Bureau of Justice Statistics

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Local Police

Departments, 1993

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

Under 2,500

250,000 or more

Population served

100,000-249,999

50,000-99,999

25,000-49,999

10,000-24,999

2,500-9,999

Average number of training hours required -----------------------------

The typical new local police officer recruit undergoes

nearly 1,000 hours of training 

Revised 4/15/96
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Local Police Departments

1993

Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

BJS Statistician

April 1996, NCJ-148822
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

Brian Reaves, BJS statistician, wrote

this report. Tom Hester edited it.

Pheny Z. Smith provided statistical review. It was produced by Marilyn Marbrook, assisted by Rhonda Keith,

Priscilla Middleton, and Yvonne 

Boston. Sample design, selection, and

weighting were provided by David 

Hubble and Carol Perseley of the

Demographic Statistical Methods Division, Bureau of the Census. The data

were collected and processed by Martha Greene, Etta Herrin, Linda Huang,

Sheryl Jones, Charlene Sebold, and

Charline Watz of the Governments 

Division, Bureau of the Census.

Data utilized in this report are available

from the National Archive of Criminal

Justice Data at the University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI

48106; 1-800-999-0960. The dataset

is archived as Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics,

1993, (ICPSR 9749).

An electronic version of this report and

the data analyzed in the report may be

found on the Internet at 

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

Highlights iii

The LEMAS survey 1

Personnel 1

Expenditures and pay 7

Operations 9

Equipment 13

Computers and 

 information systems 18

Policy directives 21

Methodology 22

Contents

ii Local Police Departments, 1993
 As of June 30, 1993, local police departments in the United States had an

estimated 474,072 full-time employees, 3% more than in 1990. Among

this total were 373,554 sworn personnel, including approximately 230,000

uniformed officers whose regularly

assigned duties included responding

to calls for service.

 About 80% of U.S. residents were

served by a local police department

at either the municipal or county level,

and there were approximately 21 fulltime local police officers employed

for every 10,000 residents served.

 For fiscal year 1993, local police departments had total operating expenditures of $24.3 billion, compared to

$20.6 billion in 1990, a 6% increase after controlling for inflation. Operating

expenditures averaged $62,600 per

sworn officer, $48,200 per employee,

and $131 per resident for 1993.

 Women comprised 8.8% of all fulltime local police officers in 1993, compared to 8.1% in 1990 and 7.6% in

1987. Black officers accounted for

11.3% of the total in 1993, compared

to 10.5% in 1990 and 9.3% in 1987.

The percentage of Hispanic officers

was 6.2% in 1993, up from 5.2% in

1990 and 4.5% in 1987.

 Twelve percent of local police departments required new officer recruits to

have at least some college education

in 1993, compared to about 6% in

1990. Eight percent of departments

had some type of degree requirement,

with 1% requiring a 4-year degree.

 The average number of training

hours required of new local police officer recruits in 1993 ranged from over

1,100 hours in departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more to under

500 in those serving fewer than 2,500

residents. 

 Eighty-four percent of local police departments authorized their regular field

officers to use semiautomatic sidearms

in 1993, up from 73% in 1990. Departments authorizing semiautomatic sidearms employed 96% of all local police

officers in 1993, compared to 91% in

1990.

 In 1993, a third of all local police departments, including nearly half of

those serving a population of 1 million

or more, required all regular field officers to wear protective body armor

while on duty. Departments with such

a requirement employed 41% of all local police officers in 1993, compared to

32% in 1990.

 Nearly all local police departments

authorized the use of one or more

types of impact devices as a nonlethal

weapon, most commonly in the form of

a PR-24 baton (59%) or traditional baton (58%). Three-fourths of departments authorized the use of chemical

agents, with pepper spray (59%) the

type most commonly authorized.

 Sixty-eight percent of local police departments participated in a 911 emergency telephone system during 1993,

and 41% had an enhanced 911 system. Departments with a 911 system

employed 89% of all local police officers in 1993, compared to 65% in

1990. 

 In addition to traditional law enforcement duties, some local police departments were responsible for courtrelated functions such as providing

court security (19%) or serving civil

process (11%), and 5% operated a jail.

Among the numerous other special

functions performed by local police departments were animal control (49%),

and emergency medical services

(20%). 

Two-thirds of local police departments

were using computers in 1993, compared to half in 1990. Department using computers employed 95% of all

local police officers in 1993. Departments that used laptop computers or

mobile terminals employed twice as

many officers in 1993 (60%) as in 1990

(30%). 

Female All minorities* Black Hispanic

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Percent of full-time sworn personnel

Women and minority local police officers, 1987, 1990, and 1993

1987 1990 1993

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

Highlights

 Local Police Departments, 1993 iii
During 1993, 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 more than 17,000 State

and local law enforcement agencies

operating nationwide. This report presents data describing the more than

12,000 general purpose local police

departments operated by municipal or

county governments in terms of their

personnel, expenditures and pay, operations, equipment, computers and

information systems, and policies. 

This report excludes sheriffs' departments (covered in a companion report), State police, and special police

agencies (those with limited jurisdictions such as parks, transit systems,

airports, or schools).

The LEMAS survey

The 1993 LEMAS survey questionnaire was mailed to all 854 State and

local law enforcement agencies with

100 or more sworn officers and to a

representative sample of 2,416 agencies employing fewer than 100 officers

(see Methodology for a description of

the sample). Of the 3,270 agencies receiving the LEMAS questionnaire,

3,028 (92.6%) responded.

Detailed agency-by-agency tabulations

from the 1993 LEMAS survey were

previously published for State and local

law enforcement agencies with 100 or

more officers (see Law Enforcement

Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993 NCJ-148825). This report and the companion report Sheriffs'

Departments, 1993 summarize the

data collected from agencies of all

sizes.

 

This is the third LEMAS survey. Data

from the previous surveys in 1987 and

1990 are used for comparison purposes in this report. Law enforcement

manpower data collected by BJS in

1992 are less comprehensive in content (they include only personnel

counts) and therefore are not used for

comparisons.

Personnel

During 1993 an estimated 17,120 publicly funded State and local law enforcement agencies were operating in

the United States (table 1). The estimated 12,361 general purpose local

police departments accounted for 72%

of this total. Municipal governments

operated over 99% of these local police departments. Although county police departments comprised less than

1% of all local police departments, they

employed about 7% of all local police

officers.

Local police departments employed an

estimated 474,072 persons full time

and another 58,146 on a part-time

basis as of June 30, 1993. An estimated 373,554 (79%) of full-time local

police employees were sworn officers,

representing 60% of all full-time State

and local sworn personnel nationwide.

Local police departments had an estimated 100,518 full-time civilian employees in 1993, about half of all

full-time State and local civilian law enforcement employees nationwide.

The number of local police employees

in 1993 was up by about 14,000, or

3.1%, from 1990 and by about 27,000,

or 6.1%, compared to 1987 (figure 1).

 Local Police Departments, 1993 1

Table 1. Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies in the

United States, 1993

Number of employees

Type of

agency

Number of

agencies

Full-time Part-time

Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian

Total 17,120 828,435 622,913 205,522 87,875 42,890 44,985

Local police 12,361 474,072 373,554 100,518 58,146 28,186 29,960

Sheriff 3,084 224,236 155,815 68,421 19,660 11,048 8,612

State police 49 76,972 51,874 25,098 845 228 617

Special police 1,626 53,156 41,670 11,485 9,224 3,428 5,796

Note: Consolidated police-sheriff agencies are included under the local police category. 

The special police category includes both State-level and local-level agencies. 

Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 1993.

Full-time employees Full-time officers

Local police

only

1987 1990 1993 1987 1990 1993

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

Number of employees

Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies, 1987, 1990 and 1993

All State

and local*

*Includes local police, sheriffs' departments, special police, and State police.

Figure 1
For all State and local law enforcement

agencies, there was an increase of

about 35,000, or 4.5%, over 1990 levels and 69,000, or 9.2%, compared to

1987. 

When only sworn personnel are considered, employment increased by

about 11,000 (2.9%) for local police

departments, and by 27,000 (4.5%) for

all State and local law enforcement

agencies from 1990 to 1993. Compared to 1987, there were about

19,000, or 5.4%, more local police officers in 1993, and 55,000, or 9.7%,

more State and local sworn officers

overall. 

The New York City Police Department,

the largest police department in the

United States, reported 35,480 fulltime employees as of June 30, 1993,

including 28,019 full-time sworn officers. Other municipal police departments with at least 2,500 full-time officers included those in Chicago (12,368

officers), Los Angeles (7,662), Philadelphia (6,076), Houston (4,627),

Washington, D.C. (4,271), Detroit

(3,861), Baltimore (2,945), and Dallas

(2,810). County police departments

with more than 2,500 officers were operating in Nassau County, New York

(2,633), and Dade County, Florida

(2,614). 

While 38 local police departments employed 1,000 or more sworn officers, 

nearly 6,400 (52% of all departments) 

employed fewer than 10 officers (table

2). Nearly twice as many departments

employed only 1 full-time or part-time

officer as employed 100 or more officers (7% versus 4%).

Despite the large number of small police departments, they accounted for a

small proportion of local police officers.

Just 1 in 19 full-time local police officers were employed by a department

with fewer than 10 sworn employees.

In contrast, about 3 in 5 worked for a

department with 100 or more officers,

and nearly 1 in 3 worked for a department with 1,000 or more officers.

