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#sd Sheriffs' Departments 1993 Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. and Pheny Z. Smith, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians June 1996, NCJ-148823 (A full copy of this report with graphics is available on the BJS home page (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/) in Acrobat Portable Document Format [PDF], viewable on any computer and printable on any printer. For a printed copy call the BJS Clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277 or use the online order form.) U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D. Director Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., and Pheny Z. Smith, Ph.D., BJS statisticians, wrote this report. It was produced by Yvonne Boston under the supervision of Marilyn Marbrook. Sample design, selection, and weighting were provided by David Hubble and Carol Perseley of the Demographic Statistical Methods Division, Bureau of the Census. The data were collected and processed by Martha Greene, Etta Herrin, Linda Huang, Sheryl Jones, Charlene Sebold, and Charline Watz of the Governments Division, Bureau of the Census. Data utilized in this report are available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; 1-800-999-0960. The dataset is archived as Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993 (ICPSR 9749). An electronic version of this report and the data analyzed in the report may be found on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ CONTENTS Highlights The LEMAS survey Personnel Expenditures and pay Operations Equipment Computers Policy directives Methodology HIGHLIGHTS * As of June 30, 1993, sheriffs' departments in the United States had an estimated 224,236 full-time employees, 10% more than in 1990. This total included 155,815 sworn personnel and 68,421 civilian employees. * Nearly all sheriffs' departments were responsible for performing court-related functions such as serving civil process (97%) and providing court security (93%). About 9 in 10 investigated crimes (92%), responded to calls for service (91%), and provided routine patrol services (88%). * Many sheriffs' departments also had primary responsibility for dispatching calls for service (80%), operating a jail (79%), drug enforcement (78%), traffic enforcement (77%), and search and rescue operations (65%). (See following page for comparisons of sheriffs' departments with local police.) * For fiscal 1993, sheriffs' departments had operating expenditures of $10.7 billion. This was 6% more than 1990 after adjusting for inflation. Operating expenditures averaged $66,500 per sworn officer, $45,900 per employee, and $45 per resident for 1993. * Overall, 16.9% of the full-time sworn personnel employed by sheriffs' departments in 1993 were members of a racial or ethnic minority. This was an increase compared to 1990 (15.5%) and 1987 (13.4%). Blacks accounted for 10% of sworn personnel in 1993, and Hispanics comprised about 6%. * In 1993, 8% of sheriffs' departments required new deputy recruits to have completed at least some college course work, compared to about 4% in 1990. Less than 1% of all departments required a 4-year degree; however, 5% required a 2-year degree. * New deputy recruits were required to undergo an average of about 750 hours of training in 1993. The average requirement ranged from about 900 hours among departments serving a population of 1 million or more, to about 450 hours in those serving fewer than 10,000 residents. * Eighty-two percent of sheriffs' departments authorized their regular field officers to use semiautomatic sidearms in 1993, up from 74% in 1990. Departments authorizing semiautomatic sidearms employed 91% of all sheriffs' officers in 1993, compared to 83% in 1990. * Nearly all (97%) sheriffs' departments authorized the use of nonlethal weapons by officers. Impact devices such as batons were authorized by 85% of all departments. Chemical agents were authorized by 77%, with pepper spray (56%) the type most commonly approved. * Thirty percent of sheriffs' departments required all of their regular field officers to wear protective body armor while on duty during 1993, up from 21% in 1990. Departments with such a requirement employed 35% of all sheriffs' officers in 1993, compared to 23% in 1990. * Sixty-five percent of sheriffs' departments participated in a 911 emergency telephone system during 1993, a considerably higher percentage than in 1990 (42%) and more than twice as many as in 1987 (28%). * A majority of the 911 systems that sheriffs' departments participated in during 1993 were enhanced systems, capable of pinpointing the source of a call automatically. Overall, 36% of sheriffs' departments had an enhanced system in 1993, compared to 11% in 1990 and 8% in 1987. * An estimated 62% of sheriffs' departments were maintaining computerized files on warrants in 1993, up from 47% in 1990. A majority of departments (58%) also maintained computerized arrest information during 1993, compared to 42% in 1990. Functions of sheriffs' and police departments and their officers Among the 156,000 full-time sworn personnel employed by sheriffs' departments in 1993, about 60,000 were uniformed officers whose regularly assigned duties included responding to calls for service. This amounted to 39% of sheriffs' department sworn personnel handling calls for service, compared to 63% of officers in local police departments. This difference is attributable to the fact that, relative to local police, sheriffs' departments are much more likely to be responsible for activities related to jail and court operations. More often than not, these responsibilities are in addition to traditional law enforcement duties. A large majority of both sheriffs' and local police departments receive calls for service, investigate crimes, and provide routine patrol services Percent of agencies ------------------------ Function Sheriffs' Local police --------------------------------------------- Receiving calls for service 91% 93% Crime investigation 92 97 Routine patrol 88 97 Sheriffs' departments are much more likely than local police departments to perform functions related to the operation of courts and jails Percent of agencies ------------------------ Function Sheriffs' Local police --------------------------------------------- Process serving 97% 11% Court security 93 19 Jail operations 79 5 Sheriffs' departments are also more likely than local police departments to perform search and rescue operations, dispatch calls for service, and process fingerprints Percent of agencies ------------------------ Function Sheriffs' Local police --------------------------------------------- Search and rescue 65% 33% Dispatching calls for service 80 52 Fingerprint processing 55 41 Most sheriffs' departments perform traffic- related functions; however, they are less likely to do so than local police departments Percent of agencies ------------------------ Function Sheriffs' Local police --------------------------------------------- Enforcing traffic laws 77% 99% Accident investigation 69 98 Traffic direction and control 64 90 SHERIFFS' DEPARTMENTS 1993 During 1993, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), as a part of its Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program, surveyed a nationally representative sample of the more than 17,000 State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide. This report presents data describing the more than 3,000 sheriffs' departments operating in the United States in terms of their personnel, expenditures and pay, operations, equipment, computers and information systems, and policies. The sheriffs' departments included in this report are operated by county or independent city governments. Since sheriffs are typically elected officials, these agencies are sometimes known as sheriff's offices, but the term departments is used universally in this report as a matter of convenience. Consolidated police-sheriffs' departments are classified as local police for the LEMAS survey and are excluded from this report. The LEMAS survey ---------------- The 1993 LEMAS survey questionnaire was mailed to all 854 State and local law enforcement agencies with 100 or more sworn officers and to a representative sample of 2,416 agencies with fewer than 100 officers (see Methodology for a description of the sample). Of the 3,270 agencies receiving the LEMAS questionnaire, 3,028 (92.6%) responded. Detailed agency-by-agency tabulations from the 1993 LEMAS survey were previously published for agencies with 100 or more officers (see Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993, NCJ-148825). This report and its companion report (Local Police Departments 1993, NCJ-148822), summarize the data collected from agencies of all sizes. This is the third LEMAS survey. Data from the previous surveys in 1987 and 1990 are used for comparison purposes in this report. Law enforcement manpower data collected by BJS in 1992 are less comprehensive in content (they include only personnel counts) and therefore are not used for comparisons. Personnel --------- During 1993 an estimated 17,120 publicly funded State and local law enforcement agencies were operating in the United States (table 1). Table 1. Employment by State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, 1993 Number of employees Number Full-time Part-time Type of agency of agencies Total Sworn Civilian Total Sworn Civilian Total 17120 828435 622913 205522 87875 42890 44985 Local police 12361 474072 373554 100518 58146 28186 29960 Sheriff 3084 224236 155815 68421 19660 11048 8612 State police 49 76972 51874 25098 845 228 617 Special police 1626 53155 41670 11485 9224 3428 5796 Note: Special police category includes both State-level and local-level agencies. Consolidated police-sheriff agencies are included under local police category. Data are for the pay period that included June 30, 1993. Excluding a small number of consolidated police-sheriff agencies, there were 3,084 sheriffs' departments, all operated by counties and independent cities. As of June 30, 1993, sheriffs' departments had an estimated 224,236 full-time employees. They employed an additional 19,660 persons on a part-time basis. About 156,000, or 69%, of full-time sheriffs' department employees were sworn officers. This represented a fourth of all State and local officers nationwide. The estimated 68,421 civilian sheriffs' department personnel in 1993 accounted for a third of all nonsworn State and local law enforcement employees in the United States. There were about 20,000, or 9.9%, more full-time employees in sheriffs' departments in 1993 than in 1990, and about 47,000, or 26.6%, more than in 1987 (figure 1). For all State and local law enforcement agencies, the increase in number of employees from 1990 to 1993 was about 35,000, or 4.5%, and from 1987 to 1993 it was about 79,000, or 10.5%. When only sworn personnel are considered, employment by sheriffs' departments increased by about 14,000 officers, or 10.2%, from 1990 to 1993 and by about 33,000, or 27.2%, from 1987 to 1993. The number of full-time sworn personnel employed by all State and local law enforcement agencies in 1993 was up by about 27,000, or 4.5%, compared to 1990, and by about 55,000, or 9.7%, compared to 1987. As with local police departments, the size of sheriffs' departments varies greatly. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was the largest in 1993, with 11,285 full-time employees. Included in this total were 7,629 full-time sworn officers, of which about 3,400 were assigned to field operations. Nationwide, there were 17 sheriffs' departments that employed 1,000 or more sworn officers (0.6%), and more than 300 that employed at least 100 officers (10.3%) (table 2). Table 2. Sheriffs' departments, by number of sworn personnel, 1993 Agencies Number of sworn personnel Number Percent Number Percent Total 3084 100 155815 100 1,000 or more 17 0.6 32045 20.6 500-999 24 0.8 15010 9.6 250-499 77 2.5 26775 17.2 100-249 199 6.4 29022 18.6 50-99 307 10 18735 12 25-49 564 18.3 16596 10.7 10-24 936 30.4 12782 8.2 5-9 602 19.5 3811 2.4 2-4 340 11 1028 0.7 1 19 0.6 10 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rou *Includes both full-time and part-time employees. -- Less than 0.5%. Nearly 1,000 sheriffs' departments employed fewer than 10 officers (31.2%), including 19 with just one sworn officer (0.6%). About a fifth of all full-time sheriffs' officers were employed by a department with 1,000 or more officers, and two-thirds were employed by a department with at least 100 officers. Sheriffs' departments that employed fewer than 10 officers accounted for about 3% of all sheriffs' department sworn personnel nationwide. About half of all sheriffs' department officers worked for the 184 departments located in a jurisdiction with 250,000 or more residents and a fifth were employed by 1 of the 25 departments serving a population of 1 million or more (table 3). Just over half of all sheriffs' departments were located in a jurisdiction with fewer than 25,000 residents. These departments employed about 11% of all sworn sheriffs' department personnel nationwide. Table 3. Sheriffs' departments and full-time sworn personnel, by size of population served, 1993 Full-time sworn Agencies personnel Population served Number Percent Number Percent All sizes 3084 1 155815 1 1,000,000 or more 25 0.8 31266 20.1 500,000-999,999 63 2 24483 15.7 250,000-499,999 96 3.1 21504 13.8 100,000-249,999 260 8.4 27442 17.6 50,000-99,999 376 12.2 19144 12.3 25,000-49,999 616 20 15244 9.8 10,000-24,999 916 29.7 12146 7.8 Under 10,000 731 23.7 4585 2.9 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. On the average, sheriffs' departments nationwide had 73 full-time employees including 51 sworn personnel and 22 civilian employees (table 4). The size of departments varied greatly depending on the jurisdiction population: Sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more had an average of 1,936 full-time employees, including 1,233 sworn officers and 703 civilian employees. In contrast, sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents employed an average of 6 full-time sworn officers, and 3 full-time civilians. Table 4. Average number of employees in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Average number of employees Full-time Part-time Population served Total Sworn Nonsworn Total Sworn Nonsworn All sizes 73 51 22 6 4 3 1,000,000 or more 1936 1233 703 48 29 19 500,000-999,999 551 390 161 39 17 22 250,000-499,999 321 224 97 20 8 11 100,000-249,999 151 106 45 11 6 5 50,000-99,999 69 51 18 7 5 3 25,000-49,999 35 25 10 6 4 2 10,000-24,999 18 13 5 3 2 2 Under 10,000 9 6 3 2 1 1 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Race and sex of officers Of the estimated 155,518 full-time sworn personnel employed by sheriffs' departments in 1993, an estimated 22,657, or 1 in 7, were women (table 5). The percentage of female officers varied slightly across population sizes, ranging from about 16% in jurisdictions with a population of 100,000 to 999,999 to just under 12% in jurisdictions with a population of 10,000 to 49,999. Table 5. Sex of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' d by size of population served, 1993 Population All sworn employees served Total Male Female All sizes 100 85.5 14.5 1,000,000 or more 100 85.5 14.5 500,000-999,999 100 84.0 16.0 250,000-499,999 100 83.6 16.4 100,000-249,999 100 84.3 15.7 50,000-99,999 100 86.6 13.4 25,000-49,999 100 88.5 11.5 10,000-24,999 100 88.2 11.8 Under 10,000 100 86.8 13.2 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Compared to 1990, the number of female officers was up by less than a thousand, and the percentage of all sheriffs' officers represented by women was down slightly from 15.4% to 14.6% (figure 2). However, there were about 7,200 more female officers in 1993 than in 1987, when 12.6% of sheriffs' officers were women. In 1993, about a sixth of full-time sheriffs' officers were members of a racial or ethnic minority, with the percentage of minority officers higher in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more (table 6). Overall, the number of sheriffs' officers who were members of a racial or ethnic minority in 1993 (26,367) was about 20% greater than in 1990 (21,290) and about 61% greater than in 1987 (16,420). Table 6. Race and ethnicity of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of full-time sworn employees who are: White Black Hispanic Other* Population served Total Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female All sizes 100 83.1 72.1 11 10 7.4 2.7 5.8 5 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.1 1,000,000 or more 100 73.1 63.6 9.5 11.4 8.4 3.0 13.3 11.5 1.8 2.2 2.0 0.2 500,000-999,999 100 78.9 67.5 11.4 14.1 10.3 3.9 5.5 5.0 0.6 1.5 1.2 0.2 250,000-499,999 100 83.3 70.8 12.5 11.0 8.0 3.0 4.7 4.0 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.2 100,000-249,999 100 85.8 73.9 11.9 10.7 7.4 3.2 2.9 2.4 0.5 0.6 0.5 50,000-99,999 100 90.5 79.2 11.3 6.3 4.7 1.6 2.4 2.1 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.1 25,000-49,999 100 89.8 79.9 9.9 6.1 4.7 1.4 3.5 3.3 0.2 0.6 0.6 10,000-24,999 100 87.7 78.0 9.8 7.9 6.6 1.2 3.9 3.1 0.8 0.5 0.5 Under 10,000 100 90.1 79.0 11.2 4.8 3.4 1.3 4.1 3.4 0.7 1.0 1.0 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. *Includes Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. --Less than 0.05% Blacks accounted for 10% of all sheriffs' officers in 1993, with departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 employing the highest percentage of black officers (14.1%). About 6% of sheriffs' officers nationwide were Hispanic, with departments serving a population of 1 million or more having the most Hispanic officers (13.3%). The estimated 15,621 full-time black officers employed in 1993 represented an increase of 1,762 compared to 1990 and 5,450 compared to 1987. The percentage of black officers in 1993 (10.0%) was about the same as in 1990 (9.8%), but up significantly from 1987, when 8.3% of all sheriffs' officers were black. There were an estimated 8,979 Hispanic officers employed by sheriffs' departments in 1993. This was 35% more than in 1990 (6,647) and 70% more than in 1987 (5,269). The percentage of sheriffs' officers represented by Hispanics in 1993 (5.8%) represented an increase over 1990 (4.7%) and 1987 (4.3%) levels. Education and training requirements for new officers Nearly all (97%) sheriffs' departments had a formal education requirement for new officer recruits in 1993 (table 7). The typical minimum educational requirement was completion of highschool (89%). About 8% of departments, twice as many as in 1990, required at least some college course work of new deputy recruits. Although less than 1% of sheriffs' departments required new deputy recruits to have a 4-year college degree, 5% did require a 2-year degree. Overall, 99% of sheriffs' officers nationwide were employed by a department that required new deputies to have at least a high school diploma, including 7% who were employed by a department that required them to have at least some college. Table 7. Minimum educational requirement for new officer recruits in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies requiring a minimum of: Total High 2-year 4-year Population with school Some college college served requirement diploma college* degree degree All sizes 97 89 2 5 1,000,000 or more 1 96 4 0 0 500,000-999,999 93 83 6 2 2 250,000-499,999 100 88 7 3 1 100,000-249,999 100 88 2 10 50,000-99,999 99 89 5 2 2 25,000-49,999 97 88 1 7 0 10,000-24,999 95 89 1 5 0 Under 10,000 98 92 1 5 0 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding *Nondegree requirements. --Less than 0.5%. An estimated 90% of all sheriffs' departments, employing 97% of all officers, required new deputy recruits tocomplete formal training (table 8). All of the departments serving a population of 500,000 or more and more than 90% of those serving a population of 25,000 to 499,999 required training. The percentage of departments in smaller jurisdictions that required training was slightly lower--86% in jurisdictions with a population of 10,000 to 24,999, and 83% in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. Table 8. Training requirements for new deputy recruits in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of Average number agencies of hours required Population requiring Class- served