Presents counts of full-time employees in general-purpose law enforcement agencies for 2016, with comparisons to prior years.
Presents counts of full-time employees in general-purpose law enforcement agencies for 2016, with comparisons to prior years. General-purpose law enforcement agencies include municipal, county, and regional police departments; most sheriffs' offices; and primary state and highway patrol agencies. Results are shown by type of law enforcement agency and by sworn status. Rates of full-time sworn officers per 1,000 U.S. residents are also presented.
- The average number of full-time sworn officers per 1,000 U.S. residents decreased from 2.42 in 1997 to 2.17 in 2016 (down 11%).
- From 1997 to 2016, the number of full-time sworn officers in general-purpose law enforcement agencies increased by about 52,000 (up 8%).
- The number of full-time employees in general-purpose law enforcement agencies increased by about 174,000 (up 20%) from 1997 to 2016.
- Among local police departments, the number of full-time sworn officers increased by about 48,000 (up 11%) from 1997 to 2016.
- From 1997 to 2016, the number of full-time civilians in general-purpose agencies increased by about 121,000 (up 53%). The number of full-time civilians in sheriffs’ offices increased by 110%, or about 98,000.
One of the reporting agencies in the 2016 LEMAS dataset was ineligible, and three local police departments misreported the number of full-time sworn officers and non-sworn employees. The dataset was updated with corrected counts of full-time sworn officers and civilians.