About half of all full-time local police

officers worked for a department

serving a population of 100,000 or

more, and a fifth were employed by the

12 departments that served a population of 1 million or more (table 3).

About 1 in 7 officers were employed by

the more than 9,000 departments serving a population under 10,000.

On average, departments serving a

population of 1 million or more had

about 8,000 full-time employees, including about 6,300 full-time sworn officers (table 4). These departments

 2 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 2. Local police departments, by number

of sworn personnel, 1993

Number of

sworn

personnel*

Agencies

Full-time sworn

personnel

Number Percent Number Percent

Total 12,361 100% 373,554 100%

1,000 or more 38 0.3% 118,460 31.7%

500-999 38 0.3 27,351 7.3

250-499 86 0.7 29,344 7.9

100-249 326 2.6 46,983 12.6

50-99 692 5.6 45,779 12.3

25-49 1,443 11.7 45,160 12.1

10-24 3,361 27.2 40,913 11.0

5-9 2,940 23.8 13,906 3.7

2-4 2,587 20.9 5,065 1.4

1 851 6.9 594 0.2

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

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

Table 4. Average number of employees in local police

departments, by size of population served, 1993

Average number of employees

Population

served

Full-time Part-time

Total Sworn Nonsworn Total Sworn Nonsworn

All sizes 38 30 8 5 2 2

1,000,000 or more 8,012 6,291 1,720 338 0 338

500,000-999,999 1,793 1,392 401 84 3 81

250,000-499,999 977 740 237 52 4 49

100,000-249,999 351 266 85 22 2 20

50,000-99,999 154 119 35 17 2 15

25,000-49,999 76 61 15 8 2 6

10,000-24,999 36 29 7 4 2 2

2,500-9,999 13 10 2 4 3 1

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

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

--Less than .5.

Table 3. Local police departments and full-time sworn

personnel, by size of population served, 1993

Population

served

Agencies

Full-time

sworn personnel

Number Percent Number Percent

All sizes 12,361 100% 373,554 100%

1,000,000 or more 12 0.1% 75,496 20.2%

500,000-999,999 27 0.2 37,856 10.1

250,000-499,999 45 0.4 33,261 8.9

100,000-249,999 147 1.2 39,057 10.5

50,000-99,999 340 2.7 40,493 10.8

25,000-49,999 703 5.7 42,864 11.5

10,000-24,999 1,662 13.4 47,405 12.7

2,500-9,999 4,099 33.2 42,879 11.5

Under 2,500 5,327 43.1 14,243 3.8

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
did not employ any part-time officers.

Departments in the smallest towns

(under 2,500 in population) employed

an average of 3 full-time sworn officers, and 2 part-time officers.

On average, local police departments

employed about 2.1 full-time officers

for every 1,000 residents. By population category, this ratio ranged from

1.7 for departments serving 50,000 to

99,999 residents to 2.6 among departments serving a population of 1 million

or more. When county police are excluded, the average officer-to-citizen

ratio rose to 3.2 in jurisdictions with 1

million or more residents, 2.7 in those

with 500,000 to 999,999 residents, and

2.3 in those with 250,000 to 499,999

residents.

Race and sex of officers

Women comprised 8.8% of all local police officers nationwide in 1993 (table

5). The percentage of women officers

was highest in large jurisdictions, including 15% of officers in jurisdictions

of 1 million or more in population, and

12% in jurisdictions with at least

 Local Police Departments, 1993 3

Population served

Average number

of full-time local

police officers per

1,000 residents 

All sizes 2.1

 

1,000,000 or more 2.6

500,000-999,999 2.1

250,000-499,999 2.1

100,000-249,999 1.8

50,000-99,999 1.7

25,000-49,999 1.8

10,000-24,999 1.8

2,500-9,999 2.0

Under 2,500 2.4

Duties of sworn personnel

in local police departments

Departments with 100 or more

officers

About 10% of the officers in departments with 100 or more sworn personnel primarily performed duties

outside the area of field operations. 

About half of these officers worked in

administrative areas (5%), including 

finance, personnel, and internal

affairs. 

Another 4% of the officers in these

larger departments provided technical

support services. These sworn personnel primarily performed duties related to dispatch, recordkeeping, data

processing, communications, fleet

management, and training.

Depending on a particular department's responsibilities, some local police officers may have been assigned

to jail or court operations. Departments with 100 or more officers reported about 1% of their officers 

worked primarily in these areas.

Among the 90% of officers classified

as working in field operations, an estimated 3 in 4 were uniformed officers

whose regularly assigned duties included responding to calls for service.

The other fourth included supervisors

and those whose primary duties were

investigative in nature, such as detectives. Other examples of field operation officers whose primary duties did

not include responding to calls for

service included those assigned to

special operations or traffic-related

duties. 

All departments

Overall, an estimated 252,000 local

police officers, 67% of all such officers nationwide, were uniformed personnel whose regularly assigned

duties included responding to calls

for service. 

The percentage of full-time sworn

personnel in local police departments

who were uniformed officers assigned

to respond to calls for service was

highest in jurisdictions with fewer than

25,000 residents. For example, an

estimated 75% of sworn personnel

in departments serving a population

of 10,000 to 24,999 were assigned to

respond to calls for service. The percentage was even higher in departments serving a population of 2,500

to 9,999 (85%) or under 2,500 (95%).

Possible explanations for this pattern

include the fact that smaller departments have less need for administrative personnel such as those handling

budgetary and personnel matters.

Smaller departments also tend to be

less technologically advanced and

may need fewer employees for technical support duties related to computerized functions. Smaller departments also often rely on larger departments for their training needs

rather than employ personnel to handle such duties. 

In some small departments it may

also be more common for sworn personnel to handle multiple areas of responsibility, including but not limited

to responding to calls for service.

Departments with 100 or more officers

Primary area

of responsibility

Percent of 

full-time officers

Field operations 90%

Administration 5%

Technical support 4%

Other* 1%

*Includes jail and court operations

Table 5. Sex of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993 

Population

served

All sworn employees

Total Male Female

All sizes 100% 91.2% 8.8%

1,000,000 or more 100% 85.4% 14.6%

500,000-999,999 100 87.6 12.4

250,000-499,999 100 88.1 11.9

100,000-249,999 100 91.0 9.0

50,000-99,999 100 93.0 7.0

25,000-49,999 100 94.8 5.2

10,000-24,999 100 95.0 5.0

2,500-9,999 100 95.6 4.4

Under 2,500 100 97.2 2.8

Note: Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.
250,000 residents but fewer than 1 million. About 3% of officers in departments serving fewer than 2,500

residents were women, as were about

5% of those serving a population of at

least 2,500 but less than 50,000. 

The estimated 32,849 female local police officers employed in 1993 represented an increase of about 3,500 over

the number in 1990 and about 5,800

over 1987. Women also comprised a

higher percentage of the total local

police force in 1993 (8.8%) than in

1990 (8.1%) or 1987 (7.6%) (figure 2).

About 302,000, or 81%, of full-time local police officers were non-Hispanic

whites in 1993 (table 6). This

represented a decrease from 1990

(83%) and 1987 (85%). The number

of white male local police officers in

1993 was estimated to be 281,057, a

decrease of about 20,000 from 1990

and about 22,000 from 1987. In contrast, the estimated 71,244 minority 

officers in 1993 was larger than the

61,710 in 1990 and the 51,872 in 1987.

The estimated 42,212 black local police officers in 1993 represented an increase of about 4,000 over 1990 and

about 9,000 over 1987. The percentage of local police officers who were

black was 11.3% in 1993, compared

to 10.5% in 1990 and 9.3% in 1987.

Hispanics also comprised a larger percentage of local police officers in 1993

(6.2%) than in earlier years (5.2% in

1990, 4.5% in 1987). The number of

Hispanic officers in 1993 (23,309) was

23% greater than in 1990 (18,876) and

46% greater than in 1987 (15,988).

Education and training requirements

for new officers

Nearly all (97%) local police departments had a formal education requirement for new officer recruits (table 7).

The typical minimum educational requirement for new local police officers

was completion of high school (86%).

In 1993, 12% of local police departments, twice as many as in 1990, required at least some college

coursework. About 1% required new

officers to have a 4-year college degree, and 7% required a 2-year

degree.

 4 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 6. Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel in local police departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of full-time sworn employees who are:

Population

served

White Black Hispanic Other

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

All sizes 100% 80.9% 75.2% 5.7% 11.3% 9.1% 2.2% 6.2% 5.5% .7% 1.5% 1.4% .1% 

1,000,000 or more 100% 69.2% 61.7% 7.5% 17.7% 12.8% 4.9% 12.0% 10.0% 2.0% 1.2% 1.0% .2%

500,000-999,999 100 66.2 60.1 6.1 21.0 16.1 5.0 7.0 6.1 .9 5.8 5.4 .4

250,000-499,999 100 71.9 64.5 7.4 17.7 14.3 3.4 9.0 8.2 .9 1.4 1.2 .2

100,000-249,999 100 80.6 74.2 6.3 12.4 10.4 2.1 5.4 4.9 .4 1.6 1.5 .1

50,000-99,999 100 86.3 80.7 5.5 7.2 6.3 .9 5.1 4.7 .5 1.4 1.3 .1

25,000-49,999 100 89.8 85.1 4.6 5.4 5.0 .5 4.3 4.1 .2 .6 .6 --

10,000-24,999 100 91.6 87.1 4.5 5.1 4.8 .3 2.6 2.5 .1 .6 .6 --

2,500-9,999 100 92.8 88.9 3.9 4.1 3.8 .3 2.6 2.4 .1 .5 .5 --

Under 2,500 100 91.7 89.3 2.3 5.3 5.0 .3 1.9 1.8 .1 1.2 1.1 .1

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

-- Less than .05%.