training room Field All sizes 90 366 199 1,000,000 or more 100 615 286 500,000-999,999 100 414 331 250,000-499,999 96 411 336 100,000-249,999 96 388 255 50,000-99,999 98 414 242 25,000-49,999 92 357 239 10,000-24,999 86 343 155 Under 10,000 83 342 109 Note: Computation of average number of training hours required excludes departments not requiring training. On average, sheriffs' departments required 565 training hours of new deputy recruits, with about two-thirds of the training in the classroom. Sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents (901 hours), required about twice as many training hours of new recruits as those serving a population of less than 10,000 (451 hours). Classroom training requirements were most stringent among departments serving a population of 1 million or more (an average of 615 hours), while departments serving a population of 250,000 to 999,999 (about 330 hours) required the most field training hours on average. When sheriffs' departments are weighted according to number of officers, it is estimated that the average new deputy recruit in 1993 was required to undergo 748 hours of training, with 478 hours, or 64%, of it in the classroom. Compared to 1990, the average number of training hours required of new deputy recruits in 1993 was up significantly in most sheriffs' departments (figure 3). Departments serving a population of less than 25,000 required an average of 416 hours of training in 1993, compared to 346 in 1990. Among departments serving a population of 25,000 to 99,000, the average training requirement was up by more than 100 hours, from 474 hours in 1990 to 579 hours in 1993. Departments serving a population of 100,000 to 499,999 increased their average requirement by nearly 100 hours, from 553 hours to 646 hours. Among departments serving 500,000 or more residents, training requirements for new recruits remained about the same, averaging just under 800 hours. Applicant and employee drug testing A fourth of all sheriffs' departments, employing half of all officers, required that all applicants for sworn positions be tested for illegal drug use (table 9). A majority of the departments serving a population of 500,000 or more re-quired a drug test of all officer applicants, as did 41% of those serving a population of 100,000 to 499,999. Applicants for officer positions were least likely to be tested for drugs in small jurisdictions: 18% of departments serving a population of 10,000 to 24,999 and 12% of those serving fewer than 10,000 residents had a mandatory drug testing requirement for applicants. Table 9. Drug testing of applicants for sworn positions, regular field officers, and civilian employees in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with a drug testing program Any type Mandatory Random Use of Personnel category of testing (all are selection drugs is and population served program tested) process suspected Applicants for sworn positions All sizes 30 25 5 5 1,000,000 or more 55 50 5 9 500,000-999,999 66 65 3 6 250,000-499,999 46 41 1 8 100,000-249,999 46 41 4 6 50,000-99,999 38 36 2 9 25,000-49,999 34 29 5 4 10,000-24,999 24 18 4 6 Under 10,000 20 12 7 3 Regular field/patrol officers All sizes 26 6 12 13 1,000,000 or more 50 5 14 45 500,000-999,999 54 3 15 49 250,000-499,999 44 4 12 36 100,000-249,999 42 4 16 23 50,000-99,999 37 4 17 20 25,000-49,999 28 9 14 13 10,000-24,999 20 6 10 9 Under 10,000 15 4 7 5 Civilian employees All sizes 24 8 8 12 1,000,000 or more 50 4 14 45 500,000-999,999 56 21 10 38 250,000-499,999 40 3 7 32 100,000-249,999 35 9 12 19 50,000-99,999 30 8 8 15 25,000-49,999 24 8 10 12 10,000-24,999 19 7 6 8 Under 10,000 17 7 7 6 Note: Some agencies had more than 1 type of testing program. Overall, about a fourth of sheriffs' departments, employing about half of all sheriffs' officers, had some type of drug testing program that included regular field officers. Drug testing programs that were mandatory for all regular field officers were reported by 6% of sheriffs' departments, employing 5% of all officers. More common were testing programs limited to officers suspected of using illegal drugs (13%) or to those selected through a random selection process (12%). Nearly half of the departments serving a population of 500,000 or more tested regular field officers suspected of using illegal drugs and 39% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide were employed by a department with such a program. Departments with a random selection testing program for regular field officers employed 24% of all officers nationwide. About a fourth of all sheriffs' departments included civilian employees under one or more types of drug testing program. These departments employed about half of all nonsworn sheriffs' department personnel. Twelve percent of departments, employing 35% of all nonsworn employees, had a testing program for such employees suspected of using illegal drugs. This included nearly half of the departments serving a population of 1 million or more, and about a third of those serving a population of 250,000 to 999,999. Mandatory and random selection drug testing programs for civilian employees were both found among 8% of all departments; however, departments with random selection programs employed twice as many civilian personnel nationwide as those with a mandatory testing program (18% versus 9%). Expenditures and pay -------------------- Operating expenditures The total annual operating expenditure of sheriffs' departments during fiscal year 1993 was $10.7 billion, an increase of 17% compared to 1990. After controlling for inflation, the net increase in spending was about 6%. (These figures do not include capital expenditures such as those for equipment purchases or construction projects.) Sheriffs' departments accounted for 26% of the $41.9 billion in total operating expenditures for all State and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal year 1993. Billions -------------- Total State and 1993 1990 local operating -------------- expenditures $41.9 $36.0 -------------------------------------- Local police $24.3 $20.6 Sheriff l0.7 9.1 State police 4.2 3.7 Special police 2.8 2.6 Operating expenditures averaged about $3.5 million per sheriffs' department for fiscal 1993, ranging from an average of $132,467,000 for departments serving a population of 1 million or more, to $273,000 among those serving fewer than 10,000 residents (table 10). The overall operating cost per resident was $45, with departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more costing the most to operate, $60 per resident, followed by those in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents at $48 per resident. Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 25,000 to 49,999 residents had the lowest per resident cost--$34. Table 10. Operating expenditures of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Operating expenditures in dollars, fiscal year 1993 Population Per Per Per Per served Total agency sworn officer employee resident All sizes 10732086000 3480000 66500 45900 45 1,000,000 or more 3311663000 132467000 104700 66600 60 500,000-999,999 1726039000 27397000 69000 48200 41 250,000-499,999 1474363000 5358000 67300 46400 43 100,000-249,999 1698813000 6534000 60300 41900 42 50,000-99,999 1015455000 2701000 50700 37100 38 25,000-49,999 739475000 1200000 44700 31800 34 10,000-24,999 566436000 618000 43600 30800 39 Under 10,000 199842000 273000 39500 27600 48 Note: See the printed report for the table note. Nationwide, sheriffs' departments cost $66,500 per sworn officer to operate for fiscal 1993, ranging from $104,700 per officer in jurisdictions with more than 1 million residents to $39,500 per officer in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. When both sworn and nonsworn employees are included, the average operating expenditure for sheriffs' departments was $45,900 per employee for the year, ranging from a high of $66,600 per employee in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents to a low of $27,600 in the smallest jurisdictions. Overall, employee salaries and benefits accounted for about $4 of every $5 in sheriffs' department operating expenditures. Table 11. Average base starting salary for selected positions in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Average base starting salary, 1993 Entry- Population level served deputy Sergeant Sheriff All sizes 19300 24400 37700 1000000 or more 28300 40200 89800 500,000-999,999 23900 33300 67200 250,000-499,999 23400 31900 63800 100,000-249,999 22200 28600 53500 50,000-99,999 20600 26200 42400 25,000-49,999 19200 23900 37900 10,000-24,999 18500 22900 33800 Under 10,000 17400 20600 26700 Note: Salary figures have been rounded to the nearest Computation of average salary excludes departments with employee in that position. Salaries The average base starting salary offered by sheriffs' departments to entry-level deputies was about $19,300 in 1993. This was an increase of 11% compared with 1990; however, the net increase after controlling for inflation was just 0.3% (table 11). Departments in jurisdictions with 50,000 or more residents had an average starting salary that was higher than the overall average, ranging from $20,600 (population of 50,000 to 99,999) to $28,300 (population served of 1 million or more). The average starting salary for deputies in departments serving a population of less than 10,000 was about $2,000 below the overall average. When departments are weighted according to number of officers employed, the estimated average base starting salary for entry-level deputies in 1993 was $23,300. Except for the largest agencies, base starting salaries for entry-level officers were generally lower in sheriffs' departments than in comparably sized local police departments (figure 4). The greatest difference was found among agencies with at least 25 officers but fewer than 250--about $5,000 per year on average. Among agencies employing fewer than 25 full-time officers, local police departments offered an average starting salary that was about $1,600 higher than sheriffs' departments. Among agencies with 250 to 999 full-time sworn personnel, the difference was about $3,400. Sheriffs' depart-ments employing 1,000 or more sworn