police Departments 1997
Personnel

• As of June 1997, local police departments had an estimated 531,496 fulltime employees, including about

420,000 sworn personnel. Local police

employment was up an average of

about 3% a year after 1993, compared

to about 1% per year, 1987-93. 

• Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 21.5% of full-time sworn officers

in local police departments in 1997.

This compared to 19.1% in 1993,

17.0% in 1990, and 14.6% in 1987.

• Nearly all officers worked for departments that used criminal record checks

(99%), background investigations

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

and medical exams (97%) to screen

applicants. Psychological (91%),

aptitude (84%), and physical agility

(78%) tests were also widely used. 

• In 1997, 1% of departments required

a 4-year degree of new officer recruits

and 8% a 2-year degree. Overall, 14%

of departments, employing 31% of all

officers, required new recruits to have

completed at least some college in

1997, up from 12% and 15% in 1993.

• Field and classroom training requirements for new officer recruits averaged

more than 1,000 hours combined.

About 7 in 8 departments required

officers to complete in-service training,

with an average annual requirement of

29 hours.

Expenditures and pay

• Local police departments had total

operating expenditures of $29.2 billion

during fiscal 1997, 8% more than in

1993 after adjusting for inflation.

Expenditures averaged $67,100 per

sworn officer, and $150 per resident.

• Starting salaries for local police

officers averaged about $28,400,

ranging from an average of $18,800 in

the smallest jurisdictions to $30,600 in

the largest. About two-thirds of all local

police officers worked for a department

that authorized collective bargaining.

Operations

• More than 99% of local police departments were responsible for responding

to citizen calls for service, providing

routine patrol services, and enforcing

traffic laws. Ninety-one percent, including all but a few of those serving a

population of 10,000 or more, were the

primary investigating agency for crimes

occurring in their jurisdiction.

• About 7 in 8 local police departments

had primary drug enforcement responsibilities (88%). Nearly 1 in 6 had

officers assigned full-time to a drug

enforcement unit, with 13,000 officers

so assigned nationwide. About a third

of departments had officers assigned

to a multi-agency drug task force, with

a total of 6,000 officers assigned fulltime nationwide.

• Forty-three percent of all departments, employing 82% of all officers,

had drug asset forfeiture receipts

during fiscal 1997. Collectively, departments received an estimated $490

million in money, goods, and property. 

• In 1997, 85% of local police departments, employing 97% of all officers,

participated in a 9-1-1 emergency

telephone system compared to 68%

and 89% in 1993. In 1997, 53% of

departments, employing 80% of all

officers, had an enhanced 9-1-1 system,

capable of pinpointing the source of a

call automatically, compared to 41%

and 65% in 1993. 

Community policing

• More than 60% of the departments 

serving 100,000 or more residents had

a formal written community policing

plan. Overall, about 9 in 10 local police

officers worked for a department with

some type of community policing plan.

• Sixty-six percent of departments

serving 50,000 or more residents had a

full-time community policing unit. Fiftyfour percent of departments serving

10,000 or more residents had either a

full-time unit or designated community

policing personnel.

• More than 80% of the departments

serving a population of 25,000 or more

trained at least some in-service officers

and new officer recruits in community

policing. In a majority of the departments serving a population of 10,000

or more, all new officer recruits

received such training.

• Nearly all local police departments

serving a population of 10,000 or more

regularly met with community groups

during 1997. A majority of those serving

25,000 or more residents formed 1 or

more problem-solving partnerships

through written agreements. 

• An estimated 38% of departments,

employing 70% of all officers, had

officers assigned full-time as school

resource officers. Nationwide, more

than 9,400 local police officers worked

as school resource officers in 1997.

Highlights

Local Police Departments 1997 iii

Minority local police officers, 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

All minorities* Blacks Hispanics

1987 1990 1993 1997

*Includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders,

American Indians, and Alaska Natives.
Equipment

• Ninety-four percent of local police

departments, employing 98% of all 

officers, authorized the use of semiautomatic sidearms in 1997. These

percentages represented increases

over the 1993 figures of 84% and 96%.

• In 1997 nearly all local police departments authorized the use of non-lethal

weapons by officers. From 1993 to

1997, the percent of officers employed

by an agency that authorized them to

use pepper spray went from 69% to 91%.

• In 1997 about half of all local police

officers were employed by a department

that required them to wear protective

body armor while on duty, compared 

to about two-fifths in 1993.

• Nationwide, local police departments

operated approximately 215,000 cars

during 1997, or about 1 for every 2

officers employed. About a third of

these cars were unmarked. 

• A majority of departments serving a

population of 500,000 or more used

boats and helicopters. Nearly half

(44%) of those serving 1 million or

more residents had at least 1 airplane.

• A fourth of all departments, including

nearly all of those serving 100,000 or

more residents, used dogs for law

enforcement work, with 6,100 in use

nationwide. Two percent had horses,

with a total of about 1,200 in use. 

Computers and information systems

• Nearly all local police departments

serving a population of 2,500 or more

used 1 or more types of computers

during 1997. About two-thirds of those

serving fewer than 2,500 residents

used them.

• A majority of the departments serving

a population of 10,000 or more used

computers for crime analysis and

dispatch. A majority of those serving a

population of 100,000 or more used

them for fleet management, resource

allocation, and crime mapping.

• From 1993 to 1997, the percentage of

local police departments using in-field

computers increased from 13% to

29%. Departments using in-field

computers employed 73% of all officers

in 1997, up from 55% in 1993.

• In about a sixth of departments, at

least some officers could access vehicle

and driving records by computer while

in the field. This was the case in a

majority of the departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more. 

• In 7 of 8 local police departments,

officers primarily transmitted criminal

incident field data to a central information system through paper reports.

Methods used in other departments

included laptop download, disk transfer,

wireless transmission, or telephone lines.

Written policy directives

• Nearly all local police departments

(93%) had a written policy on pursuit

driving. Three-fifths restricted vehicle

pursuits according to specific criteria

such as speed or offense. About a

fourth had a policy that left the decision

to the officer’s discretion. Six percent

discouraged all vehicle pursuits.

• Ninety-one percent of local police

departments, employing 99% of all

officers, had a written policy on the use

of deadly force. Eighty-four percent,

employing 96% of all officers, had a

policy on the use of nonlethal force. 

• About 5 in 6 departments, employing

96% of officers, had written policies on

the handling of domestic disputes and

the handling of juveniles. About 3 in 5

departments, employing 70% of officers,

had a discretionary arrest policy. 

iv Local Police Departments 1997

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Population served

Percent of agencies

1993

1997

Local police departments using in-field computers or terminals, 1993 and 1997

Percent of agencies

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Population served

Percent of agencies

1997

1993

Local police departments authorizing the use of pepper spray

by officers, 1993 and 1997
The LEMAS survey

During 1997, 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 the nearly 19,000 State and

local law enforcement agencies 

operating nationwide. Previous

LEMAS surveys were conducted in

1987, 1990, and 1993.

This report presents data from the

1997 survey describing the more than

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 (86%) or

township (13%) governments. As of

1997, about 100 local police departments were operated by tribal governments, and approximately 50 by county

governments.

The 1997 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,597 State and local

law enforcement agencies, including all

968 agencies with 100 or more sworn

officers (see Methodology for a

description of the sample). The overall

response rate was 94.9%. Among

local police departments, 2,012 of

2,097 surveys were returned for a

95.9% response rate. 

This report and its companion report

(Sheriffs’ Departments 1997

NCJ-173428), summarize data

collected from agencies of all sizes.

Detailed agency-by-agency tabulations

from the 1997 LEMAS survey were 

previously published for agencies 

with 100 or more officers (see Law 

Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1997, NCJ-171681).

Personnel

As of June 30, 1997, local police

departments had an estimated 531,496

full-time employees (table 1). They

also employed about 62,000 persons

on a part-time basis. Approximately

420,000, or 79%, of full-time local

police department employees were

sworn officers.

Local police departments employed

three-fifths of all State and local sworn

officers nationwide. Their estimated

111,345 nonsworn employees comprised

nearly half (45%) of all civilian State

and local law enforcement employees.

There were about 55,000, or 11.5%,

more full-time local police employees 

in 1997 than in 1993. (figure 1). For 

all State and local law enforcement

agencies, the increase in number of

employees from 1993 to 1997 was

about 107,000, or 12.8%. 

When only sworn personnel are

considered, employment by local police

departments increased by 45,000, or

12.0%, from 1993 to 1997. Overall, the

number of sworn personnel employed

by State and local law enforcement

agencies in 1997 was up by 68,000, 

or 10.9%, compared to 1993.

 Local Police Departments 1997 1

Note: Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 1997. Consolidated police-sheriff

agencies are included under local police category. Table excludes agencies created since 

June 30, 1996. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

*State and local agencies with a limited jurisdictional area or limited enforcement responsibilities.

Texas constable 751 2,068 1,838 230 664 600 64

Special police* 1,332 61,022 44,509 16,513 15,234 4,502 10,732

State police 49 82,261 54,206 28,055 895 70 825

Sheriff 3,088 263,427 174,673 88,754 20,025 10,633 9,392

Local police 13,540 531,496 420,152 111,345 62,373 31,079 31,294

Total 18,760 940,275 695,378 244,897 99,191 46,884 52,307

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, 1997

1987 1990 1993 1997 1987 1990 1993 1997

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000 All State

and local

Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies,

1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Number of employees

Local

police

only

Full-time employees Full-time officers

Figure 1
Nationwide, 541 local police departments employed at least 100 sworn

personnel (4.0%), including 41 with

1,000 or more officers (0.3%) (table 2).

An estimated 7,164 departments

employed fewer than 10 officers

(52.9%), including about 800 with just

one sworn officer (5.9%).

A third of all full-time local police

officers were employed by a department with 1,000 or more officers, and

about three-fifths were employed by a

department with at least 100 officers.

Departments that employed fewer than

10 officers accounted for about 5% of

all local police officers nationwide. 

2 Local Police Departments 1997

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

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

1 799 5.9 625 0.1

2-4 3,001 22.2 5,647 1.3

5-9 3,364 24.8 15,675 3.7

10-24 3,416 25.2 42,026 10.0

25-49 1,666 12.3 51,395 12.2

50-99 752 5.6 49,750 11.8

100-249 367 2.7 53,431 12.7

250-499 90 0.7 30,998 7.4

500-999 43 0.3 30,645 7.3

1,000 or more 41 0.3% 139,961 33.3%

 Total 13,540 100% 420,152 100%

Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time 

 Agencies sworn personnel

Number

of sworn

personnel*

Table 2. Local police departments, by number 

of sworn personnel, 1997

Note: Officers not assigned to respond to calls for service typically were 

assigned to other functional areas of duty related to administration, investigations, 

technical support, jail operations, or court operations. 

a

In some cases county populations were adjusted to more accurately reflect 

the population for which an agency provided law enforcement services.

b

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

St. Louis (MO) 1,608 46 58% Birmingham (AL) 914 35 59%

Baltimore Co. (MD) 1,608 22 53% Tampa (FL) 916 32 60%

Atlanta (GA) 1,612 40 38% Buffalo (NY) 928 30 66%

Honolulu (HI) 1,691 19 62% Portland (OR) 962 20 56%

Clark Co. (NV) 1,709 16 43% Indianapolis (IN) 970 14 51% b

Columbus (OH) 1,726 26 79% Austin (TX) 976 18 48%

Cleveland (OH) 1,798 36 58% Montgomery Co. (MD) 977 12 50%

San Antonio (CA) 1,867 17 55% Cincinnati (OH) 978 28 51%

San Diego (CA) 1,964 17 54% Oklahoma City (OK) 988 21 89%

San Francisco (CA) 2,006 27 58% Miami (FL) 1,007 28 51%

Milwaukee (WI) 2,151 36 71% El Paso (TX) 1,013 17 46%

Boston (MA) 2,190 39 73% Fairfax Co. (VA) 1,049 13 49%

Phoenix (AZ)) 2,428 21 50% Pittsburgh (PA) 1,122 32 73%

Suffolk Co. (NY) 2,711 22 44% Kansas City (MO) 1,172 27 68%

Dallas (TX) 2,817 27 87% Fort Worth (TX) 1,200 25 49%

Miami-Dade Co. (FL) 2,920 26 51% Seattle (WA) 1,232 23 56%

Nassau Co. (NY) 2,935 23 44% Prince George’s Co. (MD) 1,264 16 51%

Baltimore (MD) 3,082 46 78% Nashville (TN) 1,279 25 42%

Washington (DC) 3,618 67 90% Charlotte-Mecklenberg Co. (NC) 1,286 31 58%

Detroit (MI) 4,070 41 74% San Jose (CA) 1,336 16 71%

Houston (TX) 5,355 31 87% Newark (NJ) 1,407 52 66%

Philadelphia (PA) 6,782 46 87% Denver (CO) 1,412 28 51%

Los Angeles (CA) 9,423 27 64% Jacksonville (FL) 1,438 22 49%

Chicago (IL) 13,271 49 87% Memphis (TN) 1,498 25 58%

New York (NY) 38,328 52 72% New Orleans (LA) 1,576 33 83%

 Percent 

 responding

 to calls 

 for service

Number

per 10,000

residentsa

Total

Jurisdiction number

 Percent 

 responding

 to calls 

 for service

 Number 

 per 10,000

 residentsa Total

Jurisdiction number 

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, 1997
Although 77% of all local police departments served a jurisdiction with fewer

than 10,000 residents, these departments employed just 15% of all local

police officers (table 3). About half of

all officers served a jurisdiction with

100,000 or more residents, including

nearly a fourth in jurisdictions with a

population of 1 million or more. 

