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Just the Stats

Female Recruits in Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018

Emily D. Buehler, PhD, BJS Statistician

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MAY 2023, NCJ 306490

The composition of law enforcement officers in the United States depends, in part, on who starts and completes basic academy training. In 2018, 19% of recruits who started and 18% of recruits who completed basic training were female.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics periodically collects such data through the Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA). Last administered in 2018, the CLETA gathers information on recruits, staff, training curricula, equipment, and facilities from training academies that are responsible for administering mandatory basic training to newly appointed or elected law enforcement officers. These academies are operated by state, county, and municipal agencies and by universities, colleges, and technical schools.

In 2018: 

  • Females accounted for the highest percentage of recruits who completed basic training in Montana (34.3%), Idaho (28.3%), California (23.3%), and Oklahoma (23.2%) (map 1). 
  • Less than 10% of recruits who completed basic training were female in five states: Utah (9.6%), Wyoming (9.0%), Kentucky (9%), Delaware (8.3%), and West Virginia (6.3%).

Map 1: Percent of recruits who completed basic training who were female, by state, 2018

Percent of recruits who started and completed basic training who were female and completion ratios, by academy characteristics, 2018

Note: See appendix table 1 for estimates.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018.


  • Academies operated by state police or highway patrols had the lowest percentage of starting recruits who were female (11%) (table 1).
  • One in 5 recruits who completed basic training at academies operated by county police (21%), by 2-year colleges (21%), and by technical schools (20%) were female.
  • The completion ratio of female recruits (the number who completed basic training divided by the number who started) was highest at academies operated by other state agencies (94%) and lowest at academies operated by state police or highway patrols (70%).
  • The completion ratio was highest (86%) for female recruits at academies that operated under a more nonstress than stress model and was lowest for female recruits at academies using a more stress than nonstress training model (78%).
Table 1. Percent of recruits who started and completed basic training who were female and completion ratios, by academy characteristics, 2018
 

                            Percent of recruits


    

Academy characteristic
Started basic training
who were female
Completed basic training
who were female
Completion ratio of
female recruitsa
   

    Total 

 19.0%

 18.1%

 81.5%

   

Academy type

 

 

 

   

   State POST/equivalent

     18.7%†

 17.3%†

 80.3%

   

   State police/highway patrol

  10.8†

 9.9†

70.3†

   

   Sheriff's office

  19.6†

 18.6†

 81.4  

   

   County police

  22.5  

  21.2  

 82.9  

   

   Municipal police

  20.1†

 18.9†

 80.1  

   

   4-year college/university

  16.8†

 16.2†

86.2†

   

   2-year college*

  21.3  

  20.5  

81.9  

   

   Technical school

  20.7  

  20.1  

87.4†

   

   Special jurisdiction

14.4†

13.2†

72.1†

   

   Multiagency

17.5†

16.8†

86.1†

   

   Other state agency

13.5†

14.6†

93.8†

   

Training environmentb

 

 

 

   

   More stress than nonstress**

  17.5%

16.4%

   77.5%

   

   Balanced stress
     and nonstress


  18.6†  


 17.4†  


  80.8†   

   

   More nonstress than stress

21.6†

21.1†

86.3†

   

Download .csv file (3K) 


Note: POST denotes Police Officers Standards and Training.
*Comparison group among types of academies.
**Comparison group among types of training environments.
†Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level.
aThe completion ratio is the number of female recruits who completed basic training divided by the number who began basic training for academy classes ending in 2018.
bAcademies were asked about the degree to which their curriculum followed a stress model (i.e., military or paramilitary style), a nonstress model (i.e., academic or adult learning), or a combination of both models.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018.


 

Appendix Table 1. Estimates for map 1: Percent of recruits who completed basic training who were female, by state, 2018
State

Percent

 State

Percent

   

Montana

   34.3%

 Maine

   15.0   

   

Idaho

28.3

 Pennsylvania

14.9

   

California

23.3

 Tennessee

14.9

   

Oklahoma

23.2

 Maryland

14.7

   

District of Columbia

21.9

 Minnesota

14.6

   

Georgia

21.5

 South Dakota

14.5

   

Virginia

20.8

 Arkansas

14.4

   

Florida

20.5

 New Mexico

14.2

   

Colorado

20.1

 Oregon

13.8

   

Texas

20.0

 Rhode Island

13.5

   

Michigan

19.7

 Vermont

13.3

   

Wisconsin

19.1

 New Jersey

13.1

   

South Carolina

19.0

 Hawaii

12.4

   

Louisiana

18.8

 Washington

12.4

   

New York

18.6

 New Hampshire

12.3

   

Connecticut

18.6

 Massachusetts

12.1

   

North Carolina

18.4

 

Arizona

11.7

   

Mississippi

18.1

 Indiana

11.6

   

Alaska

17.3

 Alabama

11.5

   

Illinois

17.1

 Iowa

10.5

   

Ohio

17.0

 Utah

9.6

   

North Dakota

16.8

 Wyoming

9.0

   

Kansas

16.5

 Kentucky

9.0

   

Nebraska

16.5

 Delaware

8.3

   

Missouri

16.2

 West Virginia

6.3

   

Nevada

15.7

 

 

 

   

Download .csv file (2K)  

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018.


The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.


This report was written by Emily D. Buehler, PhD. Connor Brooks verified the report.

MAY 2023, NCJ 306490

Date Created: May 1, 2023