personnel offered a starting salary to entry-level officers that was slightly higher than in local police departments. Salaries for the positions of sergeant and sheriff increased with jurisdiction size in a pattern similar to that for entry-level officers. By department, the average starting salary for sergeants was $24,400, with sergeants in the largest jurisdictions starting at $40,200 on average, about twice as much as in departments in the smallest jurisdictions ($20,600). When departments are weighted according to size, the estimated average base starting salary for sergeants was $31,100. The overall average base starting salary for sheriffs in 1993 was $37,700, but sheriffs in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more residents had a starting salary that was considerably higher. The average starting salary for sheriffs in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents was $89,800, more than 3 times as much as in jurisdictions with a population of less than 10,000 ($26,700). Special pay Some sheriffs' departments offered certain types of special pay to full-time officers (table 12). For example, 16% of sheriffs' departments, employing 45% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide, offered education incentive pay to qualifying officers. About two-thirds of the sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more offered education incentive pay to officers; however, less than 10% of agencies serving fewer than 25,000 residents offered this type of pay. Table 12. Sheriffs' departments authorizing special pay for full-time sworn personnel, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies authorizing Population Education Shift Hazardous served incentive differential Merit duty All sizes 16 15 13 5 1000000 or more 65 54 42 42 500,000-999,999 45 42 29 27 250,000-499,999 55 34 38 21 100,000-249,999 32 34 27 7 50,000-99,999 22 24 22 4 25,000-49,999 15 16 13 6 10,000-24,999 9 7 9 1 Under 10,000 8 6 3 2 Fifteen percent of all sheriffs' departments offered shift differential pay to their full-time officers. More than half of the departments in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents, and more than a third of those serving 100,000 to 999,999 residents, had shift differential pay. Nationwide, about a fourth of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department with shift differential pay. Thirteen percent of all sheriffs' departments offered merit pay to qualifying officers, including 42% of those serving a population of 1 million or more. About a third of all sheriffs' officers nationwide worked for a department that offered merit pay. Hazardous duty pay was offered by just 5% of all sheriffs' departments; however, 42% of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more offered it, as did more than 20% of the departments in jurisdictions with 250,000 to 999,999 residents. Nationwide, a fourth of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that offered hazardous duty pay. Collective bargaining and union membership Nationwide, 30% of all sheriffs' departments, employing 47% of all officers, authorized collective bargaining for sworn personnel (table 13). A majority of the departments serving a population of 100,000 or more authorized collective bargaining for officers, including about three-fourths of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more. Departments in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents were the least likely to authorize collective bargaining for sworn personnel. Table 13. Sheriffs' departments authorizing collective bargaining, by size of population served, 1993 Population Percent of agencies authorizing collective bargaining served Sworn employees Nonsworn employees All sizes 30 24 1,000,000 or mo 77 68 500,000-999,999 73 59 250,000-499,999 58 52 100,000-249,999 51 42 50,000-99,999 41 35 25,000-49,999 35 27 10,000-24,999 20 18 Under 10,000 15 10 Nonsworn personnel in sheriffs' de-partments were slightly less likely to have collective bargaining rights than sworn employees. Overall, 24% of sheriffs' departments, employing 41% of all nonsworn sheriffs' department personnel, authorized collective bargaining for civilian employees. A majority of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 250,000 or more authorized collective bargaining for civilians; however, just 1 in 10 departments serving a population of less than 10,000 did so. Twenty-four percent of all sheriffs' departments authorized police union membership by their sworn personnel, including a majority of those in jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents (table 14). Nationwide, 43% of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that authorized them to belong to a police union. Table 14. Sheriffs' departments authorizing police membership organizations, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies authorizing membership Non- Population police Police Police asso- served union union ciation All sizes 6 24 25 1,000,000 or more 14 6 38 500,000-999,999 11 55 36 250,000-499,999 13 41 38 100,000-249,999 14 37 25 50,000-99,999 7 33 24 25,000-49,999 4 32 29 10,000-24,999 5 20 23 Under 10,000 3 8 21 Six percent of sheriffs' departments, employing 16% of all sheriffs' department officers nationwide, authorized membership in a nonpolice union. Twenty-five percent of all departments authorized officer membership in a police association. These departments employed 30% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide. Operations ---------- Crime investigation About 9 in 10 sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for investigating violent crimes occurring in their jurisdiction (table 15). Departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 100,000 were more likely to be responsible for investigating violent crimes than those in larger jurisdictions. Departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 were the least likely to be the primary investigative agency for violent crimes. Table 15. Crime investigation responsibilities of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for investigation of: Population Violent crimes Property crimes Environmental served Homicide Other/a Arson Other/b crimes All sizes 89 91 80 92 22 1,000,000 or more 75 75 61 79 19 500,000-999,999 51 58 46 53 27 250,000-499,999 71 72 65 76 17 100,000-249,999 75 79 68 79 16 50,000-99,999 90 89 85 88 19 25,000-49,999 90 93 81 95 25 10,000-24,999 96 96 84 97 22 Under 10,000 91 94 80 94 25 /aRape, robbery or assault. /bBurglary, larceny/theft, or motor vehicle theft. Ninety-two percent of sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for investigating property crimes such as burglary, larceny, or motor vehicle theft. As with violent crimes, departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 were the least likely to be responsible for investigating property crimes, and those serving fewer than 100,000 residents were the most likely to handle such investigations. Eighty percent of sheriffs' departments were responsible for investigating arson incidents. Again, those serving a population of less than 100,000 were most likely to handle such cases, and those serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 were least likely. An estimated 22% of sheriffs' departments were responsible for the investigation of environmental crimes, with only a slight variation by population category. Investigative support functions Some sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for investigative support functions such as fingerprint processing, laboratory testing of substances, or ballistics testing (table 16). A majority were responsible for fingerprint processing (55%), including about two-thirds of those in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more, or a population of 100,000 to 499,999. Nearly three-fourths (71%) of sheriffs' officers nationwide were employed by a department that was responsible for fingerprint processing. Table 16. Investigative support functions of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for: Finger- Laboratory Bal- Population print testing listics served processing of substances testing All sizes 55 5 2 1,000,000 or more 66 38 33 500,000-999,999 55 16 18 250,000-499,999 67 20 10 100,000-249,999 66 8 2 50,000-99,999 60 7 2 25,000-49,999 51 5 4 10,000-24,999 52 2 Under 10,000 54 1 0 --Less than 0.5%. Overall, few sheriffs' departments were responsible for laboratory testing of substances (5%) or ballistics testing (2%). Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more were the most likely to be responsible for these functions: 38% conducted laboratory tests of substances and 33% conducted ballistics tests. Less than 10% of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 250,000 performed these functions. Drug and vice enforcement An estimated 78% of all sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for drug enforcement in their jurisdiction, and these departments employed 78% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide (table 17). Departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 25,000 (85%) were the most likely to be responsible for drug enforcement, while those in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999 residents (47%) were the least likely. Table 17. Drug and vice enforcement responsibilities of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for Population served Drug Vice enforcement enforcement All sizes 78 49 1,000,000 or more 80 56 500,000-999,999 47 47 250,000-499,999 60 56 100,000-249,999 58 57 50,000-99,999 71 56 25,000-49,999 78 56 10,000-24,999 85 45 Under 10,000 85 41 About half of all sheriffs' departments, employing two-thirds of all sheriffs' officers, had primary vice enforcement responsibilities. By population category, slightly more than half of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more or a population of 25,000 to 499,999 were responsible for vice enforcement. Slightly less than half of the departments in other population categories were responsible for vice enforcement. Patrol and response Eighty-eight percent of all sheriffs' departments were responsible for providing routine patrol services in their jurisdiction (table 18). About 90% of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 50,000 provided patrol services. Except for departments serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 (53%), a large majority of the departments serving other jurisdiction sizes also provided patrol services. Nationwide, 86% of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that performed patrol services. Table 18. Patrol and response of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for Calls for service Population Routine Re- Dis- served patrol ceiving patching All sizes 88 91 80 1,000,000 or more 83 75 75 500,000-999,999 53 61 51 250,000-499,999 73 69 62 100,000-249,999 79 81 64 50,000-99,999 86 90 72 25,000-49,999 92 95 84 10,000-24,999 90 94 86 Under 10,000 90 94 82 About 9 in 10 sheriffs' departments reported they had primary responsibility for receiving calls for service from citizens. The percentage of departments that received service calls was 90% or higher in all population categories less than 100,000. About 4 in 5 sheriffs' departments also had responsibility for dispatching calls for service to officers in the field, with departments serving a population of less than 50,000 the most likely to perform dispatch services. 