Departments in jurisdictions with a

population of 1 million or more had an

average of 7,695 full-time employees,

including 6,075 sworn officers (table 4).

In contrast, departments in jurisdictions

with fewer than 2,500 residents had an

average of 3 full-time sworn officers.

Gender and race of officers

Of the 420,152 full-time sworn personnel

employed by local police departments in

1997, 10% were women (table 5). The

percentage of female officers was

highest in departments serving a

population of 1 million or more (16%),

followed by those serving a population

of 250,000 to 999,999 (14%). Women

comprised just 3% of the officers in jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500 residents.

In 1997 just over a fifth (21.5%) 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 accounted for 11.7% of all local

police officers in 1997. Black employment was highest among departments

serving a population of 500,000 to

999,999 (23.4%).

An estimated 7.8% of local police

officers nationwide were Hispanic, with

representation among departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more (15.6%) twice the overall average.

 Local Police Departments 1997 3

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

Under 2,500 6,301 46.5 18,393 4.4

2,500-9,999 4,078 30.1 44,469 10.6

10,000-24,999 1,819 13.4 53,875 12.8

25,000-49,999 720 5.3 44,790 10.7

50,000-99,999 381 2.8 46,070 11.0

100,000-249,999 156 1.2 45,184 10.8

250,000-499,999 46 0.3 36,848 8.8

500,000-999,999 24 0.2 33,075 7.9

1,000,000 or more 16 0.1% 97,446 23.2%

 All sizes 13,540 100% 420,152 100%

Number Percent Number Percent

Full-time 

Population Agencies sworn personnel

served

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

by size of population served, 1997

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

--Less than 0.5.

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

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

10,000-24,999 37 30 7 5 2 3

25,000-49,999 79 62 17 7 2 5

50,000-99,999 156 121 35 13 2 11

100,000-249,999 379 289 90 24 2 22

250,000-499,999 1,050 798 252 34 2 33

500,000-999,999 1,736 1,376 360 97 6 91

1,000,000 or more 7,695 6,075 1,620 396 91 306

 All sizes 39 31 8 5 2 2

Total Sworn Nonsworn Total Sworn Nonsworn

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, 1997

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

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

--Less than 0.05%.

Under 2,500 100 96.9 3.1 89.3 86.8 2.5 5.3 5.0 0.2 3.2 3.1 0.1 2.3 2.0 0.2

2,500-9,999 100 94.9 5.1 89.1 84.8 4.3 4.8 4.3 0.4 4.1 3.9 0.2 2.0 1.8 0.2

10,000-24,999 100 94.7 5.3 91.9 87.3 4.6 4.3 3.9 0.4 2.7 2.6 0.1 1.1 1.0 0.2

25,000-49,999 100 93.4 6.6 88.5 83.1 5.4 6.0 5.2 0.8 4.6 4.3 0.3 0.8 0.8 --

50,000-99,999 100 92.3 7.7 85.4 79.3 6.1 7.5 6.5 1.0 5.4 4.9 0.5 1.6 1.5 0.1

100,000-249,999 100 90.1 9.9 78.9 71.7 7.2 11.6 9.7 1.9 7.2 6.6 0.6 2.3 2.2 0.1

250,000-499,999 100 85.9 14.1 69.6 60.6 9.0 19.1 15.2 3.9 9.3 8.3 1.0 1.9 1.7 0.2

500,000-999,999 100 86.0 14.0 63.1 56.2 7.0 23.4 17.7 5.7 7.0 6.1 0.8 6.6 6.1 0.5

1,000,000 or more 100% 84.1% 15.9% 64.7% 57.1% 7.6% 17.8% 12.5% 5.4% 15.6% 12.9% 2.7% 1.9% 1.6% 0.2%

 All sizes 100% 90.0% 10.0% 78.5% 72.2% 6.3% 11.7% 9.1% 2.5% 7.8% 6.8% 1.0% 2.1% 1.9% 0.2%

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

Population Total White Black Hispanic Other*

served

Percent of full-time sworn employees who are:

Table 5. Gender and race of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997
In 1997 the estimated 41,493 female

local police officers represented about

9,000, or 26%, more than in 1993.

During this time female representation

among local police officers increased

from 8.8% to 10.0% (figure 2).

The number of local police officers who

were members of a racial or ethnic

minority in 1997 (90,377) represented

an increase of about 19,000, or 26%,

over 1993 levels. From 1993 to 1997,

minority representation in local police

departments increased from 19.1% to

21.5%.

The estimated 48,950 full-time black

local police officers employed in 1997

represented an increase of about

6,600, or 16%, compared to 1993. This

resulted in a slight increase in the

percentage of officers who were black

from 11.3% to 11.7%. 

There were an estimated 32,678

Hispanic officers employed by local

police departments in 1997. This was

about 9,300, or 40%, more than in

1993. From 1993 to 1997, the percentage of local police officers who were

Hispanic rose from 6.2% to 7.8%. 

From 1993 to 1997 representation by

other minority groups such as Asians,

Pacific Islanders, and American Indians

increased by 53% to about 8,800

officers. These groups comprised 2.1%

of local police officers in 1997 compared to 1.5% in 1993. 

Screening of officer applicants 

Local police departments employed a

variety of screening methods when

hiring new officers (table 6). The most

widely methods used were personal

interviews (97% of departments

employing 98% of all officers), criminal

record checks (95% and 99%),

background investigations (94% and

98%), driving record checks (90% and

98%), and medical exams (82% and

97%). 

A majority of departments serving a

population of 2,500 or more also used 

psychological tests, drug tests, written

aptitude tests, and physical agility tests

to screen applicants for sworn positions.

Overall, 64% of departments, employing 91% of all officers, used psychological tests; 54% of departments,

employing 84% of all officers, used

drug tests; 46% of departments,

employing 84% of all officers, used 

aptitude tests; and 45% of departments, employing 78% of all officers,

used physical agility tests.

4 Local Police Departments 1997

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Female and minority local police officers,

1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997

1987

1990

1993

1997

Female All minorities* Black Hispanic

* Includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders,

American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

Percent of full-time

sworn personnel

Figure 2

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

Under 2,500 96 90 90 83 67 45 35 22 28 7 1

2,500-9,999 98 98 97 94 92 71 63 54 51 18 1

10,000-24,999 99 99 99 98 98 86 74 83 68 31 3

25,000-49,999 98 99 98 99 98 95 85 86 78 47 5

50,000-99,999 100 100 100 99 100 96 82 89 86 56 6

100,000-249,999 95 98 98 97 97 97 89 89 85 72 5

250,000-499,999 96 100 98 98 98 100 91 94 85 76 2

500,000-999,999 96 100 100 100 100 92 96 92 92 62 8

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 94% 100% 100% 100% 94% 100% 88% 69% 0%

All sizes 97% 95% 94% 90% 82% 64% 54% 46% 45% 18% 2%

 Voice 

 stress 

 analyzer

 Poly- 

 graph

 exam

 

 Physical

 agility

 test

 Written

 aptitude 

 test

 Drug 

 test

 Psycho-

 logical 

 screen

 Medical

 exam

 Driving 

 record

 check

 Back-

 ground 

 invest- 

 igation

 Criminal

 record 

 check

Personal

interview

Population

served

Screening methods used to select new officer recruits

Table 6. Screening methods used in selection of new officer recruits in local police departments,

 by size of population served, 1997
Education and training requirements

Nearly all (97%) local police departments had an education requirement

for new officer recruits (table 7). The

typical minimum requirement was a

high school diploma (83%). Fourteen

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 local police officers

employed by a department with some

type of college requirement for new

officers in 1997 (31%) was twice that of

1993 (15%), and 3 times that of 1990

(10%) (figure 3). From 1993 to 1997,

the percentage of local police officers

employed by a departments with a

nondegree college requirement

increased from 8.5% to 22.5%.

Nearly all departments serving a

population of 2,500 or more had a

training requirement for new officer

recruits, as did about four-fifths of

those serving fewer than 2,500

residents. The average number of

training hours required ranged from

more than 1,300 hours in those serving

250,000 to 999,999 residents to 422

hours in those serving fewer than 2,500

residents (table 8). 

The overall departmental average was

about 600 hours with about two-thirds

in the classroom, and a third in the

field. When departments are weighted

according to number of officers, it is

estimated that the average new local

police recruit in 1997 was required to

undergo more than 1,000 of hours of

training, with about two-thirds of it in the

classroom.

In addition to entry-level requirements,

87% of local police departments

required officers to complete in-service

training. On average, officers were

required to complete 29 hours of such

training during the year. 

Overall, just 3% of all local police

departments operated a training

academy; however, a large majority of

those serving a population of 250,000

or more did so. Nationwide, nearly half

(44%) of all officers were employed a

department that operated an academy.

 Local Police Departments 1997 5

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

*Non-degree requirements.

Under 2,500 95 84 4 6 1

2,500-9,999 98 85 4 8 1

10,000-24,999 99 79 6 11 2

25,000-49,999 100 76 9 11 3

50,000-99,999 100 71 14 13 3

100,000-249,999 100 72 17 10 1

250,000-499,999 100 74 15 6 4

500,000-999,999 100 63 25 12 0

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

 All sizes 97% 83% 5% 8% 1%

4-year

college

degree

2-year

college

degree

Some

college*

High

school

diploma

Total

with

requirement

Population

served

Percent of agencies requiring a minimum of:

Table 7. Minimum educational requirement for new officer recruits

in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Figure 3

Some college*

2-year degree

4-year degree

Any college requirement

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

1993

1997

Minimum education requirement

*Nondegree requirements only

Local police officers employed by departments with a college

education requirement for new recruits, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Percent of local police officers employed

1990

Note: Average number of training hours

excludes departments not requiring training.

Under 2,500 422 321 101

2,500-9,999 602 399 203

10,000-24,999 780 470 310

25,000-49,999 919 518 401

50,000-99,999 938 537 501

100,000-249,999 1,145 649 496

250,000-499,999 1,356 782 574

500,000-999,999 1,357 822 535

1,000,000 or more 1,252 878 374

All sizes 599 395 204

Field

 Class-

 Total room

Population 

served

Average number

of hours required

Table 8. Training requirements 

for new officer recruits in local 

police departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 2,500 2

2,500-9,999 1

10,000-24,999 2

25,000-49,999 2

50,000-99,999 5

100,000-249,999 45

250,000-499,999 82

500,000-999,999 96

1,000,000 or more 94%

 All sizes 3%

Percent with 

training academy

Population 

served
Expenditures and pay

Operating expenditures

The total operating expenditure of local

police departments during fiscal 1997

was about $29.2 billion, 20% more than

in 1993 (table 9). Controlling for inflation, the net increase in spending

was 8%. (These figures do not include

capital expenditures such as equipment

purchases or construction projects).

Local police departments accounted for

nearly three-fifths of the $50.7 billion in

total operating expenditures for State

and local law enforcement agencies

during fiscal 1997. 

Nationwide, operating expenditures

were about $2.16 million per department for fiscal 1997, ranging from 

$423 million for departments serving 

a population of 1 million or more, to

$128,000 among those serving fewer

than 2,500 residents. 

The overall operating cost per resident

was $150, with departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or

more costing the most to operate, $222

per resident. Departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than

2,500 had the lowest per resident cost

— $109. 

Nationwide, local police departments

cost an estimated $67,100 per sworn

officer to operate for fiscal 1997,

ranging from more than $75,000 per

officer in jurisdictions with at least

50,000 but fewer than 1 million residents,

to $33,200 per officer in jurisdictions

with a population under 2,500. 

When both sworn and nonsworn

employees are included, the average

operating expenditure for local police

departments was about $52,000 per

employee for the year, with a high of

about $59,000 per employee in jurisdictions with 250,000 to 999,999

residents. Departments in the smallest

jurisdictions cost about $30,000 per

employee to operate for the year.

Employee salaries and benefits

accounted for about $7 of every $8 in

local police operating expenditures.

