NRLEA

Local Police

Local police departments make up the majority of law enforcement agencies in the United States. A local police department is a general purpose law enforcement agency, other than a sheriff’s office, that is operated by a unit of local government such as a town, city, township, or county. Tribal police are also classified as local police in BJS data collections. BJS sources for information about local police include the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, and the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA).

Summary findings

• In September 2004, 12,766 local police departments with the equivalent of at least one full-time officer were operating in the U.S. based on the CSLLEA.
• Based on the 2004 CSLLEA, local police departments were the largest employer of sworn officers, accounting for 61% of the total number of full-time sworn officers employed. Sheriffs’ offices were the second largest employer, accounting for 24% of full-time sworn officers. The remainder were employed by the 49 primary State law enforcement agencies (8%) or special jurisdiction agencies (7%).
• In 2003, local police departments had approximately 580,749 full-time employees, including an estimated 452,000 sworn officers. From 1987 (the first of the LEMAS survey) to 2003, local police employment increased by about 135,000 or by 27%. This was an average of 1.7% annually. 
• Women comprised 11.3% of officers in 2003, up from 7.6% in 1987.
• Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 23.6% of full-time local police officers in 2003, up 14.6% in 1987.
• From 1990 to 2000, 62 local police departments served cities with populations of 250,000 or more. Minority representation among local police in large cities increased from 29.8% in 1990 to 38.1% in 2000. 
• In 2003, starting salaries for local police officers ranged from an average of about $23,400 per year in jurisdictions with populations under 10,000 to about $37,700 in jurisdictions with populations of 250,000 or more.
• In 2003, 71% of local police departments required field officers to wear protective body armor at least some of the time while on duty. An estimated 59% percent of departments required field officers to wear body armor at all times while on duty. 
• An estimated 99% of departments authorized use of chemical agents such as pepper spray during 2003, up from 51% in 1990. 
• Almost 55% of local police departments regularly used video cameras in patrol cars during 2003, compared to 37% in 2000. There were about 49,000 in-car cameras used during 2003.
• In more than a third of local police departments, at least some officers in the field could use computers to access both vehicle and driving records during 2003. From 1990 to 2003, the percentage of local police departments using infield computers increased from 5% to 56%.

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