911 emergency telephone system In 1993, 65% of all sheriffs' departments participated in an emergency telephone system whereby one of their units could be dispatched as a result of a citizen call to 911 or its equivalent (table 19). This was a significant increase from 1990 when 42% of all sheriffs' departments were 911 participants, and more than twice the percentage of departments reporting 911 participation in 1987 (28%) (figure 5). A majority of the sheriffs' departments in each population category were participating in a 911 system in 1993, including more than 70% of those serving a population of 25,000 to 499,999. Table 19. Sheriffs' department participation in a 911 emergency telephone system, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies participating in a 911 system Population served Total Enhanced Basic All sizes 65 36 29 1,000,000 or more 70 46 24 500,000-999,999 56 46 10 250,000-499,999 74 68 5 100,000-249,999 80 61 19 50,000-99,999 75 61 14 25,000-49,999 74 44 30 10,000-24,999 61 28 33 Under 10,000 54 13 41 Note: Participation is defined as the capability to dispatch a unit as the result of a call to 911. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. In 1993, slightly over half of the sheriffs' departments with a 911 system reported their system was an enhanced system, capable of pinpointing the location of a caller automatically. This was in sharp contrast to 1990 and 1987, when just a fourth of the sheriffs' departments with a 911 system had an enhanced capability. The percentage of sheriffs' departments that had an enhanced 911 system in 1993 (36%) was about 3 times greater than in 1990 (11%), and about 4 times greater than in 1987 (8%). Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 250,000 to 499,999 (68%) and those in jurisdictions with 50,000 to 249,999 residents (61%) were the most likely to have an enhanced 911 system, while those in jurisdictions with a population less than 10,000 (13%) were the least likely. A majority of the 911 systems operated by sheriffs' departments in each population category of 25,000 or more were enhanced systems. In 1993, 79% of all sheriffs' officers worked for a department with 911, and 60% worked for one with enhanced 911. The comparative percentages for 1990 were 68% and 36%, respectively. Traffic-related functions About three-fourths of sheriffs' departments were responsible for the enforcement of traffic laws (77%), while about two-thirds handled accident investigation (69%), and traffic direction and control (64%) (table 20). At least half of the departments in each population category under 500,000 had traffic-related responsi-bilities, with departments serving a population of less than 100,000 the most likely to perform such duties. More than 80% of the departments serving a population of less than 10,000 were responsible for traffic enforcement (84%) and accident investigation (81%). Table 20. Traffic-related functions of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for: Population Enforcing Investigating Directing and served traffic laws accidents controlling traffic All sizes 77 69 64 1,000,000 or more 70 56 47 500,000-999,999 49 43 39 250,000-499,999 65 50 55 100,000-249,999 67 54 56 50,000-99,999 80 62 66 25,000-49,999 75 71 62 10,000-24,999 77 69 64 Under 10,000 84 81 72 Jail- and court-related functions To a much greater extent than their local police counterparts, sheriffs' departments were responsible for functions related to court and jail operations. Nearly all sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for serving civil process (97%) and providing court security (93%), while 79% operated a jail (table 21). For the large majority of departments, these duties were in addition to traditional law enforcement responsibilities. Table 21. Jail- and court-related functions of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for: Population Serving Court Jail served civil process security operation All sizes 97 93 79 1,000,000 or more 76 68 84 500,000-999,999 98 88 71 250,000-499,999 96 91 73 100,000-249,999 98 93 83 50,000-99,999 97 96 85 25,000-49,999 99 95 85 10,000-24,999 98 94 83 Under 10,000 95 91 67 Nearly all of the sheriffs' departments serving a population of less than 1 million were responsible for serving civil process. About three-fourths of those in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more had process-serving responsibilities. Nationwide, 92% of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that handled process serving. More than 90% of the departments serving a population of less than 500,000 provided court security services, as did 88% of those serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999. Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more (68%) were the least likely to provide court security. Eighty-nine percent of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that provided court security. About 4 in 5 sheriffs' departments operated at least one jail during 1993. Among departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more or a population of 10,000 to 249,999, about 5 in 6 operated a jail, a slightly higher proportion than in other population categories. Ninety percent of all sheriffs' officers nationwide were employed by a department that operated one or more jails. Lockup facilities Just 6% of sheriffs' departments were operating a lockup facility in 1993 (table 22). Lockup facilities are temporary holding facilities operated separately from a jail with a limited holding time--an average maximum holding time of 12 hours was reported by the departments that operated such a facility. About 3 in 10 departments in jurisdictions with a population of 250,000 to 999,999 were operating a lockup, as were about 4 in 10 departments in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents. The average total lockup capacity for all departments with a lockup was 49 persons, ranging from 137 in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents to 4 in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. Table 22. Lockup operation by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies Average Population operating lockup served a lockup capacity All sizes 6 49 1,000,000 or more 41 137 500,000-999,999 30 90 250,000-499,999 32 88 100,000-249,999 12 61 50,000-99,999 5 54 25,000-49,999 5 14 10,000-24,999 2 7 Under 10,000 5 4 Note: Computation of average lockup capacity excludes departments not operating such a facility Special public safety functions Another important area of responsibility for sheriffs' departments in 1993 involved the performance of special functions related to public safety. Examples of such functions included search and rescue, animal control, civil defense, emergency medical services, and fire services. About two-thirds of all departments were responsible for search and rescue, including a majority of the departments in all population categories except 500,000 to 999,999 (table 23). The percentage of sheriffs' departments responsible for search and rescue operations was highest among those serving a population of less than 10,000 (73%). Table 23. Special public safety functions of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies with primary responsibility for: Search Emergency Population and Animal Civil medical Fire served rescue control defense services services All sizes 65 28 22 13 8 1,000,000 or more 51 9 14 0 0 500,000-999,999 44 4 14 14 2 250,000-499,999 57 11 11 13 2 100,000-249,999 64 16 15 13 3 50,000-99,999 64 26 21 9 8 25,000-49,999 59 29 15 11 6 10,000-24,999 67 29 22 12 9 Under 10,000 73 38 34 18 13 About a fourth of sheriffs' departments had primary responsibility for animal control. Departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 10,000 (38%) were the most likely to provide animal control services, followed by those in jurisdictions with a population of 10,000 to 49,999 (29%), and those with a population of 50,000 to 99,999 (26%). Less than 10% of sheriffs' departments serving a population of more than 500,000 were responsible for animal control. Twenty-two percent of all sheriffs' departments were responsible for civil defense functions, including 34% of those in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. Smaller percentages of sheriffs' departments provided emergency medical services (13%) or fire services (8%). None of the departments in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents was responsible for providing these services. Training academy operation Another area of responsibility for 9% of sheriffs' departments was the operation of a training academy (table 24). Although just 1 in 11 departments operated their own training academy, these departments employed 38% of all sheriffs' officers. Two-thirds of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more operated a training academy, as did nearly half of those in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999 residents. Less than 10% of the sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 