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

Female All minorities* Black Hispanic

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Percent of full-time sworn personnel

Women and minority local police officers, 1987, 1990, and 1993

1987 1990 1993

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

Figure 2

 Revised 4-15-96
Ninety-nine percent of all local police

officers were employed by a department that required at least a high

school diploma of new recruits, and

15% worked for a department that 

required at least some college.

In 90% of local police departments,

employing 99% of all local police officers, new officer recruits were required

to complete formal training (table 8).

Nearly all (95%) of the departments

serving a population of 2,500 or more

required training, while 83% 

of the departments in towns of under

2,500 had a training requirement.

On average, local police departments

required 640 training hours of their new

officer recruits, including 425 classroom training hours and 215 field training hours. Training requirements were

more stringent in larger jurisdictions

than smaller ones  ranging from over

1,100 total hours in departments serving a population of 100,000 or more to

under 500 hours in jurisdictions with

fewer than 2,500 residents.

The average number of required classroom training hours was highest in departments serving 1 million or more

residents (865 hours), while the most

field training was required by departments serving a population of 250,000

to 499,999 (551 hours). When departments are weighted according to number of officers employed, it is estimated that the average new local police

recruit in 1993 was required to undergo

nearly 1,000 hours of training, with

two-thirds of it in the classroom.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 5

Table 7. Minimum educational requirement for new officer recruits

in local police departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies requiring a minimum of:

Population

served

Total

with

requirement

High

school

diploma

Some

college*

2-year

college

degree

4-year

college

degree

All sizes 97% 86% 4% 7% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100% 75% 25% 0% 0%

500,000-999,999 100 85 11 4 0

250,000-499,999 98 73 13 9 2

100,000-249,999 100 81 9 3 7

50,000-99,999 100 72 11 17 1

25,000-49,999 100 78 9 9 4

10,000-24,999 98 84 5 7 3

2,500-9,999 100 90 2 7 1

Under 2,500 94 85 4 5 0

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

*Nondegree requirements 

 

Table 8. Training requirements for

new officer recruits in local police

departments, by size of population

served, 1993 

Population

served

Percent of

agencies

requiring

training

Average

number of

hours required

Classroom Field

All sizes 90% 425 215

1,000,000 or more 100% 865 311

500,000-999,999 100 757 396

250,000-499,999 100 727 551

100,000-249,999 99 630 498

50,000-99,999 100 494 435

25,000-49,999 100 492 393

10,000-24,999 98 468 305

2,500-9,999 93 455 204

Under 2,500 83 352 105

Note: Computation of average number of

training hours required excludes departments

not requiring training.
Applicant and employee drug testing

Twenty-eight percent of local police

departments, employing 64% of all local police officers, required that all applicants for sworn positions be tested

for illegal drug use (table 9). A majority of the departments serving a population of 50,000 or more required a

drug test of all officer applicants, as did

about half of those in jurisdictions with

at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000

residents. Departments in small jurisdictions were the least likely to test all

officer applicants for drugs: 28% of

departments serving a population of

2,500 to 9,999 and 15% of those serving fewer than 2,500 residents had

such a requirement.

Overall, about a fourth of local police

departments had a drug testing program for their regular field officers, and

a majority (58%) of local police officers

were employed by a department that

had some type of drug testing program

for regular field officers.

Unlike applicant testing programs, testing requirements for regular field officers were rarely mandatory. Just 3%

of local police departments, employing

4% of all officers, had a mandatory requirement that all regular field officers

be tested for drugs. Most common

was a drug testing program that required testing of officers suspected of

using illegal drugs  16% of local police departments employing 43% of all

officers had such a drug testing program. Half this many departments had

a random selection drug testing program (8%). Departments with random

selection drug testing for regular field

officers employed 28% of all local police officers. 

Civilian employees in local police departments were somewhat less likely

than sworn personnel to be subjected

to a drug testing program  19% of all

departments, employing 42% of all

nonsworn local police employees,

tested such employees for drug use.

As with sworn personnel, the most

common type of drug testing

program for civilian police employees

was one based on suspicion of use.

About 13% of departments, employing

36% of all nonsworn local police personnel, tested nonsworn employees

suspected of using illegal drugs. Small

percentages of local police departments had random selection (5%) or

mandatory (4%) drug testing programs

for civilian personnel.

 6 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 9. Drug testing of applicants for sworn positions, regular field

officers, and civilian employees in local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with a drug testing program

Personnel category 

and population served

Any type

of testing

program

Mandatory

(all are tested)

Random 

selection

process

Use of

drugs is

suspected

Applicants for sworn positions

All sizes 33% 28% 3% 5%

1,000,000 or more 92% 83% 8 7

500,000-999,999 70 66 7 7

250,000-499,999 89 87 2 7

100,000-249,999 68 64 1 6

50,000-99,999 60 56 2 11

25,000-49,999 53 50 -- 5

10,000-24,999 52 49 2 6

2,500-9,999 32 28 3 5

Under 2,500 22 15 5 5

Regular field/patrol officers

All sizes 24% 3% 8% 16%

1,000,000 or more 92% 0% 58% 75%

500,000-999,999 59 4 26 51

250,000-499,999 84 4 35 73

100,000-249,999 62 3 29 48

50,000-99,999 46 2 13 39

25,000-49,999 42 2 6 36

10,000-24,999 34 2 6 29

2,500-9,999 27 4 10 17

Under 2,500 14 3 6 6

Civilian employees

All sizes 19% 4% 5% 13%

1,000,000 or more 67% 0% 8% 67%

500,000-999,999 44 4 4 40

250,000-499,999 80 9 22 69

100,000-249,999 54 6 8 49

50,000-99,999 42 9 5 31

25,000-49,999 33 4 3 28

10,000-24,999 32 6 5 23

2,500-9,999 21 5 6 14

Under 2,500 9 2 45

-- Less than .5%.

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

Operating expenditures

The total annual operating expenditure

by local police departments during

fiscal year 1993 was $24.3 billion, an

increase of 18% over 1990. After controlling for inflation, the increase was

about 6%. These figures do not include capital expenditures such as

those for equipment purchases or construction projects. Local police accounted for 58% of the $41.9 billion 

in total operating expenditures for all

State and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal year 1993. 

Local police operating expenditures

averaged about $2 million per department, ranging from an average of

about $427,000,000 for departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more, to $107,000 in those serving

fewer than 2,500 residents (table 10). 

Overall, the operation of local police

departments for the year cost $131 per

resident served. Departments serving

a population of 1 million or more cost

the most to operate, about $194 per

resident, and those in the smallest jurisdictions (under 2,500 residents) cost

the least, $88 per resident. 

Nationwide, local police departments

cost about $63,000 per sworn officer to

operate for the year, with departments

serving a population of 50,000 or more

costing more than this, and departments serving fewer than 25,000 residents costing less. Departments

serving a population of 500,000 to

999,999 had the highest per-officer

operating expenditure, about $77,000.

This was more than twice the per officer expenditure for departments

serving fewer than 2,500 residents

($29,400). 

After controlling for inflation, per officer

operating costs were up from about

$67,000 in 1990 to about $70,000 in

1993 for departments serving a population of 250,000 or more (figure 3). A

similar increase was seen among 

departments serving 10,000 to 49,999

residents (from $57,000 to $59,000)

and departments serving fewer than

10,000 residents (from $39,000 to

$41,000). Departments serving a

population of 50,000 to 249,999 experienced the largest increase, from

$62,000 per officer in 1990 to $70,000

per officer in 1993.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 7

Table 10. Operating expenditures of local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Population 

served

Operating expenditures, fiscal year 1993

Total

Per

agency

Per

sworn officer

Per

employee

Per

resident

All sizes $24,263,852,000 $1,963,000 $62,600 $48,200 $131

1,000,000 or more $5,121,639,000 $426,803,000 $67,800 $52,200 $194

500,000-999,999 2,923,851,000 108,291,000 77,200 58,600 148

250,000-499,999 2,258,447,000 50,188,000 67,700 50,100 141

100,000-249,999 2,768,374,000 18,832,000 70,600 52,000 129

50,000-99,999 2,870,655,000 8,443,000 70,400 52,100 124

25,000-49,999 2,823,516,000 4,028,000 64,600 50,400 116

10,000-24,999 2,709,979,000 1,631,000 54,900 43,400 104

2,500-9,999 2,215,401,000 540,000 45,800 36,600 101

Under 2,500 571,991,000 107,000 29,400 25,300 88

Note: Figures are for fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, 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 0.5 assigned to part-time employees. Total and per

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

nearest $100, and per resident figures to the nearest $1.

250,000 or more

50,000-249,999

10,000-49,999

Under 10,000

$0 $20 $40 $60 $80

Population served

1993

1990

Annual per officer operating costs of local police departments, 1990 and 1993

Annual operating cost per officer in 1993 dollars ($1,000's)

Figure 3

Billions

Total operating

expenditures $41.9

Local police 24.3

Sheriff 10.7

State police 4.2

Special police 2.8
When local police operating expenditures are considered on a per employee basis rather than per officer, the

national average for fiscal year 1993

was $48,200, ranging from a high of 

$58,600 per employee in jurisdictions

with 500,000 to 999,999 residents to a

low of $25,300 in the smallest jurisdictions. Overall, employee salaries and

benefits accounted for about $6 of

every $7 in local police operating

expenditures.