After controlling for inflation, per officer

operating costs for 1997 were actually

slightly lower than in 1993 (figure 4).

Overall, per officer costs in 1997 were

about $2,400 lower. The largest 

decrease was recorded in jurisdictions

with 250,000 or more residents, from

$77,900 to $72,600. Slight decreases

were recorded in other population

categories as well. 

6 Local Police Departments 1997

Note: Figures are for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, 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.

109

Under 2,500 804,018,000 128,000 33,200 29,600 109

2,500-9,999 2,496,645,000 612,000 49,900 39,600 118

10,000-24,999 3,396,078,000 1,867,000 60,600 47,400 120

25,000-49,999 3,232,377,000 4,489,000 71,200 54,700 130

50,000-99,999 3,557,997,000 9,339,000 76,600 57,600 137

100,000-249,999 3,528,978,000 22,622,000 77,900 57,800 151

250,000-499,999 2,914,663,000 63,362,000 79,000 59,200 168

500,000-999,999 2,536,334,000 105,681,000 76,500 59,100 155

1,000,000 or more $6,761,752,000 $422,610,000 $68,900 $53,400 $222

 All sizes $29,228,843,000 $2,159,000 $67,100 $51,900 $150

 Per 

 resident

 Per 

 employee

 Per 

 sworn officer

 Per 

Total agency

Population

served

Operating expenditures, fiscal year 1997

Table 9. Operating expenditures of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Other 3.2 2.8

State police 5.2 4.2

Sheriff 13.1 10.7

Local police $29.2 $24.3

 Total $50.7 $41.9

1997 1993

Agency operating

expenditures (in billions)

Under 10,000

10,000-49,999

50,000-249,999

250,000 or more

All sizes

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

Annual per officer operating costs of local police departments, 1993 and 1997

Population served

Annual operating costs per officer in 1997 dollars

1997

1993

Figure 4
Salaries

The overall average base starting

salary for local police chiefs was

$38,700 in 1997 (table 10). Average

starting salaries for chiefs ranged 

from about $101,000 in jurisdictions

with 1 million or more residents to

about $26,000 in those with a population of less than 2,500.

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

officers in 1997 was about $23,300. 

Starting salaries ranged from about

$19,000 in jurisdictions with fewer than

2,500 residents to near $30,000 in

those with a population of 25,000 or

more. Patrol officer salaries increased

by about 10% after 1 year of service.

When departments are weighted by

number of officers, the overall average

starting salary for entry-level local

police officers was $28,400. This was

9% more than in 1993, but after 

controlling for inflation was actually 

a net decrease of 0.2%.

Salaries for the position of 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 $32,300,

ranging from $47,500 in the largest

jurisdictions to $24,300 in the smallest.

When departments are weighted

according to number of officers, the

estimated average base starting salary

for sergeants was $42,100.

Special pay

Nationwide, 29% of all local police

departments offered education incentive pay to qualifying officers, including

a majority of those serving a population

of 10,000 or more (table 11). About

half (53%) of all local police officers

nationwide worked for a department

that offered it.

Hazardous duty pay was available in

just 4% of all local police departments.

About three-fifths of the departments

serving a population of 500,000 or

more, and half of those serving a

population of 250,000 to 499,999

offered it. Nationwide, about a fourth of

all local police officers were employed

by a department that offered hazardous

duty pay.

Nineteen percent of local police departments, employing 27% of all local

police officers nationwide, offered merit

pay to qualifying officers. 

No more than 38% of the departments

in any population category offered this

type of special pay.

Seventeen percent of all departments

offered shift differential pay to their fulltime officers. This included a majority

of the departments serving a population of 250,000 or more and about

two-fifths of those serving 50,000 to

249,999 residents. Nationwide, about

half (48%) of all local police officers

were employed by a department with

shift differential pay.

.

 Local Police Departments 1997 7

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 18,800 20,600 24,300 25,700

2,500-9,999 23,500 25,800 31,400 40,000

10,000-24,999 26,400 29,900 38,100 53,200

25,000-49,999 29,200 32,500 42,600 63,000

50,000-99,999 30,500 33,300 44,700 70,600

100,000-249,999 30,500 33,200 43,900 74,700

250,000-499,999 30,600 33,000 45,500 80,900

500,000-999,999 29,300 32,000 42,900 87,600

1,000,000 or more $30,600 $34,000 $47,500 $100,700

 All sizes $23,300 $25,600 $32,300 $38,700

Sergeant Chief

Officer

after 1 year

Entry-level

officer

Population 

served

 Average base starting salary, 1997

Table 10. Average base starting salary for selected positions 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 9 1 10 5

2,500-9,999 33 2 24 20

10,000-24,999 59 5 25 36

25,000-49,999 66 9 33 34

50,000-99,999 69 20 34 41

100,000-249,999 71 28 38 41

250,000-499,999 65 50 35 58

500,000-999,999 67 58 37 71

1,000,000 or more 56% 62% 31% 81%

 All sizes 29% 4% 19% 17%

 Shift 

Merit differential 

 Hazardous 

 duty

 Education

 incentive

Population

served

Percent of agencies authorizing pay for:

Table 11. Local police departments authorizing special pay for 

full-time sworn personnel, by size of population served, 1997
Work-related policies

About half of local police departments,

employing two-thirds of all officers, had

a written policy on the maximum

number of hours that officers can work

(table 12). Departments serving a

population of at least 500,000 but less

than 1 million (79%) were the most

likely to maintain such a policy, and

those serving a population of less than

2,500 (37%) were the least likely.

Two-thirds of all departments, employing 93% of all officers, had a written

policy pertaining to off-duty employment

by officers. All departments serving a

population of 250,000 or more had such

a policy as did at least 90% of the

departments in each population

category of 10,000 to 249,999. 

Unions and collective bargaining

Forty-six percent of all local police

departments authorized police union

membership by their sworn personnel

(table 13). This included at least 66%

of the departments in each population

category of 10,000 or more. Nationwide, 72% of all local police officers

were employed by a department that

authorized them to belong to a police

union.

Twenty-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 44% of all

local police officers nationwide, authorized membership in a nonpolice union.

Seventy-six percent of all departments

authorized officer membership in a

police association. These departments

employed 90% of all local police

officers nationwide. 

Nationwide, 37% of all local police

departments, employing 68% of all 

officers, authorized collective bargaining

for sworn personnel (table 14). At least

65% of the departments in each

population category of 10,000 or more

authorized collective bargaining for

officers. Just 14% of the departments

in jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500

residents did. 

Nonsworn personnel in local police

departments were somewhat less likely

to have collective bargaining rights than

sworn employees. Overall, 18% of

local police departments, employing

56% of all nonsworn local police

personnel, authorized collective

bargaining for civilian employees. This

included a majority of the departments

serving a population of 25,000 or more.

 

8 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 37 45

2,500-9,999 56 79

10,000-24,999 55 90

25,000-49,999 67 93

50,000-99,999 62 95

100,000-249,999 63 96

250,000-499,999 63 100

500,000-999,999 79 100

1,000,000 or more 69% 100%

 All sizes 48% 66%

Off-duty

employment

Maximum

work hours

Population

served

 Percent of agencies 

 with a written policy 

 directive pertaining to: 

Table 12. Work-related policy 

directives maintained by local

police departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 2,500 30 23 66

2,500-9,999 52 31 82

10,000-24,999 71 33 86

25,000-49,999 66 34 89

50,000-99,999 73 48 89

100,000-249,999 68 41 91

250,000-499,999 72 39 93

500,000-999,999 67 58 88

1,000,000 or more 81% 44% 94%

 All sizes 46% 28% 76%

 Police 

 asso-

 ciation

 Non-

 police

 union

 Police 

 union

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

authorizing membership in:

Table 13. Officer membership 

organizations authorized by local

police departments, by size of

population served, 1997

Under 2,500 14 3

2,500-9,999 45 16

10,000-24,999 70 45

25,000-49,999 76 58

50,000-99,999 76 60

100,000-249,999 65 60

250,000-499,999 72 61

500,000-999,999 67 58

1,000,000 or more 75% 62%

 All sizes 37% 18%

Nonsworn

employees

Sworn

employees

Population 

served

Percent of agencies 

authorizing collective

bargaining for:

Table 14. Collective bargaining

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

1997
Operations

Patrol and response

All local police departments serving

10,000 or more residents provided

routine patrol services in their jurisdiction in 1997 (table 15). Ninety-nine

percent of those serving fewer than 10,000

residents did so as well. Nearly all

departments used automobiles for

routine patrol. 

In addition, half of all departments used

foot patrol units on a routine basis.

This included 94% of those serving a

population of 1 million or more.

Departments with routine foot patrol

employed two-thirds of all officers.

About 7 in 8 departments serving

500,000 or more residents had routine

bike patrols, as did more than threefifths of the departments in each

population category of 25,000 to 499,999.

Overall, 28% of departments, employing

71% of all officers, used bicycle patrol

units on a routine basis. 

Overall, just 9% of departments used

motorcycle patrol on a routine basis.

However, more than three-fourths of

those serving 100,000 or more residents

did so. Departments using motorcycle

patrols employed 57% of all officers.

Overall, few departments routinely 

scheduled marine (3%) and horse (1%)

patrol units. However, more than 60%

of the departments serving 1 million or

more residents used these patrol types

routinely.

A fourth of local police departments

used foot patrol for special events only.

Eight percent used bicycles for special

events patrol, but not routine patrol. 

All but a few local police departments

had primary responsibility for responding to citizen calls for service (table 16).

Nearly half (44%) 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 nearly 8 in 10 departments

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

9-1-1 emergency telephone system

In 1997, 85% 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 17).

At least 9 in 10 departments in each

population category of 2,500 or more

had 9-1-1, including all of those serving

100,000 to 999,999 residents. 

About three-fifths of local police 9-1-1

systems were enhanced, capable of

pinpointing the location of a caller

automatically. About 9 in 10 departments serving a population of 250,000

to 999,999 had enhanced 9-1-1, as did

about 8 in 10 departments in the other

population categories of 25,000 or

more. Less than half of all local police

departments in jurisdictions with fewer

than 2,500 residents had enhanced

9-1-1.

 Local Police Departments 1997 9

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 99 98 49 13 1 1 --

2,500-9,999 99 99 54 29 4 3 1

10,000-24,999 100 100 49 52 14 6 --

25,000-49,999 100 100 54 64 38 6 2

50,000-99,999 100 100 43 68 52 6 6

100,000-249,999 100 100 50 70 79 13 21

250,000-499,999 100 100 61 74 85 17 54

500,000-999,999 100 100 58 88 88 50 42

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 94% 87% 88% 62% 69%

 All sizes 99% 99% 50% 28% 9% 3% 1%

Marine Horse

 MotorFoot Bicycle cycle Auto-

 mobile

 Any 

 type

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each type of patrol on a routine basis:

Table 15. Types of patrol used on a routine basis by local

police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Automobile 1

Marine 2

Horse 2

Motorcycle 3

Bicycle 8

Foot 25%

Percent of 

agencies using for

special events only

Type of 

patrol

*Rounded from 99.8%.

Under 2,500 100* 22

2,500-9,999 100* 54

10,000-24,999 100 77

25,000-49,999 100 80

50,000-99,999 100 73

100,000-249,999 100 79

250,000-499,999 100 91

500,000-999,999 100 88

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 100% 44%

Dispatching calls for

service

Responding to calls

for service

Population

served

Percent of agencies

with primary responsibility for:

Table 16. Calls for service

functions of local police 

departments, by size 

of population served, 1997

Note: Participating agencies are those whose

units can be dispatched as a result of a call to

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

rounding.

Under 2,500 77 41 36

2,500-9,999 90 55 35

10,000-24,999 93 69 24

25,000-49,999 99 79 20

50,000-99,999 99 82 17

100,000-249,999 100 84 16

250,000-499,999 100 89 11

500,000-999,999 100 92 8

1,000,000 or more 94% 75% 19%

 All sizes 85% 53% 32%

Total Enhanced Basic

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

served

Table 17. Participation in a 9-1-1

emergency telephone system by local

police departments, by size of

population served, 1997
The 85% participation rate in 9-1-1

among local police departments in

1997 was a significant increase from

1993 when 68% of all local police

departments were 9-1-1 participants,

and nearly 3 times the percentage of

departments with 9-1-1 participation in

1987 (figure 5). In 1997, 97% of all

local police officers worked for a

department with 9-1-1. 

The 53% of local police departments

participating in an enhanced 9-1-1

system in 1997 also represented a

sizable increase over 1993, when 41%

were participants. This was 3 times the

proportion reporting such a capability in

1990 (18%), and nearly 8 times as

many as in 1987. In 1997, 4 in 5 local

police officers were employed by a

department with enhanced 9-1-1.