50,000 operated a training academy. Table 24. Training academy operation by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served Percent of agencies Population operating an academy All sizes 9 1,000,000 or more 66 500,000-999,999 43 250,000-499,999 24 100,000-249,999 20 50,000-99,999 13 25,000-49,999 8 10,000-24,999 3 Under 10,000 2 Equipment --------- Sidearms In 1993, 82% of sheriffs' departments, employing 91% of all sheriffs' officers, authorized the use of some type of semiautomatic weapon as a sidearm (table 25). These figures represent increases compared to 1990, when 73% of departments, employing 83% of all officers, authorized semiautomatic sidearms. Table 25. Selected types of sidearms authorized for use by sworn officers in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies authorizing: Semi-automatic Revolver Population served Any type 9mm .45 10mm .380 Any type .357 .38 All sizes 82 65 42 18 11 65 57 34 1,000,000 or more 96 79 64 23 9 91 64 77 500,000-999,999 85 70 41 11 13 65 53 47 250,000-499,999 89 75 35 15 18 58 48 33 100,000-249,999 86 75 54 25 15 77 69 50 50,000-99,999 92 68 43 20 11 52 48 33 25,000-49,999 83 66 38 17 15 64 55 31 10,000-24,999 77 65 42 17 10 63 56 32 Under 10,000 78 58 41 18 9 68 61 30 Note: Specific calibers of sidearms listed in table are limited to those for which at least 10% of all agencies authorized. Sheriffs' departments serving a population of 1 million or more (96%) were the most likely to authorize semiautomatic sidearms in 1993. Such weapons were least likely to be authorized by departments in jurisdictions with a population of less than 25,000, where just under 80% of departments authorized them. As in 1990, the 9mm semiautomatic was the most popular type of sheriffs' sidearm, with 65% of sheriffs' departments authorizing its use by officers. Forty-two percent of departments authorized .45-caliber semiautomatic sidearms. Smaller percentages authorized 10mm (18%) or .380-caliber semiautomatics (11%). About two-thirds (65%) of sheriffs' departments authorized the use of one or more types of revolvers by officers, with .357-caliber (57%) and .38-caliber (34%) revolvers the types most commonly authorized. A majority (58%) of sheriffs' departments supplied sidearms to officers, and another 5% provided a cash allowance to officers for the purchase of sidearms (table 26). At least 70% of the departments in each population category of 50,000 or more supplied sidearms, compared to 44% of those serving a population of less than 10,000. Overall, about three-fourths of all sheriffs' officers nationwide were employed by a department that either supplied sidearms (71%) or provided a cash allowance for their purchase (6%). Table 26. Supply of/cash allowance for sidearms in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies supplying Population or providing cash allowance for sidearms served Supplied Cash allowance All sizes 58 5 1,000,000 or more 81 5 500,000-999,999 74 3 250,000-499,999 83 7 100,000-249,999 77 9 50,000-99,999 70 3 25,000-49,999 61 3 10,000-24,999 52 6 Under 10,000 44 3 Body armor Sixty-eight percent of sheriffs' departments, employing 76% of all officers, supplied protective body armor to their regular field officers (table 27). An additional 4%, employing 6% of all officers, provided a cash allowance for armor. At least 62% of the departments in each population category supplied body armor, including more than 70% of those serving a population of 25,000 to 499,999. Departments in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 to 999,999 (12%) were the most likely to provide a cash allowance for the purchase of body armor. Table 27. Supply of/cash allowance for protective body armor in sheriffs' departments by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies supplying Population or providing a cash allowance for armor served Supplied Cash allowance All sizes 68 4 1,000,000 or more 68 5 500,000-999,999 68 12 250,000-499,999 71 7 100,000-249,999 71 7 50,000-99,999 76 6 25,000-49,999 73 3 10,000-24,999 66 4 Under 10,000 62 1 In 1993, 35% of sheriffs' departments required at least some of their regular field officers to wear protective armor while on duty (table 28). These agencies employed nearly half of all sheriffs' officers. Table 28. Body armor requirements for officers in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies requiring regular field Population officers to wear protective armor while on duty served Total All officers Some officers All sizes 35 30 5 1,000,000 or more 49 32 17 500,000-999,999 36 26 10 250,000-499,999 49 43 5 100,000-249,999 43 34 9 50,000-99,999 43 39 4 25,000-49,999 38 33 4 10,000-24,999 31 27 3 Under 10,000 29 24 4 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. The percentage of sheriffs' departments requiring all regular field officers to wear body armor increased from 21% in 1990 to 30% in 1993. Such an increase was seen in all population categories (figure 6). In jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents, 28% of the sheriffs' departments required all officers to wear armor in 1993, compared to 19% in 1990. Among departments serving a population of 100,000 to 499,999, the increase was from 26% to 36%, and among those serving a population of 25,000 to 99,999, the increase was from 21% to 36%. Among departments serving fewer than 25,000 residents, 26% required all officers to wear armor in 1993, compared to 19% in 1990. The percentage of all sheriffs' officers employed by a department with such a policy increased from 23% in 1990 to 35% in 1993. Nonlethal weapons In nearly all sheriffs' departments (97%), officers were authorized to use one or more types of nonlethal weapons (table 29). Impact devices such as batons were the type most commonly authorized: 85% of all departments, employing 94% of all officers, authorized this type of nonlethal weapon. The second most popular category of nonlethal weapon, chemical agents, were authorized by 77% of all departments. These departments employed 84% of all officers. About a fourth of all departments, employing about a third of all officers, authorized the use of one or more types of electrical devices as nonlethal weapons. Table 29. Types of nonlethal weapons authorized for use by sworn officers in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies authorizing nonlethal weapons Any Impact Chemical Electrical Other Population served type devices agents devices types All sizes 97 85 77 26 31 1,000,000 or more 100 100 78 23 69 500,000-999,999 100 92 93 24 59 250,000-499,999 100 94 85 28 57 100,000-249,999 98 89 89 30 50 50,000-99,999 100 92 79 27 36 25,000-49,999 98 85 77 22 27 10,000-24,999 95 82 78 26 25 Under 10,000 96 79 69 26 24 Among chemical agents, pepper spray (56%) was the one most commonly authorized (table 30). The percentage of departments authorizing pepper spray was highest among those serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 (78%) or 100,000 to 249,999 (75%). Overall, 64% of a sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that authorized the use of pepper spray. Table 30. Selected nonlethal weapons authorized for use by sworn officers in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies authorizing: Tear Tear Tradi- Collap- gas, gas, Flash/ Population Pepper tional PR-24 sible per- Stun large bang Carotid Choke served spray baton baton baton sonal gun volume grenade hold hold All sizes 56 52 51 37 27 24 15 15 10 10 1,000,000 or more 60 82 55 33 47 14 40 60 47 9 500,000-999,999 78 60 51 59 29 22 41 58 6 5 250,000-499,999 59 62 68 48 33 20 35 42 9 4 100,000-249,999 75 57 58 44 27 29 27 38 11 7 50,000-99,999 60 59 54 44 19 25 20 26 6 7 25,000-49,999 51 57 54 41 29 21 16 17 7 9 10,000-24,999 56 49 49 35 25 24 10 6 10 12 Under 10,000 47 43 47 29 29 24 9 4 11 12 Traditional batons (52%) and PR-24 batons (51%) were the only nonlethal weapons other than pepper spray authorized by at least half of all sheriffs' departments. Departments serving a population of 1 million or more (82%) were the most likely to authorize the traditional baton, while those in the 250,000 to 499,999 population category (68%) were the most likely to authorize use of the PR-24 baton. Collapsible batons were authorized by 37% of all departments, including a majority of those serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999. An estimated 64% of sheriffs' officers nationwide worked for a department that authorized them to use a traditional baton, 61% for a department that authorized the PR-24 baton, and 51% for a department authorizing the collapsible baton. Thirty-five percent of sheriffs' departments authorized the use of tear gas. Departments were more likely to authorize tear gas in the personal issue size (27%) than in the bulk form (15%). About half of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department that authorized the use of tear gas in one or more forms. About a fourth of sheriffs' departments authorized the use of stun guns. Fifteen percent authorized the use of flash/bang grenades, including a majority of those serving a population of 500,000 or more. Just 10% of all departments authorized the use of carotid holds or choke holds; however, nearly half of the departments serving a population of 1 million or more (47%) authorized officers to use a carotid hold. Vehicles Nationwide, sheriffs' departments operated about 52 cars per 100 sworn personnel (table 31). The ratio of cars to officers increased as population decreased, ranging from 29 cars per 100 officers in jurisdictions with 1,000,000 or more residents to more than 70 per 100 in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents. An estimated 37% of the cars operated by sheriffs' departments were unmarked. The proportion of cars that were unmarked ranged from about half in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more to about a fourth in jurisdictions with a population of less than 25,000. Table 31. Number of cars per officer and percent of unmarked cars in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Number Percent of cars of cars Population per 100 that were served officers* unmarked All sizes 52 37 1,000,000 or mor 29 51 500,000-999,999 41 47 250,000-499,999 50 42 