Salaries

The average base starting salary offered by local police departments to

entry-level officers was $21,300 in

1993 (table 11). This was an increase

of 12.6% compared with 1990, or 1.9%

after controlling for inflation. Departments in jurisdictions with 10,000 or

more residents had an average starting salary that was higher than the

overall average, ranging from $24,600

(population served of 10,000 to

24,999) to $28,200 (population served

of 1 million or more). The average for

departments serving a population of

2,500 to 9,999 was about the same as

the overall average, and departments

serving a population under 2,500 paid

entry-level officers an average starting

salary of $17,400 per year, about

$4,000 below the overall average.

When departments are weighted according to number of officers employed, the average entry-level salary

for local police officers in 1993 was

about $26,000.

Across population categories, salaries

for the positions of sergeant and chief

of police followed a pattern similar to

that for entry-level officers. By department, the average starting salary for

sergeants was $28,500, with sergeants

in the largest jurisdictions starting at

$44,600 on average, about twice as

much as in departments in the smallest

jurisdictions ($20,800). When departments are weighted according to size,

the average base starting salary for local police sergeants was $37,400 in

1993.

The overall average base starting salary for chiefs of local police departments was $34,600; however, the

chiefs of departments in jurisdictions

with 10,000 or more residents had an

average starting salary that was considerably higher. The average starting

salary for local police chiefs was highest in jurisdictions with 1 million or

more residents ($91,700) and lowest 

in departments serving a population 

of under 2,500 ($22,900). 

Special pay

Some local police departments offered

certain types of special pay to officers

(table 12). For example, 28% of local

police departments, employing 51% of

all officers, offered education incentive

pay to qualifying officers. A majority of

departments serving a population of

10,000 or more had education incentive pay; however, just 8% of departments serving fewer than 2,500

residents offered this type of pay to

officers. 

Roughly equal percentages of departments offered shift differential pay

(16%) or merit pay (15%) to officers.

About three-fourths of departments in

jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999

residents had shift differential pay, and

about two-fifths of those serving

250,000 to 999,999 residents had

merit pay. Nearly half of all local police

officers were employed by an agency

that offered shift differential pay, and a

fourth were employed by a department

that had merit pay.

Of the types of special pay included in

the LEMAS survey, the one least likely

to be available to officers was hazardous duty pay. This type of special pay

was offered by just 3% of all departments; however, about half of departments serving a population of 250,000

or more offered hazardous duty pay.

Nationwide, 22% of all local police officers were employed by a department

that offered hazardous duty pay.

 8 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 11. Average base starting

salary for selected positions in

local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Average base

starting salary, 1993

Population

served

Entrylevel

officer Sergeant

Chief of

police

All sizes $21,300 $28,500 $34,600

1,000,000

 or more $28,200 $44,600 $91,700

500,000-999,999 28,000 39,100 78,400

250,000-499,999 27,000 37,600 68,900

100,000-249,999 27,800 37,800 64,900

50,000-99,999 28,000 39,500 62,300

25,000-49,999 26,900 37,300 54,900

10,000-24,999 24,600 33,400 47,100

2,500-9,999 21,200 27,500 34,700

Under 2,500 17,400 20,800 22,900

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

agencies with no full-time employee in that position.

Table 12. Local police departments

authorizing special pay for full-time

sworn personnel, by size of

population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

authorizing pay for 

Population

served

Education

incentive 

Shift

differential Merit

Hazardous

duty

All sizes 28% 16% 15% 3%

1,000,000

or more 50% 58% 25% 50%

500,000-999,999 63 77 40 60

250,000-499,999 65 49 44 42

100,000-249,999 64 36 32 26

50,000-99,999 71 50 28 16

25,000-49,999 59 40 17 10

10,000-24,999 59 36 24 5

2,500-9,999 31 16 19 1

Under 2,500 8 48 1
Collective bargaining and union

membership

Nationwide, 38% of all local police departments, employing 71% of all officers, authorized collective bargaining

for sworn personnel (table 13). A majority of the departments serving a

population of 10,000 or more authorized collective bargaining for sworn

employees, including over 80% of the

departments in jurisdictions with a

population of 500,000 or more. Just

10% of the departments serving a

population of under 2,500 authorized

collective bargaining for sworn

personnel.

Civilian personnel in local police departments were less likely to have collective bargaining rights than were

sworn employees. Overall, 20% of local police departments, employing 60%

of all nonsworn local police personnel,

authorized collective bargaining for civilians. While a large majority of departments serving a population of

500,000 or more authorized collective

bargaining for civilian employees, just

2% of departments serving a population under 2,500 did so.

About a third of local police departments allowed police union membership, including a majority of those in

jurisdictions with 10,000 or more residents (table 14). About two-thirds of

local police officers were employed by

a department that authorized them to

belong to a police union. Officer membership in a nonpolice union was

authorized by about 7% of local police

departments, employing 9% of all

officers.

A fourth of all local police departments

authorized officer membership in a local, State, or regional police association. Thirty-seven percent of local

police officers worked for a department

authorizing police association

membership.

Operations

Crime investigation

Nearly all local police departments had

primary responsibility for investigating

at least some types of crimes occurring in their jurisdiction (table 15). All

departments in jurisdictions with a

population of 250,000 or more had primary responsibility for investigating

homicides and other violent crimes

such as rape, robbery, or assault.

Nearly all departments serving a population of 10,000 or more had primary

responsibility for homicide investigation, but 11% of those serving a population of 2,500 to 9,999 and 30% of

those serving fewer than 2,500 residents reported they did not have primary responsibility for such investigations. In jurisdictions under 2,500 in

population, about 1 in 7 local police departments did not have primary responsibility for the investigation of any

violent crimes.

About three-fourths of all local police

departments had the primary role in

 Local Police Departments, 1993 9

Table 13. Local police departments

authorizing collective bargaining, by

size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

authorizing collective

bargaining for:

Population

served

Sworn

employees

Nonsworn

employees

All sizes 38% 20%

1,000,000 or more 83% 83%

500,000-999,999 85 74

250,000-499,999 60 47

100,000-249,999 61 54

50,000-99,999 82 62

25,000-49,999 81 55

10,000-24,999 72 46

2,500-9,999 47 21

Under 2,500 10 2

Table 14. Local police departments

authorizing police membership organizations, by size of population

served, 1993

Percent of

agencies authorizing

membership in:

Population

served

Non

police

union

Police

union

Police

association

All sizes 7% 32% 25%

1,000,000 or more 17% 92% 33%

500,000-999,999 7 66 40

250,000-499,999 11 62 51

100,000-249,999 14 53 54

50,000-99,999 6 61 57

25,000-49,999 6 73 38

10,000-24,999 11 59 35

2,500-9,999 9 35 30

Under 2,500 3 13 14

Table 15. Crime investigation responsibilities of local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for investigation of:

Population

served

Violent crimes Property crimes Environmental

Homicide Other crimes a Arson Otherb

All sizes 83% 93% 76% 97% 14%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 75% 100% 8%

500,000-999,999 100 100 70 100 15

250,000-499,999 100 100 62 100 13

100,000-249,999 99 99 79 99 12

50,000-99,999 97 97 78 97 13

25,000-49,999 96 98 93 99 13

10,000-24,999 95 98 88 100 21

2,500-9,999 89 98 83 98 13

Under 2,500 70 86 66 94 13

a

Rape, robbery or assault

b

Burglary, larceny/theft, or motor vehicle theft
arson investigations. Nearly all departments had primary responsibility for

the investigation of other property

crimes such as burglary, motor vehicle

theft, or larceny. By population category, departments in jurisdictions with

fewer than 2,500 residents were the

least likely to have primary investigative responsibility for arson (66%) or

other property crimes (94%).

Investigative support functions

Some local police departments performed functions that supported their

own and other agencies' crime investigations. For example, about 2 in 5 

departments were responsible for fingerprint processing (41%) (table 16).

A majority of the departments serving

a population of 10,000 or more were

responsible for fingerprint processing,

including over three-fourths of those

serving a population of 50,000 or

more. About three-fourths of local police officers nationwide were employed

by a department that was responsible

for fingerprint processing.

Overall, few local police departments

were responsible for laboratory testing

of substances (2%) or ballistics testing

(1%); however, 75% of departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more were responsible for these functions, as were over 40% of the departments in jurisdictions with 250,000 to

999,999 residents. 

Drug and vice enforcement

Eighty percent of all local police departments, including over 90% of those

serving 25,000 or more residents, had

primary drug enforcement responsibility in their jurisdiction (table 17).

These departments employed 93% of

all local police officers. Departments in

jurisdictions of less than 2,500 in population (72%) were the least likely to

have primary drug enforcement responsibility. In some cases, departments without primary drug enforcement responsibility reported they

shared that responsibility with other

law enforcement agencies. Often this

was through participation in a multiagency drug enforcement task force.

About half of all local police departments were responsible for vice enforcement, including over 90% of the

departments serving a population of

50,000 or more. Departments in jurisdictions with fewer than 2,500 residents (33%) were the least likely to

have vice enforcement responsibilities.