Crime investigation

Overall, 91% of local police departments had primary responsibility for

investigating at least some types of

crimes. Eighty-five percent had

primary investigative responsibility for

violent crimes such as rape, robbery, or

assault (table 18). This included all

departments serving a population of

250,000 or more and 98% of the

departments serving a population of

10,000 to 249,999. Slightly lower

percentages of departments in population categories under 250,000 were the

primary investigative agency for

homicides; however all departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more had this responsibility.

Ninety percent of all departments had

primary responsibility for investigating

property crimes such as burglary, larceny,

or vehicle theft. As with violent crimes,

all departments serving 250,000 or more

residents handled such investigations,

as did about 98% of those serving a

population of 10,000 to 249,999. 

Two-thirds of all departments were

responsible for arson investigations,

with those serving a population of

10,000 to 49,999 (84%) the most likely

to most likely to handle such incidents. 

About 3 in 8 departments were responsible for investigating environmental

crimes. No more than 39% of the

departments in any population category

had responsibility for such investigations.

Investigative support functions

Nearly half of all local police departments were responsible for fingerprint

processing (46%) (table 19). This

included a large majority of those 

serving a population of 10,000 or more.

 

Few departments were responsible for

providing crime lab services (3%) or

conducting ballistics tests (1%).

Departments in jurisdictions with a

population of 1 million or more were the

most likely to be responsible for these

functions: 87% were responsible for

providing crime lab services and 75%

for ballistics testing.

10 Local Police Departments 1997

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

75%

90%

Local police departments participating in a 9-1-1

emergency telephone system, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997

Any 9-1-1 system Enhanced 9-1-1 system Basic 9-1-1 system

1987

1990

1993

1997

Percent of agencies

Figure 5

b

Burglary, larceny/theft, or motor vehicle theft.

a

Rape, robbery, or assault.

Under 2,500 66 75 55 84 35

2,500-9,999 82 90 76 93 39

10,000-24,999 92 98 84 98 38

25,000-49,999 95 97 84 97 37

50,000-99,999 97 98 76 98 37

100,000-249,999 97 98 64 97 28

250,000-499,999 100 100 48 100 28

500,000-999,999 100 100 50 100 33

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 63% 100% 38%

 All sizes 77% 85% 67% 90% 37%

 Otherb Other Arson a Homicide

Environmental

crimes

Population Violent crimes Property crimes

served

Percent of agencies with primary 

responsibility for investigating:

Table 18. Crime investigation functions of local police

departments, by size of population served, 1997

--Less than .5%

Under 2,500 31 1 --

2,500-9,999 48 2 --

10,000-24,999 71 4 2

25,000-49,999 72 9 2

50,000-99,999 76 18 4

100,000-249,999 86 36 9

250,000-499,999 94 61 45

500,000-999,999 83 50 46

1,000,000 or more 94% 87% 75%

 All sizes 46% 3% 1%

Ballistics 

testing

 Crime lab

 services

 Fingerprint

 processing

Population

served

Percent of agencies with 

primary responsibility for:

Table 19. Investigative support functions of local police

departments, by size of population served, 1997
Drug and vice enforcement

About 7 in 8 local police departments

had primary responsibility for the

enforcement of drug laws in their jurisdiction (table 20). More than 90% of

the departments in each population

category of 10,000 or more had drug

enforcement responsibilities, including

all of those serving a population of

250,000 or more. Departments with

drug enforcement responsibilities

employed 97% of all local police

officers.

About half of local police departments,

employing 88% of all officers, had

primary vice enforcement responsibilities. This included all departments

serving 250,000 or more residents, and

more than 90% of those serving a

population of 25,000 to 249,999. A

majority of the departments serving

2,500 to 24,999 residents also had

primary vice enforcement responsibilities, but just a third of those serving a

population of less than 2,500 did. 

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

enforcement with 1 or more full-time

officers assigned (table 21). All of the

departments serving a population of 1

million or more had a full-time drug

enforcement unit, as did about 90% of

those serving a population of 250,000

to 999,999. 

The number of local police officers

assigned full-time to drug enforcement

units totaled about 13,200 nationwide.

Another 2,100 were assigned on a

part-time basis. The average number

of officers assigned full-time ranged

from nearly 300 in jurisdictions with a

population of 1 million or more to 2 in

those with fewer than 25,000 residents.

 Local Police Departments 1997 11

Under 2,500 82 33

2,500-9,999 90 56

10,000-24,999 93 75

25,000-49,999 95 91

50,000-99,999 99 94

100,000-249,999 99 99

250,000-499,999 100 100

500,000-999,999 100 100

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 88% 51%

Drug laws Vice laws

Percent of agencies 

 with responsibility for

Population the enforcement of:

served

Table 20. Drug and vice 

enforcement functions of

local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies not having a 

unit with full-time officers.

Under 2,500 5 580 2

2,500-9,999 12 877 2

10,000-24,999 24 861 2

25,000-49,999 49 1,178 3

50,000-99,999 71 1,440 5

100,000-249,999 84 1,609 12

250,000-499,999 87 1,012 25

500,000-999,999 92 946 43

1,000,000 or more 100% 4,683 292

 All sizes 15% 13,186 6

 Total Average*

Number of 

full-time officers

Percent 

of

agencies

Population

served

 Full-time unit for 

 drug enforcement:

Table 21. Special units for drug

enforcement in local police departments,

by size of population served, 1997

About 3 in 5 local police departments

had some type of program that

authorized the testing of regular field

and patrol officers for illegal drug use.

These departments employed 84% 

of all local police officers.

At least 8 in 10 departments in each

population category of 25,000 or more

had a drug testing program for officers.

About 7 in 10 departments serving a

population of 2,500 to 24,999, and 5

in 10 departments serving fewer than

2,500 residents did also.

In 22% of departments, employing

16% of all officers, all field/patrol

officers were subject to drug testing.

Sixteen percent of departments,

employing 41% of all officers, used a

random selection method for testing

of field/patrol officers. 

Thirty-one percent of departments,

employing 60% of all officers, authorized drug testing of officers suspected

of using illegal drugs. A majority of

the departments serving 25,000 or

more residents had such a policy. 

Forty-one percent of departments,

employing 70% of all civilian local police

employees, included such employees

under some type of drug testing

program. Fourteen percent of departments had mandatory testing for all

nonsworn employees. 

Note: Some agencies had more than 1 type of testing program. 

In this table, sworn category refers to regular/field patrol officers only.

Under 2,500 49 22 20 7 12 5 21 11

2,500-9,999 68 52 26 19 20 14 32 26

10,000-24,999 73 59 24 19 16 12 44 38

25,000-49,999 80 66 19 20 18 11 57 46

50,000-99,999 83 74 21 20 20 10 56 50

100,000-249,999 85 77 18 18 33 18 60 53

250,000-499,999 87 74 17 24 41 22 63 52

500,000-999,999 83 67 8 4 54 12 67 54

1,000,000 or more 87% 75% 6% 0% 62% 31% 62% 62%

 All sizes 61% 41% 22% 14% 16% 9% 31% 23%

served Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian Sworn Civilian

Use of

drugs is 

suspected

Random 

selection 

process

Mandatory 

(all are 

tested)

Any type 

of testing

Population program

Percent of agencies with drug testing of sworn or civilian employees

Drug testing of employees in local police departments, 1997
Drug enforcement task force

participation

In 1997 about a third of local police

departments had one or more officers

assigned to a multi-agency drug

enforcement task force (table 22).

About two-thirds of all local police

officers worked for a department that

assigned officers to a task force. About

6,200 officers were assigned full time,

and another 3,200 on a part-time basis.

The number of officers assigned fulltime ranged from 27 in departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more to about 2 in those serving fewer

than 50,000 residents.

Drug asset forfeiture receipts

Forty-three percent of all local police

departments received money, property,

or goods from a drug asset forfeiture

program during the 12-month period

ending June 30, 1997 (table 23).

These departments employed 82% 

of all local police officers. At least 80%

of the departments in each population

category of 25,000 or more had drug

asset forfeiture receipts.

The overall median amount received

from drug asset forfeiture programs by

local police departments in fiscal 1997

was $4,000. By population category

the median amount received ranged

from about $1.8 million among departments serving a population of 1 million

or more to $800 among those serving

fewer than 2,500 residents. 

Collectively, local police departments

received $1,130 in money, goods, and

property from drug asset forfeiture

programs for every sworn officer

employed during fiscal 1997 (figure 6).

Departments with at least 25 but fewer

than 100 full-time officers, received the

most — about $2,000 per officer. Next

highest were departments with 100 to

249 officers, with about $1,600 per

officer. The largest departments, those

with 1,000 or more officers, had total

receipts of $558 per officer. 

12 Local Police Departments 1997

*Excludes agencies not having officers assigned full-time.

Under 2,500 15 750 2

2,500-9,999 34 1,305 1

10,000-24,999 50 1,122 2

25,000-49,999 65 699 2

50,000-99,999 74 708 3

100,000-249,999 82 554 4

250,000-499,999 83 345 9

500,000-999,999 88 308 15

1,000,000 or more 94% 412 27

 All sizes 31% 6,205 2

Total Average*

Population

served

Number of officers

assigned full-time

Percent of

agencies

participating

Multi-agency drug enforcement task force

Table 22. Multi-agency drug enforcement task force 

participation of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997 

Note: Computation of median dollars excludes agencies 

that did not have drug asset forfeiture receipts. 

*During 12-month period ending June 30, 1997

Under 2,500 29 5,956,600 800

2,500-9,999 43 44,044,000 3,500

10,000-24,999 61 127,308,000 15,000

25,000-49,999 80 110,383,700 24,900

50,000-99,999 90 62,649,300 42,800

100,000-249,999 97 38,550,500 146,100

250,000-499,999 100 32,781,600 400,000

500,000-999,999 87 14,155,400 601,200

1,000,000 or more 100% $54,295,300 $1,813,100

 All sizes 43% $490,124,500 $4,000

Total Median

Value of money, goods 

and property received

Percent of 

agencies with 

receipts*

Population 

served

Table 23. Drug asset forfeiture program receipts of

local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Figure 6

Under 25

25-49

50-99

100-249

250-999

1,000 or more

$0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500

Drug asset forfeiture receipts of local police departments,

by size of agency, fiscal 1997

Drug receipts per sworn officer*

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

Number of full-time

sworn personnel
Traffic and vehicle-related functions

Nearly all local police departments had

primary responsibility for traffic-related

functions such as enforcing traffic laws

(99%), investigating accidents (96%)

and directing traffic (91%) (table 24). 

Eighty-four percent of all departments

had primary responsibility for parking

enforcement, including more than 90%

of those serving 10,000 to 49,999

residents. Forty-three percent of all

departments provided school crossing

services, including a majority of those

serving a population of 10,000 or more.

Court-related functions

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

21% provided court security and 14%

served civil process (table 25). Those

in the largest jurisdictions (31%) were

the most likely to be responsible for

court security, while those in the smallest jurisdictions (20%) were the most

likely to handle process serving.

Departments handling court security

employed 20% of all officers and those

serving process, 8%.

Detention-related functions

About 1 in 8 local police departments

operated a jail during 1997 (table 26).

No more than 30% of the departments

in any population category were operating a jail, and just 5% of the departments in jurisdictions with fewer than

2,500 residents operated one. Twentytwo percent of all local police officers

worked for a department that had a jail.

Thirty percent of local police departments

operated at least 1 temporary holding

(lockup) facility for adults that was

separate from a jail (table 27). The

median of the maximum holding time

for these facilities was 22 hours. Most

of the departments in jurisdictions with

10,000 or more residents had an adult

lockup. The median total capacity of

adult lockups ranged from about 70 in 

jurisdictions with 500,000 or more

residents to 3 in those with fewer

than 10,000 residents. The total

adult capacity of local police

lockups nationwide was 41,000.

About 1 in 7 departments had a

lockup facility for juveniles, including a majority of those serving a

population of 500,000 or more.

The median capacity of juvenile

lockup facilities ranged from 16 in

jurisdictions with 500,000 or more

residents to 1 in those with fewer

than 2,500 residents. Nationwide, local police lockups for

juveniles had a total capacity of

7,500 with a median maximum

holding time of 6 hours.