100,000-249,999 58 37 50,000-99,999 65 32 25,000-49,999 70 32 10,000-24,999 73 28 Under 10,000 77 22 *Part-time officers are included with a weight of .5. Eighty-four percent of sheriffs' departments, employing 73% of all sheriffs' officers, allowed sworn personnel to take marked vehicles home (table 32). About 9 in 10 departments in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents had such an allowance, as did about 8 in 10 departments in jurisdictions with a population of 25,000 to 249,999. Less than half of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more allowed marked vehicles to be taken home by officers. Table 32. Vehicle use policies in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies allowing officers to take marked vehicles home Personal Personal Population use use not served Total allowed allowed All sizes 84 22 61 1,000,000 or more 46 5 41 500,000-999,999 44 11 33 250,000-499,999 56 12 44 100,000-249,999 78 23 54 50,000-99,999 80 12 68 25,000-49,999 80 21 59 10,000-24,999 90 25 66 Under 10,000 91 29 63 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding In a large majority of the sheriffs' departments that allowed marked vehicles to be taken home, officers were allowed only to drive the vehicle to and from work. Just 22% of all departments allowed officersto operate a marked vehicle for private errands, ranging from 5% in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more to 29% in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. An estimated 30% of sheriffs' departments operated at least 1 boat, including 56% of those serving a population of 1 million or more (table 33). Nearly half of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of least 50,000 but less than 1 million also operated 1 or more boats. Small percentages of sheriffs' departments operated airplanes (5%) or helicopters (3%); although about 1 in 3 departments in jurisdictions with a million or more residents did so. Just over half of sheriffs' officers were employed by a department with at least 1 boat, while a fourth were employed by a department with at least 1 airplane or helicopter. Table 33. Off-land vehicles operated by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies operating Fixed- Population wing Heli- served Boats aircraft copters All sizes 30 5 3 1,000,000 or more 56 33 38 500,000-999,999 46 16 16 250,000-499,999 46 17 21 100,000-249,999 47 12 7 50,000-99,999 47 8 4 25,000-49,999 33 4 1 10,000-24,999 26 2 Under 10,000 13 1 1 --Less than .5%. Animals An estimated 39% of sheriffs' departments maintained 1 or more dogs for use in activities related to law enforcement, including a majority of those serving a population of 50,000 or more (table 34). In general, the proportion of departments using dogs declined with size of population served. About 5 in 6 departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more used dogs, compared to 1 in 6 departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents. Nationwide, sheriffs' departments maintained about 3,000 dogs for activities related to law enforcement, and departments using dogs employed about three-fourths of all sheriffs' officers. Table 34. Animals maintained by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies maintaining animals for law enforcement work Population served Dogs Horses All sizes 39 4 1,000,000 or more 83 28 500,000-999,999 70 19 250,000-499,999 72 15 100,000-249,999 59 8 50,000-99,999 63 8 25,000-49,999 43 1 10,000-24,999 31 1 Under 10,000 17 3 Just 4% of all sheriffs' departments used horses for law enforcement purposes, with those in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents (28%) the most likely to be maintaining at least 1 horse. Sheriffs' departments collectively maintained approximately 1,000 horses, and those using horses employed 21% of all sheriffs' officers. Computers --------- Types of computers used An estimated 82% of all sheriffs' departments were using 1 or more types of computers in 1993, compared to 63% in 1990. Well over 90% of the departments in jurisdictions with 50,000 or more residents were using computers, including all departments serving a population of 1 million or more (table 35). A large majority of the departments serving a population of 25,000 to 49,999 (86%) and those serving a population of 10,000 to 24,999 (80%) were also using computers. About two-thirds of the sheriffs' departments in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents were using computers. The percentage of all sheriffs' officers nationwide that were employed by a department using computers increased from 89% in 1990 to 96% in 1993. Table 35. Types of computers used by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies using each type of computer: Population Mobile digital terminal served Any type Personal Mainframe Laptop Mini Car-mounted Hand-held All sizes 82 66 47 17 16 3 1 1,000,000 or mo 100 91 91 64 64 33 4 500,000-999,999 98 89 75 51 59 27 3 250,000-499,999 94 91 80 52 30 18 3 100,000-249,999 98 84 69 40 30 8 2 50,000-99,999 97 81 69 31 28 4 2 25,000-49,999 86 70 52 17 20 1 0 10,000-24,999 80 60 37 7 8 0 0 Under 10,000 66 49 26 5 6 0 0 The type of computer most commonly used by sheriffs' departments in 1993 was the personal computer, used by two-thirds of all departments. This represented an increase compared to 1990 when just under half of all departments were using personal computers. A majority of the departments in each population category were using personal computers with the exception of those serving fewer than 10,000 residents (49%). About 90% of the departments serving a population of 250,000 or more were using personal computers in 1993, as were more than 80% of those serving a population of 50,000 to 249,999. Overall, sheriffs' departments using personal computers in 1993 employed 87% of all sheriffs' officers. Nearly half of all sheriffs' departments were using a mainframe computer (47%) in 1993 compared to just under a third in 1990. At least two-thirds of the departments in each population category of 50,000 or more were using a mainframe in 1993, including 91% of those serving a population of 1 million or more. About 1 in 6 departments were using a minicomputer, including a majority of those in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more. Departments using mainframes employed 73% of all officers in 1993, and those using minicomputers about 42%. More than 3 times as many sheriffs' departments were using laptop computers in 1993 (17%) as in 1990 (5%). Nearly two-thirds of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more (64%) were using laptops in 1993, as were about half of those serving a population of 250,000 to 999,999. Departments using laptop computers in 1993 employed about half of all sheriffs' officers. An estimated 4% of sheriffs' departments were using mobile digital terminals in 1993, with about three-fourths of these departments using the car-mounted type and a fourth the hand-held variety. Overall, 18% of sheriffs' departments were using either laptop computers or mobile digital terminals in 1993 compared to 6% in 1990. During the same period, the percentage of officers working in a department that utilized laptops or mobile digital terminals nearly doubled--from 28% to 54%. Computer functions For each of the management functions included in the LEMAS survey, the percentage of sheriffs' departments that were utilizing computers to perform that function was greater in 1993 than in 1990. An estimated 65% of sheriffs' departments, employing 88% of all officers, were using computers for recordkeeping in 1993 (table 36). This included more than 90% of the departments serving a population of 500,000 or more and more than 80% of those serving a population of 50,000 to 499,999. Table 36. Selected functions of computers in sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies using computers for: Criminal Jail Crime Fleet Man- Re- Population Record- investi- manage- Dis- Bud- anal- manage- power search/ served keeping gations ment patch geting ysis ment allocation statistics All sizes 65 52 47 41 37 25 23 15 13 1,000,000 or more 95 73 79 61 78 47 55 51 37 500,000-999,999 94 56 67 53 68 40 46 44 27 250,000-499,999 81 62 61 56 75 61 42 37 36 100,000-249,999 84 68 63 60 68 53 40 26 24 50,000-99,999 87 75 72 59 59 37 41 21 19 25,000-49,999 71 52 53 43 38 28 22 15 12 10,000-24,999 56 46 42 37 22 17 15 11 8 Under 10,000 49 40 25 26 24 11 13 9 8 About half of all sheriffs' departments utilized computers for criminal investigations (52%) or jail management (47%). A majority of the departments serving a population of 25,000 or more used computers for these purposes. Other functions for which computers were used by more than a third of sheriffs' departments included dispatch (41%) and budgeting (37%). A majority of the departments serving a population of 50,000 or more used computers for these functions. About a fourth of sheriffs' departments used computers for crime analysis or fleet management. Overall, about two-thirds of all sheriffs' officers worked for a department that used computers for criminal investigations or dispatch, and nearly three-fourths were employed by a department that used computers for jail management or budgeting. About half worked for a department that used computers for crime analysis or fleet management. Computerized files Nearly two-thirds of sheriffs' departments (62%) were maintaining computerized files on warrants in 1993, and a majority (58%) had computerized arrest files (table 37). More than two-thirds of the departments in each population category of 50,000 or more had computerized arrest files in 1993, and more than three-fourths of the departments in each of these population categories had computerized warrant information. Table 37. Types of computerized information files maintained by at least a third of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on: Stolen Calls Stolen UCR Traffic Sum- Population War- Ar- prop- Criminal for Per- vehi- sum- cita- Inven- mons- served rants rests erty histories service sonnel cles mary tions tory es All sizes 62 58 48 46 42 41 41 37 36 35 34 1,000,000 or more 87 79 47 87 61 87 41 55 47 87 47 500,000-999,999 79 70 44 66 45 84 49 47 39 47 36 250,000-499,999 