Overall, local police departments responsible for vice enforcement

employed 86% of all local police

officers.

Patrol and response 

Ninety-seven percent of local police

departments, including all those serving a population of 50,000 or more,

provided routine patrol services for

their jurisdiction (table 18). At least

95% of the departments in all population categories provided patrol services, and 99.6% of all local police

officers worked for a department with

routine patrol responsibilities.

Nearly all (93%) local police departments reported they had primary responsibility for receiving calls for

service from citizens. The percentage

of departments that handled service

calls directly was at least 90% in all

population categories, and 97% of all

officers were employed by these

departments. 

About half of local police departments

had responsibility for dispatching calls

for service to officers in the field. Police departments in larger jurisdictions

were the most likely to perform dispatch services: Over 90% of those

serving a population of 250,000 or

more were responsible for dispatching

calls for service, as were over 80% of

 10 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 17. Drug and vice

enforcement responsibilities of

local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

with primary responsibility for:

Population

served

Drug

enforcement

Vice

enforcement

All sizes 80% 51%

1,000,000 or more 92% 100%

500,000-999,999 96 96

250,000-499,999 93 93

100,000-249,999 97 99

50,000-99,999 95 92

25,000-49,999 92 82

10,000-24,999 86 75

2,500-9,999 83 53

Under 2,500 72 33

Table 18. Patrol and response

functions of local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility for:

Calls for service

Population

served

Routine

patrol 

ReceivingDispatching

All sizes 97% 93% 52%

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

500,000-999,999 100 96 93

250,000-499,999 100 93 91

100,000-249,999 100 92 84

50,000-99,999 100 99 87

25,000-49,999 99 96 84

10,000-24,999 99 98 85

2,500-9,999 98 95 63

Under 2,500 95 90 25

Table 16. Investigative support

functions of local police deparments,

by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility for:

Population

served

Fingerprint

processing

Laboratory

testing of

substances

Ballistics

testing

All sizes 41% 2% 1%

1,000,000 

 or more 92% 75% 75%

500,000-999,999 80 40 48

250,000-499,999 83 42 42

100,000-249,999 95 16 9

50,000-99,999 78 5 2

25,000-49,999 60 9 3

10,000-24,999 56 3 1

2,500-9,999 46 1 --

Under 2,500 26 1 --

--Less than .5%.
those serving at least 10,000 but fewer

than 250,000 residents. Nearly twothirds of the departments serving 2,500

to 9,999 residents (63%) had dispatch

responsibilities, while a fourth of the

departments serving fewer than 2,500

residents had primary responsibility for

dispatching calls for service.

911 emergency telephone system

In 1993 about two-thirds of all local police departments participated in an

emergency telephone system whereby

one of their units could be dispatched

in response to a citizen call to 911 or

its equivalent (table 19). This was a

significant increase from 1990 when

about half of all departments had a 911

system, and twice the proportion of

agencies reporting 911 participation in

1987. Local police departments with a

911 system employed 89% of all officers in 1993, compared to 65% in

1990.

A majority of the local police departments in each population category

were participating in a 911 system in

1993, ranging from 100% of those

serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents

to 59% of those serving a population of

under 2,500.

In contrast to 1990, a majority of the

departments with a 911 system in

1993 reported their system was an enhanced system, capable of pinpointing

the location of a caller automatically.

In 1993, enhanced 911 systems were

operating in 41% of all local police

departments, while 27% reported they

had a basic 911 system. In 1990, 18%

had an enhanced system and 30% a

basic system.

Increases in the use of enhanced 911

were seen in all population categories

from 1990 to 1993, and a majority of

the departments serving a population

of 10,000 or more had an enhanced 

system in 1993 (figure 4). This included 80% of those serving a population of 250,000 or more (compared to

72% in 1990), 77% of those serving a

population of 50,000 to 249,999 (54%

in 1990), and 60% of those serving a

population of 10,000 to 49,999 (34% in

1990). Among departments serving a

population under 10,000, the percentage with enhanced 911 tripled, from

11% in 1990 to 34% in 1993. 

Traffic-related functions

Nearly all local police departments

were responsible for traffic-related

functions such as enforcement of traffic laws (99%), accident investigation

(98%), or traffic direction and control

(90%) (table 20). In all population

categories, at least 97% of the departments were responsible for enforcing

traffic laws and investigating accidents.

At least 93% of the departments in

 Local Police Departments, 1993 11

Population served

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

1993

1990

Enhanced system

Percent of agencies

250,000 or more

50,000 to 249,999

10,000 to 49,999

Under 10,000 

Local police departments participating in a 911 emergency telephone 

system, 1990 and 1993

Figure 4

Table 19. Local police department

participation in a 911 emergency

telephone system, by size of

population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

participating

in a 911 system

Population

served Total Enhanced Basic

All sizes 68% 41% 27%

1,000,000 or more 92% 75% 17%

500,000-999,999 96 74 22

250,000-499,999 100 84 16

100,000-249,999 99 85 14

50,000-99,999 95 74 21

25,000-49,999 85 62 22

10,000-24,999 78 59 19

2,500-9,999 70 42 28

Under 2,500 59 28 31

Note: Participation is defined as the capability to

dispatch a unit as the result of a call to 911. Detail

may not add to total because of rounding.

Table 20. Traffic-related functions

of local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993 

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility for:

Population

served

Enforcement of

traffic

laws

Accident

investigation

Traffic

direction

and

control

All sizes 99% 98% 90%

1,000,000

or more 100% 100% 83%

500,000-999,999 100 100 85

250,000-499,999 100 100 89

100,000-249,999 100 99 93

50,000-99,999 100 100 98

25,000-49,999 99 99 96

10,000-24,999 100 99 93

2,500-9,999 99 99 93

Under 2,500 99 97 86
each population category from 2,500 to

249,999 were responsible for traffic direction and control.

Jail- and court-related functions

In addition to various law enforcement

functions, local police departments in

some jurisdictions were also responsible for functions related to jail or court

operations (table 21). Nationwide, 5%

of local police departments, employing

11% of all local police officers, operated a jail in 1993. Nearly a fourth of

departments serving a jurisdiction with

100,000 to 499,999 residents operated

a jail.

Nearly 1 in 5 local police departments

provided court security, and about 1 in

9 served civil process papers such as

summonses. About 20% of local police officers worked for a department

that was responsible for court security,

and 7% worked for a department responsible for serving civil process.

Lockup facilities

About 1 in 4 local police departments

were operating at least one lockup facility in 1993 (table 22). Lockup facilities are temporary holding facilities

operated separately from a jail with

a limited holding time. An average

maximum holding time of 22 hours

was reported by the local police departments that operated a lockup

facility. 

A majority of the departments serving

a population of 500,000 or more and

those serving a population of 10,000

to 49,999 were operating at least 1

lockup facility. Departments serving a

population of under 2,500 (6%) were

the least likely to be operating a

lockup. Overall, 41% of local police officers were employed by a department

that operated at least one lockup. The

average total lockup capacity for all departments was 10 persons, ranging

from 810 in jurisdictions with 1 million

or more residents to 4 in jurisdic- tions

with fewer than 10,000 residents.

Special public safety functions

Another important area of responsibility for many local police departments

involves the performance of special

functions related to public safety. Examples of such functions include animal control, search-and-rescue operations, emergency medical services,

civil defense, and fire services.

Of these functions, the one performed

by the most local police departments in

1993 was animal control (table 23).

Slightly more than half of the departments in jurisdictions with 10,000 to

99,999 residents were responsible for

animal control, compared to about 1 in

10 departments serving 500,000 or

more residents. Overall, 49% of local

police departments, employing 32% of

all local police officers, were responsible for animal control in their jurisdiction. 

A third of all local police departments,

employing two-fifths of all officers,

were responsible for performing

search-and-rescue operations. Local

police in jurisdictions of 1 million or

more in population (67%), were the

most likely to be responsible for search

and rescue.

Twenty percent of local police departments were the primary provider of

emergency medical services in their

jurisdiction; however, no departments

serving a population of 250,000 to

499,999 had this responsibility. Nationwide, departments responsible for

emergency medical services employed

14% of all local police officers. 

About 16% of local police departments

were responsible for civil defense functions in their jurisdiction. Departments

serving 500,000 or more residents

were the most likely to be responsible

for civil defense, and those in jurisdictions with 100,000 to 499,999 residents were the least likely. 

In about 9% of local police departments, fire services were a part of the

agency's overall responsibility; however, no departments serving a population of 250,000 or more provided fire

 12 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 22. Lockup operation by local

police departments, by size of

population served, 1993

Population

served

Percent of

agencies

operating

a lockup

Average 

total

lockup

capacity 

All sizes 26% 10

1,000,000 or more 83% 810

500,000-999,999 63 70

250,000-499,999 38 54

100,000-249,999 36 27

50,000-99,999 46 14

25,000-49,999 70 9

10,000-24,999 57 7

2,500-9,999 30 4

Under 2,500 6 4

Note: Computation of average lockup capacity

excludes departments not operating such a facility.

Table 21. Jail- and court-related

functions of local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with

primary responsibility for:

Population

served

Court

security

Serving

civil

process

Jail

operation

All sizes 19% 11% 5%

1,000,000

 or more 17% 15% 8%

500,000-999,999 18 13 11

250,000-499,999 9 2 20

100,000-249,999 16 5 23

50,000-99,999 24 5 15

25,000-49,999 22 11 8

10,000-24,999 27 4 9

2,500-9,999 23 8 5

Under 2,500 14 16 3
services. Departments serving fewer

than 2,500 residents were the most

likely to be responsible for fire services

(13%). Nationwide, 4% of local police

officers were employed by a department that provided fire services. 