 Local Police Departments 1997 13

Under 2,500 99 94 87 78 32

2,500-9,999 99 98 94 90 47

10,000-24,999 100 99 95 92 55

25,000-49,999 100 100 96 96 67

50,000-99,999 99 100 93 85 64

100,000-249,999 100 99 92 74 62

250,000-499,999 100 100 96 76 54

500,000-999,999 96 96 92 75 71

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 75% 75% 69%

 All sizes 99% 96% 91% 84% 43%

School 

crossing

services

Parking

enforcement

Traffic 

direction

and control

Accident

investigation

Enforcement

of traffic laws

Population 

served

 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 24. Traffic and vehicle-related functions of local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 86 19 20

2,500-9,999 92 22 11

10,000-24,999 97 26 9

25,000-49,999 97 24 8

50,000-99,999 95 19 4

100,000-249,999 89 12 3

250,000-499,999 91 11 0

500,000-999,999 88 8 17

1,000,000 or more 100% 31% 12%

 All sizes 90% 21% 14%

Serve 

civil

process

Provide

court

security

Execute

arrest

warrants

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility to:

Table 25. Court-related functions 

of local police departments, by size 

of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 5

2,500-9,999 14

10,000-24,999 21

25,000-49,999 30

50,000-99,999 23

100,000-249,999 29

250,000-499,999 24

500,000-999,999 12

1,000,000 or more 25%

 All sizes 12%

Percent of

agencies

operating 1 

or more jails

Population 

served

Table 26. Jail facilities operated

by local police departments, by

size of population served, 1997

Note: Median capacity is based on total for all

lockups, and excludes departments not operating

such a facility.

Under 2,500 9 3 2 1

2,500-9,999 34 3 15 2

10,000-24,999 66 4 30 2

25,000-49,999 76 6 51 2

50,000-99,999 70 11 47 4

100,000-249,999 62 21 42 4

250,000-499,999 63 32 50 6

500,000-999,999 75 66 71 16

1,000,000 or more 94% 70 56% 16

 All sizes 30% 4 14% 2

Median 

total

capacity

Percent 

with 

lockup

Median

total

capacity

Percent 

with 

lockup

Population 

served

Adult Juvenile

Agencies operating temporary

holding (lockup) facilities

Table 27. Temporary lockup facilities 

operated by local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997
Special operations functions

An estimated 23% of local police

departments, employing 43% of all

officers, had primary responsibility for

search and rescue operations during

1997 (table 28). Departments serving

a population of 1 million or more (88%)

were by far the most likely to perform

this function. No more than 35% of the

departments in any other population

category had primary responsibility for

search and rescue.

About a fifth of departments were

responsible for 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.

Five percent of local police departments,

employing 35% of all officers, were

responsible for underwater recovery

operations. This included about threefifths of the departments serving a

population of 1 million or more, and half

of those serving a population of

500,000 to 999,999.

Bomb disposal was a responsibility of

3% of all departments, included a large

majority of those serving a population

of 250,000 or more. Departments with

bomb disposal responsibilities employed

44% of all officers.

Special public safety functions

Another important area of responsibility

for local police departments is the

performance of special functions

related to public safety. For example,

56% of departments had primary

responsibility for animal control in 1997

(table 29). This included a majority of

the departments serving a population

of less than 25,000, and about half of

those serving 10,000 to 99,999 residents.

Departments handling animal control

employed about a third of all officers.

Other special public safety functions

handled by small percentages of local

police departments included emergency

medical services (18%), civil defense

(13%), and fire services (9%). 

No more than a fifth of the departments

in any population group were responsible for providing emergency medical

services. Departments providing such

services employed 13% of all officers.

Departments serving a population of 1

million or more (25%) were the most

likely to handle civil defense functions.

Twelve percent of all local police

officers were employed by a department with civil defense responsibilities.

No department serving a population of

250,000 or more provided fire services.

About 1 in 10 departments serving

fewer than 10,000 residents handled

this function. Overall, just 3% of all

local police officers were employed by

a department that was responsible for

providing fire services.

14 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 1 21 8 2

2,500-9,999 2 23 17 4

10,000-24,999 2 24 40 6

25,000-49,999 6 26 58 11

50,000-99,999 18 20 83 16

100,000-249,999 39 31 96 23

250,000-499,999 81 35 100 35

500,000-999,999 83 33 100 50

1,000,000 or more 94% 88% 100% 62%

 All sizes 3% 23% 21% 5%

Underwater 

recovery

Tactical 

operations

(SWAT)

Search 

and 

rescue

 

Bomb

disposal

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 28. Special operations functions of local police

departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 60 12 16 12

2,500-9,999 55 13 20 9

10,000-24,999 52 15 20 7

25,000-49,999 50 15 20 4

50,000-99,999 46 13 18 3

100,000-249,999 32 9 10 2

250,000-499,999 17 7 9 0

500,000-999,999 12 17 4 0

1,000,000 or more 0% 25% 13% 0%

 All sizes 56% 13% 18% 9%

Fire 

services

 Emergency 

 medical 

 services

Civil

defense

 Animal

 control

Population 

served

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Table 29. Special public safety functions of local police 

departments, by size of population served, 1997
Community Policing

Community policing is a philosophy that

promotes and supports organizational

strategies to address the causes and

reduce the fear of crime and social

disorder through problem-solving 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 1997, 16% of local police departments had a formally written community policing plan (table 30). Roughly

two-thirds of departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more had a

formally written plan, as did about half

of those serving a population of 50,000

to 99,999. Departments serving fewer

than 2,500 residents (6%) were the

least likely to have a formal plan. 

Departments with a formal, written

community policing plan employed

about 56% of all local police officers.

In all population categories, a majority

of local police departments had either a

formal, written community policing plan

or an informal, unwritten plan (figure 7).

Departments serving a population of

less than 50,000 were more likely to

have a informal, unwritten plan than a

formal, written one. Overall, 91% of

local police officers worked for a department with some type of community

policing plan.

Community policing training

During the 3-year period ending June

30, 1997, 53% of all local police departments, employing 83% of all officers,

trained at least some new officer recruits

in community policing skills such as

problem-solving; Scanning, Analysis,

Response, Assessment (SARA); and

developing community partnerships

(table 31). 

Forty percent of departments, employing 74% of all officers, trained all new

recruits in community policing techniques. The larger the jurisdiction, the

more likely a department trained all

recruits in community policing, ranging

from about 9 in 10 departments serving

500,000 or more residents to less than

3 in 10 departments serving fewer than

2,500 residents.

About 3 in 5 departments, employing 5

in 6 officers, trained at least some inservice officers during the 3-year period.

About a fourth of all departments,

employing a third of all officers, trained

all in-service officers in community

policing, including nearly half of those

serving a population of 100,000 to

499,999.

 Local Police Departments 1997 15

Under 2,500 6 50

2,500-9,999 16 56

10,000-24,999 28 56

25,000-49,999 37 54

50,000-99,999 52 42

100,000-249,999 64 33

250,000-499,999 65 30

500,000-999,999 71 21

1,000,000 or more 75% 19%

 All sizes 16% 52%

Informal,

unwritten

Formal,

written 

Population 

served

Percent of agencies

with a community 

policing plan

Table 30. Local police departments 

with a formally written community

policing plan, by size of population

served, 1997

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Community policing plans of local police departments, 1997

Population served

Percent of agencies

Formal, written

Informal,

unwritten

None

Figure 7

*During 3-year period ending June 30, 1997.

Under 2,500 47 26 21

2,500-9,999 70 26 44

10,000-24,999 75 25 51

25,000-49,999 88 35 53

50,000-99,999 88 40 48

100,000-249,999 90 49 41

250,000-499,999 93 43 50

500,000-999,999 83 33 50

1,000,000 or more 81% 37% 44%

 All sizes 62% 27% 35%

In-service sworn personnel

Under 2,500 37 25 11

2,500-9,999 58 45 13

10,000-24,999 69 53 15

25,000-49,999 82 65 17

50,000-99,999 86 73 12

100,000-249,999 87 80 8

250,000-499,999 91 82 9

500,000-999,999 87 87 0

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

 All sizes 53% 40% 13%

New officer recruits

Total All Some

Percentage of agencies 

that trained personnel 

for 8 or more hours in

Population community policing* 

served

Table 31. Community policing 

training for new officer recruits and

in-service officers in local police

departments, by size of population

served, 1997
Specially designated community 

policing personnel

In 1997, 13% of local police departments, employing 45% of local police

officers nationwide, operated a community policing unit with 1 or more officers

assigned full-time (table 32). About

two-thirds of the departments serving a

population at least 50,000 but less than

1 million had a full-time community

policing unit. 

About a fourth of local police departments did not have a full-time community policing unit, but had designated

certain personnel to perform community policing activities. Another fifth did

not have a full-time unit or specially

designated community policing personnel, but had established policies or

procedures to address problems and

tasks related to community policing. 

Forty-one percent of local police

departments, employing 11% of all

local police officers, had no community

policing unit, personnel, policies, or

procedures. This included 56% of

those serving fewer than 2,500

residents.

Overall, 34% of departments, employing

60% of all officers, had full-time sworn

personnel serving as community policing officers, whether as part of a

separate unit or not (table 33). In some

jurisdictions, these officers are known

as community relations officers,

community resource officers, or some

other name indicative of the community

policing approach they employed.

Nationwide, local police departments

employed about 16,000 community

policing officers or their equivalent. 

A majority of departments serving a

population of 10,000 or more had 

full-time community policing officers.

Those serving a population of 1 million 

or more employed 93 such officers on

average. Departments serving fewer

than 10,000 residents had an average

of 1 each.

An estimated 38% of local police

departments, employing 70% of all

local police officers, had full-time

school resource officers during 1997

(table 34). These 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

about 9,400 full-time sworn personnel

assigned as school resource officers in

1997. Most of the departments serving

10,000 or more residents had school

resource officers. The average number

of school resource officers ranged from

73 in departments serving a population

of 1 million or more, to 1 in those

serving fewer than 25,000 residents.

16 Local Police Departments 1997

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

Under 2,500 100 2 98 18 24 56

2,500-9,999 100 10 90 34 20 36

10,000-24,999 100 27 73 34 19 19

25,000-49,999 100 45 55 26 17 12

50,000-99,999 100 65 35 15 11 9

100,000-249,999 100 69 31 15 13 3

250,000-499,999 100 72 28 9 15 5

500,000-999,999 100 67 33 17 12 4

1,000,000 or more 100% 50% 50% 31% 12% 6%

 All sizes 100% 13% 87% 26% 21% 41%

No designated

personnel,

policies, or

procedures

Has 

related

policies or

procedures

Has

specially

designated

Total personnel 

Agency has

community

 Total policing unit

Population

served

Agency has no community policing unit

Table 32. Local police departments operating a full-time 

community policing unit, by size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time community policing officers.

Under 2,500 21 1,535 1

2,500-9,999 33 2,000 1

10,000-24,999 54 2,354 2

25,000-49,999 64 2,170 5

50,000-99,999 75 2,204 8

100,000-249,999 80 2,150 17

250,000-499,999 76 1,729 49

500,000-999,999 75 726 40

1,000,000 or more 75% 1,111 93

 All sizes 34% 15,978 3

Average

number

of fulltime

sworn*

Total 

number

of 

officers

Percent 

of

agencies 

using

Population 

served

Community policing officers

Table 33. Full-time community policing

officers in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997

*Excludes agencies that did not employ any 

full-time school resource officers.

Under 2,500 21 1,533 1

2,500-9,999 42 2,009 1

10,000-24,999 62 1,493 1

25,000-49,999 70 1,060 2

50,000-99,999 77 901 3

100,000-249,999 80 807 6

250,000-499,999 65 462 15

500,000-999,999 67 306 19

1,000,000 or more 75% 874 73

 All sizes 38% 9,446 2

Average

number 

of fulltime

sworn*

Total

number

of 

officers

Percent 

of

agencies

using

Population

served

School resource officers

Table 34. Full-time school resource

officers in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997
Community-oriented policies 

and programs

Forty-two percent of all departments,

employing 80% of all officers, gave

patrol officers responsibility for specific

geographic areas or beats during 1997

(table 35). This included more than

90% of the departments serving a

population of 250,000 or more.

Just 7% of departments, employing

44% 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.

About a fourth of local police departments, employing just over half of all

officers, actively encouraged patrol

officers to become involved in problemsolving projects. About three-fifths of

the departments serving a population

of 100,000 or more had such a policy,

as did about half of those serving

25,000 to 99,999 residents. 

Fifteen percent of all departments

included problem-solving projects in

the performance evaluation criteria for

patrol officers. This included more

than 40% of those serving a population

of 100,000 or more. Departments

including problem-solving projects in

performance evaluation criteria

employed 37% of all officers.

Many local police departments maintain

written policy directives to guide officers

in dealing with special situations and

populations in the community. For

example, 85% of departments, employing 96% of all officers, had a written

policy for dealing with domestic disputes

(table 36). At least 90% of the departments in each population category of

2,500 or more had a written policy for

this type of situation. This included all

departments serving a population of

250,000 to 999,999.

In special situations such as domestic

disputes, some local police departments allow for officer discretion in

making an arrest. Fifty-eight percent of

all departments had some type of

written policy pertaining to discretionary

arrest power. These departments

employed 70% of all officers.

