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 recruits^a
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 environment^b
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†
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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

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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

Just the Stats

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