Training academy operation

An important area of responsibility for

about 600 local police departments nationwide was the operation of a training

academy. Although just 5% of all local

police departments operated a training

academy, these departments employed 46% of all local police officers

(table 24). A large majority of departments serving a population of 250,000

or more operated a training academy,

as did about half of those in jurisdictions with 100,000 to 249,999 residents. Less than 10% of local police

departments serving a population of

under 50,000 operated a training 

academy.

Equipment

Sidearms

In 1993, 84% of local police departments, employing 96% of all local

police officers, authorized the use of

some type of semiautomatic weapon

as an officer sidearm (table 25). 

Well over 90% of departments serving

a population of 25,000 or more authorized semiautomatic weapons in 1993,

as did 90% of those serving a population of 2,500 to 24,999. Departments

serving a population of under 2,500

(73%) were the least likely to authorize

the use of semiautomatic sidearms by

officers. 

As in 1990, the 9mm semiautomatic

was the most popular type of local police sidearm, with 69% of departments

authorizing its use by officers. Thirtyone percent of departments authorized

.45-caliber semiautomatic sidearms.

Smaller percentages authorized 10mm

and .380-caliber semiautomatics. Just

over half (55%) of local police departments authorized the use of revolvers

by officers, with .357-caliber (45%) and

.38-caliber (30%) revolvers being the

types most commonly authorized.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 13

Table 23. Special public safety functions of local police

departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for:

Population

served

Animal

control

Search

and

rescue

Emergency

medical

services 

Civil 

defense

Fire

services

All sizes 49% 33% 20% 16% 9%

1,000,000 or more 8% 67% 8% 25% 0%

500,000-999,999 11 33 15 26 0

250,000-499,999 22 38 0 7 0

100,000-249,999 30 29 10 8 1

50,000-99,999 52 26 20 17 5

25,000-49,999 52 32 20 14 5

10,000-24,999 57 31 23 19 6

2,500-9,999 48 31 21 17 7

Under 2,500 47 37 20 16 13

Table 24. Training academy operation by local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Population

served

Percent of agencies

operating an academy

All sizes 5%

1,000,000 or more 92%

500,000-999,999 88

250,000-499,999 80

100,000-249,999 48

50,000-99,999 17

25,000-49,999 9

10,000-24,999 6

2,500-9,999 4

Under 2,500 2

Table 25. Selected types of sidearms authorized for use

by sworn officers in local police departments, by size of

population served, 1993 

Percent of agencies authorizing:

Population

served

Semi-automatic Revolver

Any type 9mm .45 10mm .380 Any type .357 .38

All sizes 84% 69% 31% 14% 10% 55% 45% 30%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 25% 17% 25% 100% 42% 92%

500,000-999,999 96 93 30 11 18 78 45 59

250,000-499,999 98 87 42 7 18 67 42 56

100,000-249,999 96 68 46 17 10 56 36 45

50,000-99,999 99 81 35 9 12 54 43 37

25,000-49,999 97 80 30 4 5 37 26 27

10,000-24,999 90 72 30 16 8 42 34 24

2,500-9,999 90 75 32 13 10 51 41 27

Under 2,500 73 61 30 16 11 65 55 33 

Note: Specific calibers of sidearms listed in table are limited to those which at least 10% of all agencies authorized.
An estimated 62% of local police departments supplied sidearms to their

regular field officers, and another 4%

provided a cash allowance to officers

for the purchase of sidearms (table

26). At least 81% of the departments

in each population category from

10,000 to 999,999 supplied sidearms,

compared to just under half of those

serving a population under 2,500.

About two-thirds of the departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more or a population of 2,500 to 9,999

supplied sidearms to their officers.

Departments serving a population of 1

million or more (17%) were more likely

than other departments to provide a

cash allowance for sidearms. Overall,

nearly all local police officers were employed by a department that either

supplied sidearms (79%) or provided

a cash allowance for their purchase

(15%).

Body armor

Sixty-five percent of local police departments, employing 73% of all officers, supplied protective body armor to

their regular field officers (table 27).

An additional 5%, employing 9% of all

officers, provided a cash allowance for

armor. At least 80% of the departments in each population category

from 2,500 up either supplied body armor or provided a cash allowance for

it. Departments serving a population

of under 2,500 were the least likely to

supply armor (51%) or to provide a

cash allowance for its purchase (2%).

A third of local police departments,

employing about two-fifths of all officers, required all regular field officers

to wear body armor while on duty and

an additional 4% of departments (employing 8% of all officers) required

some of their officers to do so (table

28). About half of local police officers

were employed by a department that

required either some or all regular field

officers to wear protective armor while

on duty. 

Departments serving a population of 1

million or more were the most likely to

require the wearing of protective armor: Forty-two percent required all

regular field officers to wear armor and

17% required some officers to do so. 

 14 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 26. Supply of or cash

allowance for sidearms in local

police departments, by size of

population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

supplying or providing

cash allowance for

sidearms

Population

served Supplied

Cash

allowance

All sizes 62% 4%

1,000,000 or more 67% 17%

500,000-999,999 93 4

250,000-499,999 89 7

100,000-249,999 90 6

50,000-99,999 87 7

25,000-49,999 86 7

10,000-24,999 81 4

2,500-9,999 69 5

Under 2,500 45 3

Table 27. Supply of or cash

allowance for protective body armor

in local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993 

Percent of agencies

supplying or providing

cash allowance for

armor 

Population

served Supplied

Cash

allowance

All sizes 65% 5%

1,000,000 or more 67% 17%

500,000-999,999 93 4

250,000-499,999 82 11

100,000-249,999 85 8

50,000-99,999 77 10

25,000-49,999 80 7

10,000-24,999 78 12

2,500-9,999 73 7

Under 2,500 51 2

Table 28. Body armor requirements

for officers in local police departments, by size of population served,

1993 

Percent of agencies

requiring regular field

officers to wear protective

armor while on duty: 

Population 

served Total

All

officers

Some

officers

All sizes 37% 33% 4%

1,000,000 or more 58% 42% 17%

500,000-999,999 49 34 15

250,000-499,999 31 24 7

100,000-249,999 35 27 8

50,000-99,999 36 33 4

25,000-49,999 39 36 3

10,000-24,999 43 38 6

2,500-9,999 44 39 5

Under 2,500 30 28 2

Note: Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.
Overall, the percentage of local police

departments requiring all or some

regular field officers to wear body armor increased from 27% in 1990 to

37% in 1993. The percentage of local

police departments requiring all regular

field officers to wear body armor increased from 24% in 1990 to 33% in

1993.

Such an increase was evident among

all population sizes (figure 5). Among

departments serving a population of

250,000 or more, 30% required all field

officers to wear armor in 1993 compared to 21% in 1990, and 31% of

those serving 50,000 to 249,999 residents had such a requirement in 1993,

up from 22% in 1990. For departments serving 10,000 to 49,999 residents, the increase was from 27% to

37%, and among departments serving

fewer than 10,000 residents, 33% required all field officers to wear armor in

1993 compared to 23% in 1990.

Nonlethal weapons

Nearly all (99%) local police departments, authorized their field officers to

use one or more types of nonlethal

weapons (table 29). Impact devices

were the type most commonly authorized: 93% of all departments, employing 98% of all officers, authorized this

type of weapon. The second most

popular category of nonlethal weapon,

chemical agents, was authorized by

76% of all departments. These departments employed 89% of all officers.

Over 90% of the departments serving

a population of 100,000 or more

authorized the use of chemical agents.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 15

Table 29. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for use

by sworn officers in local police departments, by size of

population served, 1993

Percent of agencies authorizing

nonlethal weapons

Population

served

Any

type

Impact

devices

Chemical

agents

Electrical

devices

Other

types

All sizes 99% 93% 76% 18% 22%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 92% 42% 50%

500,000-999,999 100 100 96 22 78

250,000-499,999 100 100 96 24 82

100,000-249,999 100 99 97 23 77

50,000-99,999 100 100 90 20 57

25,000-49,999 100 99 85 11 44

10,000-24,999 100 97 78 14 24

2,500-9,999 99 92 72 15 14

Under 2,500 98 91 75 24 20

250,000 or more

50,000 - 249,999

10,000 - 49,999

Under 10,000

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Population served

1993

1990

Percent of agencies

Local police departments requiring all regular field officers to wear protective

armor, 1990 and 1993

Figure 5
The types of impact devices most frequently authorized were PR-24 batons

(59%) and traditional batons (58%),

followed by collapsible batons (39%)

(table 30). Departments serving a

population of 100,000 or more showed

a preference for the traditional baton,

while departments serving a population

of 2,500 to 99,999 showed a slight 

preference for the PR-24 baton. Local

police officers were most likely to be

working for a department that authorized them to use a traditional baton

(67%) followed by the PR-24 baton

(57%). 

Pepper spray (59%) was the most

popular chemical nonlethal weapon,

and was the only nonlethal weapon

other than PR-24 and traditional batons to be authorized by a majority of

local police departments. More than

three-fourths of the departments serving a population of 100,000 to 999,999

authorized pepper spray, and 69% of

all local police officers were employed

by a department that authorized it.