About 5 in 6 departments had a written

policy pertaining to the handling of

juveniles, including all of those serving

a population of 250,000 or more.

Departments with a policy on juveniles

employed 96% of all officers.

Fifty-seven percent of departments had

had a written policy pertaining to the 

handling of mentally ill persons. These

departments employed 82% of all

officers.

Just a fourth of departments, employing two-fifths of all officers, had a policy

for dealing with homeless persons.

Less than half of the departments in

each population category had a written

policy on this subject.

About 3 in 10 local police departments

enhanced their proactive role in solving

community problems by forming

problem-solving partnerships with

community groups, local agencies, or

others through written agreements

(table 37). This included a majority of

the departments serving a population

of 25,000 or more. Departments

forming partnerships through written

agreements employed 63% of all

officers.

 Local Police Departments 1997 17

Under 2,500 26 3 16 9

2,500-9,999 45 8 30 17

10,000-24,999 63 9 35 19

25,000-49,999 72 10 52 30

50,000-99,999 82 22 53 34

100,000-249,999 89 52 63 42

250,000-499,999 91 65 59 41

500,000-999,999 100 67 62 42

1,000,000 or more 94% 81% 62% 44%

 All sizes 42% 7% 27% 15%

 Included in

 evaluation

Actively 

Investigators encouraged

 Patrol 

 officers

Population

served

Patrol officer involvement 

in problem-solving projects

 

Geographic assignments

Table 35. Community-oriented policies for sworn personnel 

in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 65 49 76 21 72 43

2,500-9,999 83 64 90 26 87 62

10,000-24,999 92 64 96 30 95 72

25,000-49,999 96 74 96 33 94 76

50,000-99,999 98 70 98 32 97 83

100,000-249,999 95 75 95 36 97 83

250,000-499,999 100 82 100 42 100 94

500,000-999,999 100 92 100 46 100 96

1,000,000 or more 100% 69% 94% 44% 100% 100%

 All sizes 77% 58% 85% 25% 82% 57%

 Mentally ill

 Juveniles persons

 Homeless 

 persons

 Domestic 

 disputes

Discretionary

arrest 

powers

 Citizen

 complaints

Population

served

Agencies with a written policy directive pertaining to:

Table 36. Community-related written policy directives in

local police departments, by size of population served, 1997
Nearly a fourth of all departments,

employing nearly two-thirds of all

officers, offered training to citizens on

community policing topics such as

community mobilization and problemsolving during the 12-month period

ending June 30, 1997. A majority of

departments serving 50,000 or more

residents more offered such training. 

As of June 30, 1997, about 1 in 8

departments were operating at least 1

community substation. This included a

majority of the departments serving

50,000 or more residents. Departments operating substations employed

57% of all officers. 

About 4 in 5 departments, including

nearly all of those serving a population

of 10,000 or more, met regularly with

community groups during the year

ending June 30, 1997. Departments

holding regular community group

meetings employed 96% of all officers.

Departments meeting with neighborhood

associations employed 87% of all local

police officers (figure 8). The corresponding percentages for other types

of groups that departments met with

were as follows: school groups (84%),

business groups (78%), youth service

organizations (67%), tenants’ associations (64%), religious groups (60%),

and advocacy groups (57%).

Nearly a third of local police departments,

employing about half of all officers,

surveyed the citizens in their jurisdiction during the year ending June 30,

1997 (table 38). This included at least

half of the departments in each population category of 25,000 or more.

Twenty-six percent of departments,

employing 41% of all officers, surveyed

citizens’ regarding their satisfaction with

police services. Twenty-one percent,

employing 35% of all officers, surveyed

citizens regarding their perception of

crime problems; and 11%, employing

23% of all officers, surveyed citizens

regarding their personal crime

experiences.

18 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 64 16 11 3

2,500-9,999 85 32 25 7

10,000-24,999 95 41 37 20

25,000-49,999 98 58 51 44

50,000-99,999 99 61 60 60

100,000-249,999 100 70 69 78

250,000-499,999 100 69 78 69

500,000-999,999 96 83 67 79

1,000,000 or more 100% 62% 94% 81%

 All sizes 78% 29% 23% 12%

Community

substation

Citizen

training

Problemsolving

partnership

Community

group

meetings

Population

served

Activities in year ending June 30, 1997

Table 37. Community policing activities in local police departments,

by size of population served, 1997

Figure 8

Advocacy groups

Religious groups

Tenants' associations

Youth service organizations

Business groups

School groups

Neighborhood associations

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

Percent of local police officers employed by

Type of group

Groups that local police departments regularly met

with to address crime-related problems, 1997

departments that met with each type of group

Under 2,500 24 20 15 8

2,500-9,999 28 22 20 10

10,000-24,999 37 33 28 15

25,000-49,999 57 53 45 27

50,000-99,999 50 44 36 22

100,000-249,999 65 59 55 36

250,000-499,999 65 56 50 26

500,000-999,999 50 50 33 17

1,000,000 or more 62% 56% 50% 37%

 All sizes 30% 26% 21% 11%

Personal

crime 

experiences

Perceptions

of crime

problems

Satisfaction

with services

Any

topic

Population

served

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens during 12-month

period ending June 30, 1997 regarding: 

Table 38. Surveying of citizens by local police departments,

by size of population served, 1997
A majority of the departments conducting surveys used the data to provide

information to officers (78%), and/or 

to prioritize crime-related problems

(56%) (figure 9). Other uses included

the formulation of agency policy and

procedures (46%), the allocation of

resources to neighborhoods (40%),

and the redistricting of beats (15%). 

Citizen access to crime statistics

Thirty-five percent of local police

departments, employing 70% of all

officers, provided citizens with routine

access to crime statistics and/or crime

maps (table 39). This included more

than 80% of the departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more.

Departments were most likely to provide

access to crime statistics at the county

or city level (30% of departments

employing 64% of all officers). An

estimated 14% of departments,

employing 37% of all officers, provided

routine access to crime statistics by

neighborhood; and 10%, employing

31% of all officers, provided them at

the street or block level. 

Eight percent of departments, employing 32% of all officers, provided routine

access to crime statistics by patrol

beat. Just 5% of all departments

provided routine citizen access to

district or precinct crime statistics;

however, a majority of the departments

serving a population of 250,000 did so,

and departments making such statistics available employed 42% of all

officers.

As of June 1997, 85% of the departments with routine access to crime

statistics provided it to citizens who

inquired in person (figure 10). Nearly 

half made crime statistics available

through the newspaper (47%) or by

telephone (43%). Smaller percentages

provided access to crime statistics

through the use of radio (18%), newsletters (16%), television (13%), or the

Internet (5%). 

 Local Police Departments 1997 19

Figure 9

Redistrict beats/reporting areas

Allocate resources to neighborhoods

Formulate agency policy/procedures

Prioritize crime/disorder problems

Provide information to patrol officers

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Uses of citizen survey information

by local police departments, 1997

Percent of agencies that surveyed citizens

Note: Neighborhood category includes apartment complexes. Other levels of crime

statistics not listed in table may have been available to citizens in some jurisdictions. 

Under 2,500 21 17 4 3 2 1

2,500-9,999 40 34 17 11 6 4

10,000-24,999 51 43 24 16 12 7

25,000-49,999 57 50 31 25 21 16

50,000-99,999 69 61 46 35 36 17

100,000-249,999 82 71 54 39 45 40

250,000-499,999 87 76 54 48 48 63

500,000-999,999 92 79 67 58 67 83

1,000,000 or more 81% 81% 50% 37% 44% 62%

 All sizes 35% 30% 14% 10% 8% 5%

District or

precinct

Patrol 

beat

Street 

or block

NeighborhoodCounty 

or city

Any

level

Population

served

Percent of agencies providing routine 

citizen access to crime statistics by:

Table 39. Local police departments providing citizens with routine 

access to crime statistics, by size of population served, 1997

Internet

Television

Newsletter

Radio

Telephone

Newspaper

In-person

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

Percent of agencies providing routine access to statistics

Methods by which citizens could routinely access crime

statistics from local police departments, 1997

Figure 10
Equipment

Sidearms

In 1997, 94% of local police departments,

employing 98% of all local police officers,

authorized the use of some type of semiautomatic sidearm (table 40). These

figures represent increases compared

to 1993, when 84% of departments,

employing 96% of all officers, authorized

semiautomatic sidearms. 

As in 1993, the 9mm semiautomatic was

the most popular type of local police

sidearm. Two-thirds of all departments,

employing about three-fourths of all

officers, authorized its use by officers.

A majority (57%) of departments also

authorized 40-caliber semiautomatic

sidearms. These departments employed

about half of all officers. Other semiautomatic sidearms authorized included

the .45-caliber (38%), the .380-caliber

(14%), and the 10mm (14%). 

Nearly half (46%) of all local police

departments authorized the use of one 

or more types of revolvers by officers,

with the .357-caliber (38%) and the 

.38-caliber (24%) revolvers the most

commonly authorized. 

About three-fifths (62%) of local police

departments, employing 83% of all

officers, supplied sidearms to officers.

Another 5% of departments, employing

4% of all officers, provided a cash

allowance for their purchase. 

Body armor

In 1997, half all local police departments

required at least some of their regular

field officers to wear protective body

armor while on duty (table 41). These

agencies employed 63% of all officers.

Eighty-one percent of all departments,

employing 91% of all officers, supplied

protective body armor to at least some

of their regular field officers. An

additional 9% provided a cash allowance for armor.

The percentage of local police departments requiring all regular field officers

to wear body armor increased from 33%

in 1993 to 43% in 1997. Such an

increase was seen in all population

categories (figure 11). The largest

increase was in jurisdictions with 50,000

to 249,999 residents, where 49% of

local police departments required all

officers to wear armor in 1997, compared

to 31% in 1993. The next largest

increase was in jurisdictions with

250,000 or more residents - from 30%

to 41%. 

The percentage of local police officers

employed by a department requiring all

field officers to wear armor increased

from 40% in 1993 to 52% in 1997. 

20 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 91 69 56 40 14 15

2,500-9,999 96 63 58 35 12 13

10,000-24,999 97 60 56 32 16 13

25,000-49,999 99 62 60 37 15 11

50,000-99,999 99 75 52 42 20 20

100,000-249,999 97 70 48 46 20 16

250,000-499,999 100 85 61 45 26 13

500,000-999,999 96 83 46 29 17 8

1,000,000 or more 100% 87% 38% 25% 19% 6%

 All sizes 94% 66% 57% 38% 14% 14%

9mm .40 .45 .380 10mm

Any 

type

Population 

served

Percent of agencies authorizing semiautomatic sidearms

Table 40. Semiautomatic sidearms authorized for use by sworn officers

in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 44 37 7

2,500-9,999 54 49 6

10,000-24,999 58 50 7

25,000-49,999 57 47 10

50,000-99,999 57 45 13

100,000-249,999 48 41 7

250,000-499,999 48 44 4

500,000-999,999 62 29 33

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

 All sizes 50% 43% 7%

Some 

officers

All 

Total officers

Population 

served

 Percent of agencies

 requiring field/patrol

 officers to wear body 

 armor while on duty:

Table 41. Body armor requirements

for officers in local police departments,

by size of population served, 1997

Figure 11

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Local police departments requiring all regular field officers

to wear protective armor, 1990, 1993, and 1997

Population served

Percent of agencies

1990

1993

1997
Nonlethal weapons 

In 1997 nearly all local police departments authorized officers to use one 

or more types of nonlethal weapons.

Chemical agents, such as pepper

spray, were the type of nonlethal

weapon most commonly authorized 

for personal use by officers (table 42). 

Eighty-nine percent of all departments

authorized pepper spray including at

least 90% of the departments in each

population category of 10,000 to

499,999. Other types of chemical

agents authorized by local police departments for personal use by officers

included CS (4%) and tear gas (3%). 

From 1993 to 1997 significant

increases in the percentage of departments authorizing the use of pepper

spray were recorded in all population

categories (figure 12). In departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more, 87% of departments authorized

its use, compared to 74% in 1993. The

increases in other population categories were as follows: 50,000 to

249,999 (from 66% to 95%); 10,000 to

49,999 (from 59% to 92%); under

10,000 (from 58% to 87%). In 1997 an

estimated 91% of local police officers

were employed by a department that

authorized the use of pepper spray,

compared to 69% in 1993.

The other type of nonlethal weapon

frequently authorized for personal use

by officers was the baton; authorized by

88% of all departments. Departments

authorizing 1 or more types of baton

employed 96% of all officers. 

Collapsible batons (61%) were authorized by more departments than PR-24

(47%) or traditional (46%) batons. About

three-fifths of local police officers

nationwide worked for a department

that authorized them to use a traditional (59%) or collapsible (58%) baton

and about half for a department that

authorized the PR-24 (51%) baton.