81 70 51 67 67 74 45 48 46 57 55 100,000-249,999 84 76 59 63 64 69 53 49 48 52 57 50,000-99,999 82 86 61 56 64 63 48 51 47 55 49 25,000-49,999 71 63 57 50 51 47 49 43 42 37 43 10,000-24,999 55 51 45 41 33 25 39 33 29 24 27 Under 10,000 41 40 33 33 22 23 28 22 27 27 17 Nearly half of all sheriffs' departments had computerized files on stolen property (48%) and criminal histories (46%). A majority of the departments serving a population of 50,000 or more maintained computerized criminal history information during 1993, including 87% of those serving a population of 1 million or more. Other types of computerized information files maintained by at least a third of all sheriffs' departments in 1993 included calls for service (42%), agency personnel (41%), stolen vehicles (41%), summary Uniform Crime Reports (37%), traffic citations (36%), inventory (35%), and summonses (34%). Except for the 500,000 to 999,999 population category, a majority of the departments in each category of 25,000 or more maintained com-puterized information on calls for service. A majority of the departments serving a population of 50,000 or more had computerized personnel information. For each subject area covered by the LEMAS survey, sheriffs' departments were more likely to be main-taining that type of information in a computerized format in 1993 than in 1990 (figure 7). For example, the 62% of departments with computerized warrant information in 1993 represented a significant increase over 1990, when 47% of departments had this type of information computerized. Similar increases in use of computerized files were seen for arrests (58% in 1993 versus 42% in 1990), stolen property (48% versus 34%), criminal history information (46% versus 35%), and calls for service (42% versus 28%). Less than a third of sheriffs' departments reported that they maintained computer files containing information on the following: traffic accidents (29%), evidence (29%), vehicle registration (28%), payroll (26%), driver's license information (26%), incident-based Uniform Crime Reports (24%), and fingerprints (7%) (table 38). A majority of the departments in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more maintained computerized files on evidence and fingerprints. A majority of the departments serving a population of 100,000 or more had computerized payroll information. Table 38. Types of computerized information files maintained by fewer than a third of sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies maintaining computerized information files on: Driver's UCR- Population Traffic Vehicle license incident- Finger- served accidents Evidence registration Payroll information based prints All sizes 29 29 28 26 26 24 7 1,000,000 or more 47 61 46 78 46 23 56 500,000-999,999 35 31 38 72 37 34 28 250,000-499,999 31 55 29 63 27 28 22 100,000-249,999 35 52 41 58 39 36 18 50,000-99,999 41 44 31 40 32 31 12 25,000-49,999 36 31 27 26 24 26 4 10,000-24,999 25 21 23 14 22 22 3 Under 10,000 20 15 26 11 22 15 2 Policy directives ----------------- An estimated 90% of all sheriffs' departments maintained a written policy directive on the use of deadly force, including 94% or more of those in each population category of 25,000 or more. More than 80% had written directives pertaining to employee conduct and appearance (86%), and pursuit driving (83%). Overall, departments with a policy directive on deadly force employed 97% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide; those with a directive on employee conduct and appearance, 95% of all officers; and those with a directive on pursuit driving, 89% of all officers. More than three-fourths of all sheriffs' departments had written policy directives pertaining to the handling of juveniles (79%) and domestic disputes (78%). At least two-thirds had policy directives that addressed strip searches (72%), off-duty employment by officers (70%), citizen complaints (69%), and mentally ill persons (67%). Sheriffs' departments with a policy directive pertaining to off-duty employment by officers employed 90% of all sheriffs' officers nationwide. Eighty percent or more of all officers were employed by a department with a policy directive on the handling of juveniles, strip searches, citizen complaints, domestic disputes, and mentally ill persons. More than 70% of all sheriffs' officers were employed by a department with a policy directive on use of confidential funds and employee counseling assistance. Except for the subjects of juveniles, private security firms, and homeless persons, departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents were less likely than those in larger jurisdictions to have a policy directive for each subject area covered by the LEMAS survey. A majority of these smaller departments, however, did have a directive covering most of the subject areas included in the survey. Table 39. Selected subject areas of written policy directives maintained by sheriffs' departments, by size of population served, 1993 Percent of agencies maintaining a written policy directive pertaining to: Em- Off-duty Citizen Mentally Confi- ployee Private Home- Population Deadly Code of Pursuit Domestic Strip employ- com- ill dential coun- security less served force conduct driving Juveniles disputes searches ment plaints persons funds seling firms persons All sizes 90 86 83 79 78 72 70 69 67 57 36 24 23 1,000,000 or more 100 100 87 92 80 83 100 92 74 79 100 23 19 500,000-999,999 98 89 80 79 66 72 88 76 76 50 72 17 20 250,000-499,999 100 99 81 86 74 87 90 81 71 61 86 19 14 100,000-249,999 97 95 87 82 76 85 87 77 75 67 51 19 14 50,000-99,999 96 95 89 82 83 80 85 70 67 66 52 34 15 25,000-49,999 94 90 86 79 81 68 74 72 69 61 30 22 23 10,000-24,999 87 84 83 76 80 70 66 70 67 59 32 25 29 Under 10,000 82 76 77 78 72 66 53 58 61 43 22 21 25 Methodology ----------- The Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey collects data from a nationally representative sample of the more than 17,000 publicly funded State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. This report focuses on sheriffs' departments and offices operated by a county or independent city government. Consolidated police-sheriffs' departments are defined as local police for the LEMAS survey. The LEMAS survey uses official Census Bureau county (or equivalent) population figures. In many counties, the actual population served by the sheriff's department for law enforcement purposes is less than the actual county population due to the existence of local police departments that have primary jurisdiction over specified areas within the county. However, since other aspects of sheriffs' department operations, such as those related to jail and court functions, often involve serving the entire county, the county population is deemed appropriate for use as the "population served" in this report. All 854 State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States with 100 or more sworn officers (as reported in the 1992 BJS Directory Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies) received the full-length LEMAS questionnaire. The 854 self-representing (SR) agencies were supplemented by a nationally representative sample of agencies with fewer than 100 sworn officers. These nonself-representing (NSR) agencies were chosen using a stratified random sample with cells based on the type of agency (local police, sheriff, or special police), size of population served, and number of sworn officers. The 2,416 NSR agencies received a slightly abbreviated version of the LEMAS questionnaire that was mailed to the SR agencies. The initial mailing of the survey questionnaire was conducted in August 1993. The pay period containing June 15, 1993, was used as the reference date for personnel-related questions and June 30, 1993, for other questions. The data were collected by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. After two followup mailings and additional telephone calls as needed, a final total of 3,028 agencies responded to the LEMAS questionnaire, including 831 SR agencies and 2,197 NSR agencies. The overall response rate was 92.6%. The final database includes responses from 1,827 local police departments, 918 sheriffs' departments, 234 special police departments, and the 49 primary State police departments. The base weight for all SR agencies is 1. For NSR local and special police departments, the base weight is 8, and for NSR sheriffs' departments it is 4. The final weight associated with every agency, both SR and NSR, is the product of the base weight and a factor that adjusted for any nonresponding agencies in each cell. This agency nonresponse factor was based on number of sworn officers for SR agencies and on number of agencies for NSR agencies. Some responding agencies did not fully complete the LEMAS questionnaire. When an agency did not supply a response to an item, a donor agency was randomly selected from responding agencies in the same sample cell. The donor agency's value for the item was placed into the nonresponding agency's response field with an indicator that the value had been imputed. Complete documentation regarding sampling procedures and nonresponse adjustments is available upon request. Because the data from agencies with fewer than 100 sworn personnel were collected from a sample, the results are subject to sampling error. All statements of comparison in this report have been tested to ensure that observed differences between values are significant at 2 standard errors (the 95-percent confidence level) or higher. Data on the number of employees and on the amount of agency expenditures in this report are not comparable with figures based on the BJS Survey of Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment series. In the latter, these data are presented by governmental function, whereas in the LEMAS survey, expenditures are classified by type of agency. For example, what might be attributed to sheriffs' departments in the LEMAS survey would be apportioned among various functions, such as police protection and corrections, in the expenditure and employment series. Also, the LEMAS figures for operating expenditures include employee benefits, but the expenditure and employment figures do not. (END OF FILE)