About 28% of local police departments

authorized the use of tear gas by officers. Departments were more likely to

authorize tear gas in the personal issue size (23%) than in the bulk size

(9%). About half of all local police

officers were employed by a department that authorized the use of tear

gas in some form. 

A sixth of local police departments

authorized the use of stun guns.

About 1 in 12 authorized the use of

flash/bang grenades, including the 

majority of those serving a population

of 100,000 to 999,999. 

Vehicles

Nationwide, local police departments

operated about 47 cars per 100 sworn

personnel (table 31). The ratio of cars

to officers was lowest in jurisdictions

with a population of 1 million or more,

with about 24 per 100 officers. An estimated 38% of the cars operated by

local police departments were unmarked. The proportion of cars that

were unmarked ranged from half in departments serving a population of 1

million or more, to a sixth in departments serving a population of under

2,500. 

Forty-two percent of local police departments allowed sworn personnel to

take marked vehicles home (table 32).

In most of these departments, officers

were allowed only to drive the vehicle

to and from work (32%). Nine percent

of departments allowed officers to operate a marked vehicle for private errands. Departments in jurisdictions

with 1,000,000 or more residents

(25%) were the most likely to have a

policy allowing personal use.

 16 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 30. Selected nonlethal weapons authorized for use by sworn

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

1993

Percent of agencies authorizing:

Population

served

Pepper

spray

PR-24

baton

Traditional

baton

Collapsible

baton

Tear

gaspersonal

Stun

gun

Tear

gaslarge

volume

Flash/

bang

grenade

Carotid

hold 

Choke

hold 

All sizes 59% 59% 58% 39% 23% 16% 9% 8% 8% 8%

1,000,000

 or more 58% 42% 75% 25% 25% 8% 67% 42% 25% 8%

500,000-999,999 78 41 85 45 45 15 56 63 37 7

250,000-499,999 76 53 71 56 33 20 51 76 20 0

100,000-249,999 79 55 70 43 35 14 47 68 29 3

50,000-99,999 61 68 61 49 29 12 35 48 15 2

25,000-49,999 60 67 55 46 21 8 21 33 10 6

10,000-24,999 59 62 55 47 22 11 14 14 8 4

2,500-9,999 58 63 56 38 20 13 6 3 7 4

Under 2,500 58 55 60 36 25 22 6 1 9 13

Table 31. Number of cars per officer

and percent of cars that were unmarked in local police departments,

by size of population served, 1993

Population

served

Number

of cars

per 100

officers*

Percent

of cars

that were

unmarked

All sizes 47 38%

1,000,000 or more 24 50%

500,000-999,999 47 39

250,000-499,999 54 43

100,000-249,999 61 43

50,000-99,999 52 42

25,000-49,999 48 40

10,000-24,999 50 36

2,500-9,999 54 28

Under 2,500 64 17

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

assigned.

Table 32. Vehicle use policies in

local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies allowing officers to take marked

vehicles home

Population

served Total

Personal

use

allowed

Personal

use not

allowed

All sizes 42% 9% 32%

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

500,000-999,999 41 22 19

250,000-499,999 51 20 31

100,000-249,999 44 17 28

50,000-99,999 26 11 15

25,000-49,999 16 4 12

10,000-24,999 18 6 12

2,500-9,999 33 7 26

Under 2,500 60 12 47

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Overall, only small percentages of local police departments operated offland vehicles such as boats (4%), helicopters (1%), or planes (less than 1%);

however, many departments serving

larger jurisdictions operated such vehicles (table 33). 

For example, over 70% of departments

serving a population of 500,000 or

more operated at least 1 helicopter. A

majority of these departments also operated boats, including 92% of those

serving a population of 1 million or

more. A third of the departments serving a population of 1 million or more,

about a fourth those serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999, and nearly

a fifth of those serving 250,000 to

499,999 residents, operated at least 1

fixed-wing aircraft. 

Animals

About 1 in 6 local police departments

maintained one or more dogs for use

in activities related to law enforcement

(table 34). In general, the percentage

of departments using dogs declined

with size of population served. About

90% of departments serving a population of 100,000 or more maintained

dogs, as did 64% of those serving a

population of 50,000 to 99,999. Just

17% of those in jurisdictions with 2,500

to 9,999 residents, and 5% of those

serving fewer than 2,500 residents

maintained dogs. Nationwide, it is estimated that there were nearly 5,200

dogs maintained by local police departments in 1993, and about two-thirds of

all local police officers were employed

by a department that had at least one

dog.

About 1% of local police departments

maintained horses for law enforcement

purposes. Five in six departments

serving a population of 1 million or

more used horses, as did nearly half of

those serving a population of 250,000

to 999,999. Nationwide, local police

departments were estimated to be

maintaining nearly 1,200 horses for law

enforcement purposes during 1993.

These departments employed about a

third of all local police officers.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 17

Table 34. Animals maintained by

local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies

maintaining animals for

law enforcement work

Population served Dogs Horses

All sizes 17% 1%

1,000,000 or more 92% 83%

500,000-999,999 96 40

250,000-499,999 89 49

100,000-249,999 90 19

50,000-99,999 64 8

25,000-49,999 45 4

10,000-24,999 26 0

2,500-9,999 17 --

Under 2,500 5 --

--Less than .5%.

Table 33. Off-land vehicles operated

by local police departments, by size

of population served, 1993

Percent of

agencies operating

Population

served Boats

Helicopters

Fixedwing

aircraft

All sizes 4% 1% --

1,000,000 or more 92% 75% 33%

500,000-999,999 63 71 26

250,000-499,999 36 42 18

100,000-249,999 22 10 8

50,000-99,999 10 2 1

25,000-49,999 10 1 1

10,000-24,999 6 0 0

2,500-9,999 2 0 --

Under 2,500 1 0 --

--Less than .5%.
Computers and information

systems

Types of computers used

All local police departments serving a

population of 50,000 or more, and

nearly all those in jurisdictions with

10,000 to 49,999 residents were using

1 or more types of computers in 1993

(table 35). About 4 in 5 departments

serving a population of 2,500 to 9,999

were using computers, as were about

2 in 5 departments serving a population under 2,500.

Overall, two-thirds of local police departments were using computers in

1993, compared to about half in 1990.

The percentage of all local police officers employed by a department that

used computers of some type was

95% in 1993, compared to 90% in

1990.

Personal computers were used by

54% of local police departments in

1993. This represented an increase

over 1990 when 40% of departments

were using personal computers. All

departments serving a population of

500,000 or more were using personal

computers in 1993, as were 98% of

those serving a population of 100,000

to 499,999. At least two-thirds of the

departments in each population category were using personal computers

with the exception of those serving

fewer than 2,500 residents (28%).

Overall, local police departments using

personal computers employed 89% of

all local police officers in 1993. 

About a third of local police departments were using a mainframe computer during 1993, compared to a fifth

in 1990. A majority of the departments

serving a population of 10,000 or more

were using a mainframe in 1993, including all departments serving a

population of 1 million or more. Departments using mainframes employed

about three-fourths of all officers in

1993.

A majority of departments serving a

population of 250,000 or more were

using mini-computers in 1993, as were

about half of the departments serving

a population of 50,000 to 249,999.

Overall, 12% of local police departments, employing 52% of all local police officers, were using mini-computers.

Although just 10% of all local police

departments were using laptop computers in 1993, these departments employed about half of all local police

officers. A majority of the departments

serving a population of 100,000 or

more were using laptop computers in

1993, and about three times as many

departments were using laptops in

1993 as in 1990.

About 7% of local police departments

were using mobile digital terminals in

1993, twice the percentage that were

using them in 1990. Most departments

using mobile terminals were using the

car-mounted type with about 1 in 7

using hand-held terminals. In 1993

departments using either type of mobile terminal employed 40% of all local

police officers.

Overall, 14% of local police departments were using either laptop computers or mobile digital terminals in

1993, compared to 5% in 1990. During the same period, the percentage of

officers working in a department that

utilized laptops or mobile digital terminals doubled  from 30% in 1990 to

60% in 1993. 

Although departments in larger jurisdictions continued to be more likely

than those in smaller jurisdictions to

use laptops and mobile terminals, significant increases in their use were

seen in all population categories from

1990 to 1993 (figure 6). In jurisdictions

with 250,000 or more residents, 90%

of the local police departments were

using these types of computers in

1993 compared to 63% in 1990.

Among departments serving 50,000 to

249,999 residents, the increase was

from 31% to 63%. In jurisdictions with

10,000 to 49,999 residents, 32% of the

departments were using laptops or mobile terminals in 1993, up from 9% in

1990, and in jurisdictions with fewer

than 10,000 residents, the increase

was from 2% to 7%.

 18 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 35. Types of computers used by local police departments, by

size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies using each type of computer:

Population

served

 Mobile digital terminal

Any type Personal Mainframe Mini Laptop Car-mounted Hand-held

All sizes 67% 54% 31% 12% 10% 6% 1%

1,000,000 or more 100% 100% 100% 92% 83% 83% 33%

500,000-999,999 100 100 89 74 78 55 11

250,000-499,999 100 98 91 62 73 64 24

100,000-249,999 100 98 83 49 57 40 10

50,000-99,999 100 89 78 51 39 29 10

25,000-49,999 99 90 61 35 35 17 5

10,000-24,999 97 81 58 23 16 11 2

2,500-9,999 79 67 31 11 8 6 --

Under 2,500 39 28 14 2 2 -- 0

--Less than .5%.
Computer functions

An estimated 53% of all local police

departments, employing 88% of all officers, were using computers for record

keeping in 1993 (table 36). This included over 90% of the departments

serving a population of 50,000 or

more. More than a fourth of all local

police departments, including a

majority of those serving a population

of 25,000 or more, also used computers for criminal investigations (41%),

budgeting (31%), crime analysis

(29%), or dispatch (29%). A majority

of departments serving a population

100,000 or more also used computers

for fleet management, manpower allocation, and research purposes during

1993.