Eleven percent of departments, employing 55% of all officers, authorized

flash/bang grenades, including most of

those serving a population of 50,000 or

more. Eight percent of departments,

employing 27% of all officers, authorized the use of electrical devices such

as stun guns and tasers. This included

44% of departments serving a population of 1 million or more. 

Seven percent of departments, employing 18% of all officers, authorized the

use of carotid holds, choke holds, or

neck restraints. Departments serving a

population of 1 million or more (44%)

were the most likely to authorize holds

and restraints.

 Local Police Departments 1997 21

a

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

b

Includes neck restraints.

-- Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 88 87 5 5 84 55 42 47 1 8 6 0

2,500-9,999 89 89 3 2 90 67 50 46 7 7 5 0

10,000-24,999 95 93 2 3 92 63 52 42 22 7 6 0

25,000-49,999 91 90 3 2 97 67 57 43 43 12 13 2

50,000-99,999 97 95 5 5 97 71 50 54 65 22 15 4

100,000-249,999 96 95 6 1 97 65 45 61 82 22 29 4

250,000-499,999 94 91 9 2 98 72 59 57 76 24 35 4

500,000-999,999 92 83 4 0 100 67 29 92 88 25 25 8

1,000,000 or more 81% 81% 0% 0% 100% 69% 44% 56% 75% 44% 44% 12%

 All sizes 90% 89% 4% 3% 88% 61% 47% 46% 11% 8% 7% -- 

Capture

net

Choke/

carotid 

holdb

Electrical

devicesa

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 42. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for personal use by sworn officers

 in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Percent of agencies

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

Local police departments authorizing officers to

use pepper spray, 1993 and 1997

1997

Population served

1993

Figure 12
Ninety-one percent of all local police

departments, employing 99% of all

officers, had a written policy pertaining

to use of deadly force by officers (table

43). All departments serving 25,000 or

more residents, and nearly all (98%)

departments serving 2,500 to 24,999

residents had such a policy. 

Eighty-four percent of departments,

employing 96% of all officers, had a

written policy pertaining to the use of

nonlethal force. All departments

serving a population of 250,000 or

more had this type of policy, as did well

over 90% of the departments serving a

population of 10,000 to 249,999. 

Vehicles

Nationwide, local police departments 

operated 49 cars per 100 sworn officers

(table 44). By population category, the

ratio of cars to officers was lowest in 

jurisdictions with 1 million or more

residents  25 cars per 100 officers. It

ranged from 52 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 45% in

jurisdictions with a population of 1

million or more to 15% in jurisdictions

with less than 2,500 residents.

Forty-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 37% of all

local police officers, allowed officers to

take marked vehicles home (table 45).

The percentage of departments allowing officers to take vehicles home

ranged from 62% in jurisdictions with

fewer than 2,500 residents to less than

30% in jurisdictions with a population of

least 10,000 but less than 50,000. 

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.

Ten percent of departments allowed

officers to operate a marked vehicle for

personal errands, ranging from 33% of

departments serving 500,000 to

999,999 residents to 8% of those

serving 2,500 to 24,999 residents.

Sixty percent of local police

departments, employing 75% of all

officers, maintained a restrictive pursuit

driving policy (table 46). This type of

policy restricts vehicle pursuits according to specific criteria such as type of

offense or maximum speed. A majority

of the departments in each population

category except the smallest had this

type of policy. 

Twenty-three percent of departments,

employing 14% of all officers, had a

judgmental pursuit policy, one that

leaves pursuit decisions to the officer’s

discretion. Six percent of departments,

employing 6% of all officers, discouraged all vehicle pursuits. Seven percent

of departments, employing 1% of all

officers, had no pursuit driving policy. 

22 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 83 74

2,500-9,999 98 90

10,000-24,999 99 95

25,000-49,999 100 97

50,000-99,999 100 98

100,000-249,999 100 97

250,000-499,999 100 100

500,000-999,999 100 100

1,000,000 or more 100% 100%

 All sizes 91% 84%

Nonlethal

force

Deadly

force 

Population

served

Percent of agencies

with a policy directive

pertaining to use of:

Table 43. Written policy directives

pertaining to officer use of force 

maintained by local police departments,

by size of population served, 1997

*Part-time officers are included with a weight

of .5 assigned.

Under 2,500 64 15

2,500-9,999 57 26

10,000-24,999 55 33

25,000-49,999 54 36

50,000-99,999 56 39

100,000-249,999 61 43

250,000-499,999 52 40

500,000-999,999 55 35

1,000,000 or more 25 45%

 All sizes 49 35%

 Percent 

 of cars 

 that were 

 unmarked

Number 

of cars 

per 100

officers*

Population 

served

Table 44. Number of cars per officer

in local police departments, by size

of population served, 1997

Note: Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.

Under 2,500 62 11 52

2,500-9,999 39 8 31

10,000-24,999 28 8 20

25,000-49,999 26 11 15

50,000-99,999 38 15 23

100,000-249,999 45 23 22

250,000-499,999 48 15 32

500,000-999,999 54 33 21

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

 All sizes 48% 10% 38%

Not

allowed

AlTotal lowedPopulation

served

Personal use

 Percent of agencies 

 allowing officers to take 

 marked vehicles home

 

Table 45. Vehicle use policies in 

local police departments, by size 

of population served, 1997

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

Under 2,500 100 44 35 8 2 12

2,500-9,999 100 69 17 7 3 5

10,000-24,999 100 80 9 4 4 2

25,000-49,999 100 82 9 3 4 1

50,000-99,999 100 87 7 3 3 1

100,000-249,999 100 81 11 3 4 1

250,000-499,999 100 74 22 2 2 0

500,000-999,999 100 83 8 4 4 0

1,000,000 or more 100% 62% 19 6% 6% 6%

 All sizes 100% 60% 23% 6% 3% 7%

 No written 

Other policy

DiscourTotal Restrictive Judgmental agementPopulation

served

Agency’s policy towards pursuit driving

Table 46. Pursuit driving policies of local departments,

by size of population served, 1997
Five percent of local police departments

operated at least 1 boat, including

about two-thirds of those serving a

population of 500,000 or more (table

47). Departments using boats

employed 39% of all officers. 

Overall, just 1% of all departments

operated any helicopters. About threefourths of departments serving a

population of 500,000 or more, and half

of those serving a population of 250,000

to 499,999 operated at least 1 helicopter. Departments using helicopters

employed 29% of all officers.

Less than 1% of all departments

operated any fixed-wing aircraft.

Nearly half of departments serving 

a population of 1 million or more

operated had at least 1 airplane, as did

about a fifth of those serving a population of 250,000 to 999,999. Departments using airplanes employed 10%

of all officers.

Animals

An estimated 23% of local police

departments, employing 72% of all

local police officers, maintained 1 or

more dogs for use in activities related

to law enforcement (table 48). This

included more than 90% of those

serving a population of 100,000 or

more. A majority of departments

serving a population of 25,000 to

99,999 also used dogs. About 6,100

dogs were maintained by local police

departments in 1997. 

Just 2% of all local police departments

used horses for law enforcement

purposes, with those in jurisdictions 

with 1 million or more residents (75%)

the most likely to be maintaining at

least 1 horse. Local police departments collectively maintained approximately 1,200 horses, and those using

horses employed 35% of all local police

officers.

 Local Police Departments 1997 23

--Less than .5%.

Under 2,500 2 0 0

2,500-9,999 4 -- 0

10,000-24,999 9 0 0

25,000-49,999 11 -- 0

50,000-99,999 13 3 2

100,000-249,999 25 11 5

250,000-499,999 37 50 19

500,000-999,999 67 71 21

1,000,000 or more 69% 81% 44%

 All sizes 5% 1% --

 Air-

 planes

 HeliBoats coptersPopulation

served

Percent of 

agencies operating

Table 47. Off-land vehicles operated

by local police departments, by size

of population served, 1997

-- Less than .5%.

Under 2,500 7 1

2,500-9,999 22 1

10,000-24,999 44 --

25,000-49,999 61 2

50,000-99,999 71 9

100,000-249,999 92 25

250,000-499,999 91 61

500,000-999,999 96 42

1,000,000 or more 100% 75%

 All sizes 23% 2%

served Dogs Horses

Percent of agencies

maintaining animals for

Population law enforcement work 

Table 48. Animals maintained by

local police departments, by size

of population served, 1997
Computers and information systems

Types of computers used for 

administrative functions

All local police departments serving a

population of 25,000 or more, and nearly

all of those serving 2,500 to 24,999

residents, used computers for administrative purposes in 1997 (table 49).

The percentage of all local police

officers employed by a department that

used computers increased from 95% 

in 1993 to 98% in 1997. 

The type of computer most commonly

used in local police facilities in 1997 was

the personal computer, used by about

two-thirds of all departments. Nearly all

departments serving a population of

25,000 or more used personal computers. Departments using personal

computers employed 93% of all officers

in 1997 compared to 89% in 1993.

About 3 in 8 local police departments

were using a mainframe computer in

1997, including a majority of those

serving a population of 10,000 or more.

Departments using mainframes

employed three-fourths of all officers,

the same proportion as in 1993. 

About 1 in 8 departments were using a

minicomputer in 1997, including a

majority of those serving a population

of 100,000 or more. Departments

using minicomputers employed about

half of all officers in both 1997 and

1993. 

Computer functions

Local police departments utilized

computers for a wide variety of 

functions in 1997. For example, 74%

of all departments, employing 91% of

all officers, used computers for recordkeeping (table 50). These percentages

represented increases over 1993 when

53% of departments, employing 88% of

officers, used computers for this

function. 

During 1997, 53% of all departments

used computers to assist with criminal

investigations, including more than 80%

of those serving a population of 10,000

or more. Departments using computers for criminal investigations employed

84% of all officers in 1997. In 1993,

41% of departments, employing 77% of

all officers, used computers for criminal

investigations. 

In 1997, 41% of departments used

computers for crime analysis, compared

to 29% in 1993. A large majority of

departments serving 10,000 or more

residents used computers for this

function. Those using computers for

crime analysis employed 81% of all

officers in 1997, up from 75% in 1993. 

Related to crime analysis efforts in

local police departments is the use of

crime mapping. In 1997 a sixth of all

departments, including a large majority

of those serving a population of

100,000 or more reported they used

computers in conjunction with crime

mapping. Departments using computers for crime mapping purposes

employed 58% of all officers in 1997.

About a fourth of all local police departments used computers for dispatching

calls for service (27%). A majority of

departments serving a population of

10,000 or more had computer-aided

dispatch, and three-fourths of all

officers worked for such departments. 

About a fifth of local police departments

used computers for fleet management

and resource allocation. A majority of

departments serving a population of

100,000 or more used computers for

these functions, and such departments

employed a majority of all officers.

24 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 66 50 20 4

2,500-9,999 93 75 42 12

10,000-24,999 99 85 58 26

25,000-49,999 100 95 66 37

50,000-99,999 100 97 70 48

100,000-249,999 100 99 76 54

250,000-499,999 100 100 78 65

500,000-999,999 100 96 96 67

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 87% 62%

 All sizes 82% 67% 37% 13%

 Mini

MainPersonal frameAny 

type

Population

served

Percent of agencies using each type of computer:

Table 49. Selected types of computers used by 

local police departments for administrative functions, 

by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 57 31 20 7 10 8 12 7

2,500-9,999 83 63 49 26 27 23 23 17

10,000-24,999 95 83 69 60 41 41 32 30

25,000-49,999 96 89 77 73 53 42 40 39

50,000-99,999 92 83 85 79 63 41 44 49

100,000-249,999 93 91 93 91 78 60 57 72

250,000-499,999 96 91 94 93 78 69 74 87

500,000-999,999 92 88 100 100 83 88 79 88

1,000,000 or more 94% 87% 87% 87% 75% 88% 75% 75%

 All sizes 74% 53% 41% 27% 24% 21% 21% 17%

 Crime

 mapping

Resource

allocation

 Fleet 

 manage-

 ment

 Internet

 Dispatch access

 Crime 

 analysis

 Criminal

 investi-

 gations

 Record-

 keeping

Population

served

Percent of agencies using computers for:

Table 50. Selected functions of computers in local police departments, 

by size of population served, 1997
Computerized files

In 1997, a majority of local police departments were maintaining computerized

files on arrests (69%), incident reports

(69%), calls for service (61%) and

traffic citations (56%) (table 51). Half

had files on traffic accidents and nearly

half had files on stolen property (47%).

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.

A majority of the departments in each

population category of 10,000 or more

had computerized files with the following

types of information: warrants, criminal

histories, evidence, alarms, inventory,

personnel, incident-based crime data,

and summary crime data. 

A majority of departments serving a

population of 25,000 or more had

computerized information on field interviews and the agency payroll (table

52). A majority of those serving a

population of 100,000 or more had

linked crime analysis files.

