U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#lpd Local Police Departments, 1993--Executive Summary April 1996, NCJ-160802 The full text of this report is available through-- *the BJS Clearinghouse, 1-800-732-3277 *on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ *on the BJS gopher: gopher://www.ojp.usdoj.gov:70/11/bjs/ *on the National Criminal Justice Reference Service Electronic Bulletin Board (set at 8-N-1, call 301-738-8895, select BJS). By Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statistician * 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 full-time local police officers employed for every 10,000 residents served. * Women comprised 8.8% of all full-time 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. * 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. * 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. * A majority of local police departments serving a population of 10,000 or more had primary responsibility for processing fingerprints. Three-fourths of the departments serving a population of 1 milllion or more were also responsible for performing ballistics tests and laboratory tests of substances. * In addition to traditional law enforcement duties, some local police departments were responsible for court-related 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. Departments 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%). END OF FILE