About three-fourths of all local police

officers worked for a department that

used computers for criminal investigations, crime analysis, and dispatch,

and just over half were employed by a

department that used computers for

budgeting, fleet management, manpower allocation, and research. For

each of the management functions included in the LEMAS survey, the percentage of local police departments

that were utilizing computers to 

perform that function was greater in

1993 than in 1990.

Computerized files

Local police were also more likely to be

maintaining computerized information

files in 1993 than they were in 1990.

For example, 55% of all local police

departments were maintaining computerized files on arrests compared to

39% in 1990, and nearly half of all departments were maintaining files on

traffic citations (46%) and calls for

 Local Police Departments, 1993 19

Table 36. Selected functions of computers in local police

departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies using computers for:

Population

served

Recordkeeping

Criminal

investigationsBudgeting

Crime

analysisDispatch

Fleet

management

Manpower

allocation

Research/

statistics

Jail

management

All sizes 53% 41% 31% 29% 29% 17% 16% 14% 4%

1,000,000

 or more 100% 83% 92% 100% 83% 100% 75% 83% 42%

500,000-999,999 100 85 85 89 93 82 81 89 22

250,000-499,999 96 89 87 96 88 80 80 80 11

100,000-249,999 94 92 81 92 90 52 64 65 25

50,000-99,999 92 82 78 81 82 42 51 45 20

25,000-49,999 88 74 64 66 77 30 52 34 12

10,000-24,999 82 73 49 58 58 36 25 25 7

2,500-9,999 64 47 35 30 30 19 17 12 3

Under 2,500 27 16 12 8 7 5 3 4 1

Population served

Percent of agencies

1990

1993

250,000 or more

50,000 - 249,999

10,000 - 49,999

Under 10,000

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

Percent of local police departments using laptop or mobile digital computers,

1990 and 1993

Figure 6
service (45%) compared to about a

third for each in 1990 (table 37). In

1993, about 90% of the departments

serving a population of 25,000 or more

maintained computerized files on arrests and calls for service.

At least a third of all local police departments were also maintaining the

following types of computerized information files during 1993: traffic accidents (42%), stolen property (39%),

warrants (36%), summary Uniform

Crime Reports (35%), criminal histories (34%), agency personnel (34%),

and stolen vehicles (34%). A majority

of the departments serving a population of 10,000 or more maintained

these types of files.

Less than a third of local police departments reported that they maintained

computer files containing the following

types of information: inventory (27%),

evidence (26%), payroll (20%), driver's

license information (19%), summonses

(18%), vehicle registration (18%),

incident-based Uniform Crime

Reports (18%) and fingerprints (6%)

(table 38). A majority of the departments serving a population of 25,000

or more were maintaining files on inventory, evidence, and payroll. 

 20 Local Police Departments, 1993 

Table 39. Selected subject areas of written policy directives maintained by local police

departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies maintaining a written policy directive pertaining to:

Population

served

Deadly

force

Pursuit

driving

Employee

conduct and

appearance

Domestic

disputes Juveniles

Citizen

complaints

Off-duty

employment

Mentally

ill

persons

Strip

searches

Confidential

funds

Employee

counseling

Homeless

persons

Private

security

firms

All sizes 89% 87% 87% 81% 78% 76% 68% 53% 50% 43% 33% 21% 20%

1,000,000

 or more 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 58% 42%

500,000-999,999 100 100 100 96 100 96 100 96 82 82 93 33 55

250,000-499,999 100 100 100 98 100 100 98 93 73 93 93 31 40

100,000-249,999 100 100 99 95 97 97 99 85 71 86 90 23 25

50,000-99,999 99 99 99 96 93 97 94 81 82 83 84 29 18

25,000-49,999 100 100 100 92 93 91 95 67 65 70 73 27 29

10,000-24,999 99 98 97 93 90 88 91 76 76 60 51 27 22

2,500-9,999 96 95 94 87 84 82 77 54 54 49 32 19 22

Under 2,500 78 75 75 70 66 64 47 41 35 25 16 19 15

Table 38. Types of computerized information files maintained by fewer 

than a third of local police departments, by size of population served, 1993

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Population

served Inventory Evidence Payroll

Driver's license

information

Summonses

Vehicle

registration

UCR

incidentbasedFingerprints

All sizes 27% 26% 20% 19% 18% 18% 18% 6%

1,000,000 or more 83% 75% 100% 67% 33% 67% 33% 83%

500,000-999,999 74 89 89 48 51 55 40 82

250,000-499,999 71 73 89 53 27 53 33 51

100,000-249,999 66 74 76 49 32 53 40 49

50,000-99,999 59 76 63 41 35 41 39 30

25,000-49,999 51 53 53 31 36 30 37 10

10,000-24,999 37 47 33 26 33 30 31 7

2,500-9,999 31 28 19 20 23 21 21 5

Under 2,500 13 8 7 11 6981

Table 37. Types of computerized information files maintained by

at least a third of local police departments, by size of population

served, 1993

Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on:

Population

served

Arrests

Traffic

citations

Calls

for

service

Traffic

accidents

Stolen

propertyWarrants

UCR

summaryCriminal

histories

Personnel

Stolen

vehicles

All sizes 55% 46% 45% 42% 39% 36% 35% 34% 34% 34%

1,000,000

 or more 92% 58% 92% 67% 67% 92% 83% 75% 100% 83%

500,000-999,999 89 63 89 74 78 85 82 82 96 74

250,000-499,999 91 71 96 82 91 69 76 76 93 87

100,000-249,999 94 75 94 78 84 75 83 70 77 81

50,000-99,999 92 70 92 74 73 71 85 84 79 70

25,000-49,999 88 77 88 81 70 64 72 67 65 66

10,000-24,999 84 72 79 73 65 57 64 54 61 57

2,500-9,999 67 57 53 49 47 43 40 41 39 38

Under 2,500 28 22 18 19 16 17 12 14 12 14
Policy directives

Nearly all local police departments

serving a population of 2,500 or more

maintained written policy directives on

the use of deadly force, pursuit driving,

and employee conduct and appearance (table 39). About three-fourths of

the departments serving a population

under 2,500 had policy directives covering these subjects as well.

Overall, departments with a policy directive on deadly force employed 99%

of all officers, and those with directives

on pursuit driving, and employee conduct and appearance employed 98% of

all officers. 

At least two-thirds of all local police departments also had policy directives

that addressed the handling of domestic disputes, juveniles, citizen complaints, and off-duty employment by

officers. At least 88% of the departments in each population category of

10,000 or more had a directive on

these matters. 

Departments with a policy directive

pertaining to off-duty employment employed 93% of all local police officers

nationwide and more than 80% of officers were employed by a department

with a policy directive on the handling

of juveniles, citizen complaints, and

domestic disputes.

About half of local police departments

had a written policy directive pertaining

to the handling of mentally ill persons

and to the conducting of strip

searches. Nearly half had a directive

on the use of confidential funds, and a

third maintained a directive pertaining

to employee counseling assistance. 

Four-fifths of all local police officers

were employed by a department with a

directive on the handling of mentally ill

persons, and three-fourths were employed by a department with a directive

on strip searches, use of confidential

funds, and employee counseling

assistance.

 Local Police Departments, 1993 21
Methodology

The Law Enforcement Management

and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)

survey collects data from a nationally

representative sample of the more

than 17,000 publicly funded State and

local law enforcement agencies in the

United States. This report focuses on

general purpose local police departments operated by a municipal or

county government. Police departments with special jurisdictions such

as parks, transit systems, airports, or

school systems have been defined as

special police and are not included. 

The population served categories used

in this report are based on official 1990

Census Bureau counts for cities and

counties. For some county police departments, the population served was

derived by subtracting the population

of cities within the county that were

served by municipal police from the

overall county population.

All 854 State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States

with 100 or more sworn officers (as reported in the 1992 BJS Directory Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies)

received the full-length LEMAS questionnaire. The 854 self-representing

(SR) agencies were supplemented by

a nationally representative sample of

agencies with fewer than 100 sworn

officers. These 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 2,416 NSR agencies received a slightly abbreviated

version of the LEMAS questionnaire

that was mailed to the SR agencies.

The initial mailing of the survey questionnaire was conducted in August

1993. The pay period containing June

15, 1993, was used as the reference

date for personnel-related questions

and June 30, 1993, 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 3,028 agencies responded

to the LEMAS questionnaire, including

831 SR agencies and 2,197 NSR

agencies. The overall response rate

was 92.6%. The final database includes responses from 1,827 local police departments, 918 sheriffs'

departments, 234 special police departments, and the 49 primary State

police departments.

The base weight for all SR agencies is

1. For NSR local and special police

departments, the base weight is 8, and

for NSR sheriffs' departments it is 4.

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.

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.

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.

 22 Local Police Departments, 1993