Except for incident-based crime data

(45%), driver’s license information

(40%), summonses (38%), and vehicle

registration (34%), a majority of local

police officers worked for a department

that had computer files on each type of

information included in the 1997

LEMAS survey. 

Compared with 1993, the percentage

of officers working for a department

with computerized arrest data

increased from 87% to 92% (figure 13).

The increases for selected other types

of information were as follows: calls for

service (from 84% in 1993 to 90% in

1997); criminal histories (61% to 77%);

stolen property (62% to 75%); traffic

accidents (67% to 74%).

 Local Police Departments 1997 25

Under 2,500 49 51 39 37 27 27 26 26 21 20 19 28 24 16 16

2,500-9,999 78 81 72 68 62 58 53 49 51 46 46 42 42 47 44

10,000-24,999 94 90 89 79 78 72 69 71 69 70 71 56 61 65 63

25,000-49,999 97 90 91 81 82 72 72 69 76 77 77 63 70 63 66

50,000-99,999 94 89 95 72 81 72 71 66 74 83 78 64 69 60 71

100,000-249,999 92 90 97 74 84 80 82 68 78 76 81 66 84 61 75

250,000-499,999 98 89 98 55 70 72 89 70 78 78 83 74 87 55 81

500,000-999,999 92 96 96 63 79 79 79 83 92 88 75 83 92 46 83

1,000,000 or more 94% 75% 87% 50% 56% 81% 81% 75% 88% 75% 81% 87% 100% 38% 81%

 All sizes 69% 69% 61% 56% 50% 47% 45% 43% 42% 41% 40% 40% 39% 37% 36%

Crimes,

summary

Crimes,

incidentbased Pers-

 onnel

 InvenAlarms tory Evi-

 dence

Criminal

histories

 War-

 rants

Stolen

vehicles

Stolen

property

Traffic

accidents

Traffic

citations

Calls for

service

Incident

 Arrests reports

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Table 51. Types of computerized information files maintained by at least a third 

of local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 2,500 20 15 12 14 7 8

2,500-9,999 29 31 25 29 18 20

10,000-24,999 46 32 39 34 30 26

25,000-49,999 55 35 52 35 40 25

50,000-99,999 65 29 55 35 45 21

100,000-249,999 72 41 78 35 62 37

250,000-499,999 70 41 76 41 59 37

500,000-999,999 62 33 92 29 92 21

1,000,000 or more 69% 50% 88% 44% 62% 50%

 All sizes 30% 24% 24% 23% 18% 16%

 Vehicle

 registration

 Crime

 analysis

Payroll Summonses (linked)

 Driver’s 

 license 

 information

 Field 

 interviews

Population 

served

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Table 52. Types of computerized information files maintained by fewer than a

third of local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

1993

Traffic accidents

Stolen property

Criminal histories

Calls for service

Arrests

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

Type of information

Local police officers employed by departments maintaining

selected types of computerized information files, 1993 and 1997

1993

1997

Percent of all local police officers employed

Figure 13
About 1 in 8 local police departments

had either exclusive or shared ownership of an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that included a

file of digitized prints (table 53). These

departments employed just over half of

all officers. A majority of the departments serving a population of 100,000

or more had exclusive or shared

ownership of an AFIS system.

Three percent of local police departments

used an AFIS terminal with access to a

remote system. These departments

employed 35% of all officers. 

Use of computers in the field

A large majority of local police departments serving 25,000 or more residents

used mobile computers or terminals in

the field during 1997 (table 54).

Overall, 29% of departments, employing 73% of all officers, were using

in-field computers or terminals. 

Laptops were the most common type of

in-field computer, used by nearly 3 in 4

departments serving a population of

500,000 or more and by nearly 3 in 5

departments serving a population of

25,000 to 499,999. Overall, 21% of

local police departments, employing

58% of all officers, were using laptops. 

More than two-thirds of departments

serving a population of 250,000 were

using car-mounted data terminals.

Overall, about 1 in 8 departments,

employing about half of all officers used

them. 

Smaller percentages of departments

used car-mounted computers (4%) or

hand-held terminals (1%). Departments using these technologies

employed about a sixth of all officers. 

The 29% of local police departments

using in-field computers or terminals in

1997 was about twice the percentage in

1993 (13%) and about 6 times that in

1990 (5%). Likewise, the 73% of local

police officers working for a department with in-field computers or terminals in 1990 was considerably higher

than in 1993 (55%) and 1990 (30%). 

From 1990 to 1997 increases in local

police use of in-field computers and

terminals occurred in jurisdictions of all

sizes (figure 14). During this period,

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

residents increased from 56% to 85%;

among departments serving 50,000 to

249,999 residents, from 31% to 79%;

among departments serving 10,000 to

49,999 residents, from 9% to 54%; and

among departments serving fewer than

10,000 residents, from 2% to 19%.

26 Local Police Departments 1997

Under 2,500 9 1

2,500-9,999 11 2

10,000-24,999 13 2

25,000-49,999 26 9

50,000-99,999 39 24

100,000-249,999 64 53

250,000-499,999 85 74

500,000-999,999 88 33

1,000,000 or more 100% 62%

 All sizes 13% 3%

Remote

access

terminal

Exclusive 

or shared

ownership

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, 1997

--Less than 0.5%.

Under 2,500 14 10 -- 4 1

2,500-9,999 29 21 1 10 3

10,000-24,999 47 33 3 22 9

25,000-49,999 70 55 4 31 11

50,000-99,999 76 61 8 39 17

100,000-249,999 85 59 13 47 25

250,000-499,999 81 59 20 70 13

500,000-999,999 88 71 8 67 12

1,000,000 or more 94% 75% 19% 81% 25%

 All sizes 29% 21% 1% 12% 4%

Digital/data 

computer

Digital/data

terminal

 Hand-held 

Laptop terminal

Any 

type

Population

 served

Car-mounted 

Percent of agencies using in-field computers

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

by local police departments, by size of population served, 1997

Under 10,000

10,000 - 49,999

50,000 - 249,999

250,000 or more

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

1990

1997

Population served

Percent of agencies

1993

Local police departments using in-field

computers or terminals, 1990, 1993 and 1997

Figure 14
About a fourth of local police departments used in-field computers or terminals for writing incident reports (26%)

(table 55). These departments

employed 23% of all officers. About 1

in 7 departments used them for at least

some in-field communications. These

departments employed about half of all

officers. 

In about a sixth of local police departments, at least some officers in the

field could use computers to access

vehicle or driving records in 1997 (table

56). This included a majority of the

departments serving a population of

100,000 or more. Departments using

in-field computers for these purposes

employed more than half of all officers. 

In 10% of local police departments,

employing a fourth of all officers, in-field

computers or terminals could be used

to access criminal history information.

This included half of the departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more, and about a third of those serving

a population of 100,000 to 999,999. 

In 9% of departments, employing 24%

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 500,000 to 999,999,

and about two-fifths of those serving a

population of 100,000 to 499,999. 

In 2% of all departments, employing

3% of all officers, in-field officers had

access to linked files for crime analysis.

In 86% of local police departments,

paper reports were the primary method

used to transmit criminal incident

reports from the field to the agency’s

central information system (table 57).

Other methods included computers

and data devices (9%), and telephone

and wireless communication systems

(4%).

Ninety percent of local police departments used paper reports to transmit

traffic incident reports from the field to

the agency’s central information

system. Six percent used computer

and data devices, and 4% used

telephone or wireless transmissions.

 Local Police Departments 1997 27

Under 2,500 23 5

2,500-9,999 29 16

10,000-24,999 29 22

25,000-49,999 32 31

50,000-99,999 29 42

100,000-249,999 39 52

250,000-499,999 17 63

500,000-999,999 21 67

1,000,000 or more 25% 69%

 All sizes 26% 14%

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, 1997

Under 2,500 5 1 5 7 7

2,500-9,999 9 2 11 14 16

10,000-24,999 15 3 18 29 31

25,000-49,999 20 6 23 39 41

50,000-99,999 25 6 23 47 51

100,000-249,999 38 2 32 59 65

250,000-499,999 43 7 37 68 74

500,000-999,999 54 4 33 58 71

1,000,000 or more 25% 0% 50% 75% 87%

 All sizes 9% 2% 10% 16% 17%

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, 1997

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

Under 2,500 100 92 4 4 100 92 3 5

2,500-9,999 100 82 13 5 100 88 8 4

10,000-24,999 100 79 17 4 100 88 9 3

25,000-49,999 100 81 13 6 100 92 7 1

50,000-99,999 100 86 10 4 100 94 4 2

100,000-249,999 100 84 8 8 100 94 4 2

250,000-499,999 100 91 2 6 100 100 0 0

500,000-999,999 100 92 8 0 100 96 4 0

1,000,000 or more 100% 75% 6% 19% 100% 100% 0% 0%

 All sizes 100% 86% 9% 4% 100% 90% 6% 4%

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Telephone/

wireless

Computer/

data device

Paper 

Total report

Population

served

Criminal incidents Traffic accidents

Table 57. Methods for transmitting criminal incident and traffic accident reports to the 

central information system in local police departments, by size of population served, 1997
Methodology

The Law Enforcement Management

and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)

survey collects data from a nationally

representative sample of the approximately 19,000 publicly funded State

and local law enforcement agencies in

the United States. 

This report presents data from the

1997 survey describing the more than

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 (86%) or

township (13%) governments. As of

1997, about 100 local police departments were operated by tribal governments, and approximately 50 by county

governments.

The 1997 LEMAS survey questionnaire

was mailed to 3,597 State and local law

enforcement agencies. The overall

response rate was 94.9%. Among

local police departments, 2,012 of

2,097 surveys were returned for a

95.9% response rate.

All 968 State and local law enforcement

agencies in the United States with 100

or more sworn officers (as reported in

the 1996 BJS Census of State and

Local Law Enforcement Agencies)

received the full-length LEMAS survey

questionnaire. This included 529 local

police departments. These selfrepresenting (SR) agencies were

supplemented by a nationally representative sample of agencies with fewer

than 100 sworn officers.

Nonself-representing (NSR) agencies

were chosen using a stratified random

sample with cells based on the type of

agency (local police, sheriff, or special

police), size of population served, and

number of sworn officers. The 2,629

NSR agencies received one of two

shorter versions of the questionnaire 

that was mailed to the SR agencies.

The initial mailing of the questionnaire

was conducted in July 1997. The pay

period containing June 15, 1997, was

used as the reference date for

personnel-related questions and June

30, 1997, for other questions. The data

were collected by the Bureau of the

Census for the Bureau of Justice

Statistics.

After two followup mailings and

additional telephone calls as needed, 

a final total of 3,412 agencies responded to the LEMAS questionnaire,

including 909 SR agencies and 2,503

NSR agencies. The final database

includes responses from 2,012 local

police departments, 915 sheriffs’

departments, 356 special jurisdiction

police departments, 80 Texas constable offices, and the 49 primary State

police departments.

The base weight for all SR agencies is

1. For NSR sheriffs’ departments, it is

4. For NSR local police departments,

the base weights are determined by 

number of sworn officers 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.

Special police are similarly weighted

based upon the number of sworn

officers. For agencies with 0 to 9

officers, the base weight is 9.85; for 10

to 24 officers, it is 4.90; for 25 to 49

officers, it is 2.75; and for 50 to 99

officers, it is 1.52. The final weight

associated with every agency, both SR

and NSR, is the product of the base

weight and a factor that adjusted for

any nonresponding agencies in each

cell. This agency nonresponse factor

was based on number of sworn officers

for SR agencies and on number of

agencies for NSR agencies. 

Some responding agencies did not fully

complete the LEMAS questionnaire.

When an agency did not supply a

response to an item, a donor agency

was randomly selected from responding agencies in the same sample cell.

The donor agency's value for the item

was placed into the nonresponding

agency's response field with an indicator that the value had been imputed.

Complete documentation regarding

sampling procedures and nonresponse

adjustments is available upon request. 

Because the data from agencies with

fewer than 100 sworn personnel were

collected from a sample, the results are

subject to sampling error. All statements of comparison in this report have

been tested to ensure that observed

differences between values are significant at 2 standard errors (the

95-percent confidence level) or higher.

Data on the number of employees and

on the amount of agency expenditures

in this report are not comparable with

figures based on the BJS Survey of

Criminal Justice Expenditure and

Employment series. In the latter, these

data are presented by governmental

function, whereas in the LEMAS

survey, expenditures are classified by

type of agency. For example, what

might be attributed to sheriffs’ departments in the LEMAS survey would be

apportioned among various functions,

such as police protection and corrections, in the expenditure and employment series. Also, the LEMAS figures

for operating expenditures include

employee benefits, but the expenditure

and employment figures do not. 

28 Local Police Departments 1997