U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available on BJS website at: http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5321 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://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=34 ------------------------------------------------------- Bulletin Local Police Departments, 2013: Equipment and Technology Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., BJS Statistician The overall percentage of the more than 12,000 local police departments in the United States authorizing the use of conducted energy weapons (CEWs) increased from 7% in 2000 to 81% in 2013 (figure 1). CEWs include Tasers and stun guns. Large increases were observed in all population categories. About 9 in 10 departments also authorized their officers to use pepper spray and batons in 2013. Findings are based on the 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) Survey sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The LEMAS Survey, conducted periodically since 1987, collects data from a nationally representative sample of state and local law enforcement agencies. Prior to the 2013 survey, the most recent LEMAS Survey was conducted in 2007. This report uses data from the 2013 LEMAS Survey to describe the equipment (such as nonlethal weapons and body armor) and technology (such as video cameras, license plate readers, and websites) used by local police departments. Comparisons are made with prior years where appropriate, and when data are available. **************************************************** **************** HIGHLIGHTS ***************** * The percentage of local police departments that authorized their officers to use conducted energy weapons such as Tasers increased from 60% in 2007 to 81% in 2013. * The percentage of local police departments that required officers to wear protective armor at all times increased from 65% in 2007 to 71% in 2013. * From 2007 to 2013, the percentage of local police departments using in-car video cameras increased from 61% to 68%. * About a third (32%) of local police departments used body-worn cameras in 2013. * About 1 in 6 local police departments used automated vehicle license plate readers in 2013, including a majority of those serving a population of 25,000 or more. * More than 90% of local police departments serving 25,000 or more residents provided patrol officers with in-field computerized access to vehicle records, driving records, and outstanding warrants. * Among local police departments serving 10,000 or more residents, more than 90% had their own website and more than 80% used social media. * About 60% of local police departments provided crime statistics to citizens electronically, including more than 90% of those serving 25,000 or more residents. ***************************************************** To facilitate the comparison of police departments with others serving similarly sized jurisdictions, the statistics in this report are presented mainly by categories of population served. Because most departments employ small numbers of officers and serve small populations, overall agency-based percentages tend to reflect smaller departments more than larger ones (see appendix table 1). ************************************************ An estimated 85% of departments serving 2,500 or more residents authorized the use of conducted energy weapons ************************************************ In 2013, more than 80% of the departments in each population category of 2,500 or more authorized their officers to use CEWs (table 1). Overall, 85% of departments serving 2,500 or more residents authorized CEWs, compared to 75% of departments serving fewer than 2,500 residents. Nationwide, about 10,000 departments authorized CEWs. At least 95% of the departments in each population category of 10,000 or more authorized their officers to use pepper spray in 2013. This included all departments serving 500,000 or more residents. More than 90% of the departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents authorized pepper spray. The overall percentage of departments authorizing pepper spray in 2013 (94%) was about the same as in 2000 (91%) and 2007 (97%) (not shown). In 2013, the use of batons was authorized by at least 95% of the departments in each population category of 50,000 or more, including all departments serving 500,000 or more residents. More than 90% of the departments serving 10,000 to 49,999 residents, and more than 80% of the departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents authorized batons. The overall percentage of departments authorizing batons in 2013 (87%) was about the same as in 2000 (88%) but less than in 2007 (93%) (not shown). A majority of the departments in each population category authorized the use of defensive physical tactics by officers in 2013. These actions included open-hand (91% of all departments), takedown (89%), and closed-hand techniques (85%) (appendix table 2). An estimated 18% of departments authorized the use of neck (lateral vascular) restraint tactics. *********************************************** About 7 in 10 departments required uniformed officers to wear protective body armor at all times while in the field *********************************************** In 2013, 71% (about 8,700) of departments required uniformed officers to wear protective body armor at all times while in the field (table 2). Departments serving 25,000 to 99,999 residents (89%) were the most likely to require officers to wear armor at all times, and those serving fewer than 2,500 residents (54%) were the least likely. Departments with a mandatory body armor requirement employed 82% of all local police officers in 2013, compared to 67% in 2007, and 25% in 1990 (figure 2). An additional 8% of departments required uniformed field officers to wear armor in certain high- risk situations, such as when serving warrants. The 79% of departments with any type of body armor requirement in 2013 employed 92% of all officers, compared to 80% in 2007, and 30% in 1990. According to data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 93% of the 511 nonfederal law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty between 2004 and 2013 were killed by a firearm.***Footnote 1 Federal Bureau of Investigation (2014). Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2013***. An FBI study on protection provided by body armor concluded that the risk of fatality for officers assaulted with a firearm while not wearing body armor was 14 times higher than for officers wearing body armor.*** Footnote 2 Federal Bureau of Investigation (1995). Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1994*** *************************************************** About three-quarters of departments used in-car, body-worn, or weapon-attached video cameras *************************************************** From 2007 to 2013, the percentage of departments using in-car video cameras increased in all population categories (figure 3). By 2013, a majority of the departments in each population category were using in-car cameras. Overall, 68% (about 8,400) of all departments used in-car cameras in 2013, and these departments employed 73% of all officers. For the first time in 2013, the LEMAS Survey asked local police departments about the use of body-worn and weapon-attached cameras by their patrol officers. An estimated 32% (about 3,900) of departments reported they provided body-worn cameras for at least some of their patrol officers (table 3). Departments using body-worn cameras employed 24% of all officers. Six percent (about 800) of departments, employing 9% of all officers, used cameras attached to weapons. Overall, 76% (about 9,300) of departments, employing 78% of all officers, used in-car, body-worn, or weapon-attached cameras in 2013. The LEMAS Survey did not ask agencies about the number of cameras that were used. ******************************************* About 1 in 6 departments used automated license plate readers ******************************************* An estimated 17% (about 2,000) of departments used automated license plate readers in 2013. This total included more than three-quarters of the departments serving 100,000 or more residents. About half (49% or 6,000) of all departments used video cameras for surveillance of public areas, including more than two-thirds of the departments serving 25,000 or more residents. Small percentages of departments in each population category of 50,000 or more reported using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Such systems typically use video or thermal cameras as a low-cost alternative to conventional aircraft (such as helicopters) to provide aerial, real-time information without placing personnel in potentially dangerous situations. In total, 89% (about 11,000) of local police departments were using some type of video camera technology in 2013 (not shown). Some departments also used advanced audio technology in the form of gunshot detection systems. Gunshot detection systems were used by 4% of departments, including 50% of those serving 1 million or more residents (table 4). ***************************************************** About 9 in 10 local police officers were employed by a department that provided in-field computerized access to vehicle and driving records ***************************************************** In 2013, about two-thirds of all departments provided in-field computerized access to vehicle records (70%), driving records (70%), and outstanding warrants (67%) (table 5). More than 90% of the departments serving 25,000 or more residents provided officers with in-field access to this information. About half of departments provided officers with in-field access to information about prior calls for service at an address (55%) and criminal histories (53%). A majority of the departments serving 2,500 or more residents provided officers with access to this information. The percentage of local police officers employed by a department that provided in-field computer access to various types of critical information increased from 2007 to 2013. For example, departments providing patrol officers with in-field computer access to vehicle records employed 93% of all officers in 2013, compared to 86% in 2007 (figure 4). ***************************************************** About two-thirds of departments had patrol officers transmit incident reports electronically from the field to a central information system ***************************************************** In 2013, more than three-quarters of the departments serving 10,000 or more residents used electronic methods to transmit criminal incident reports from the field to a central information system, and nearly two-thirds of the departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents transmitted incident reports electronically (figure 5). In 2000, fewer than a third of departments in any population category used electronic methods. Overall, 68% of departments transmitted incident reports electronically from the field in 2013. An estimated 25% of departments used paper reports, and 7% used voice transmission (table 6). **************************************************** Among departments serving 10,000 or more residents, more than 90% had their own website and more than 80% used social media **************************************************** A majority of the local police departments in each population category of 2,500 or more maintained a website and used social media in 2013 (table 7). Among departments serving 10,000 or more residents, more than 90% maintained a website, and more than 80% used social media. More than 90% of the departments serving 50,000 or more residents used social media. Departments using social media were more likely to report using Facebook (75%) than Twitter (24%) or YouTube (10%) (not shown). Overall, more than 7,000 departments had a website and used social media. These departments employed about 90% of all officers. Sixty-six percent of all departments provided citizens with the ability to submit crime reports, complaints, questions, feedback, and other information electronically using the department’s website and other methods, such as emailing or texting (table 8). More than 90% of the departments serving 50,000 or more provided these services, compared to 47% of the departments serving fewer than 2,500 residents. Overall, 60% of departments were able to electronically provide crime statistics and other crime-related information to citizens. An estimated 37% of departments provided such information through their website, and 49% provided it through other electronic means, such as emailing, texting, or pre-recorded phone messages. More than 90% of the departments serving 25,000 or more residents provided crime-related information electronically to citizens, compared to 37% of the departments serving fewer than 2,500 residents. ***************************************************** Most websites operated by departments serving 250,000 or more residents included crime statistics at the district, neighborhood, beat, or street level ***************************************************** A majority of the websites operated by departments serving 50,000 or more residents provided citizens with jurisdiction-wide crime statistics, compared to 13% of websites operated by departments serving fewer than 10,000 residents (figure 6). About 3 in 4 websites operated by departments serving 250,000 or more residents provided crime statistics at the district, beat, neighborhood, or street level during 2013. ************** Methodology ************** Survey overview **************** The LEMAS Survey periodically collects data from more than 3,000 general purpose law enforcement agencies, including state police and highway patrol agencies, local police departments, and sheriffs’ offices. The survey includes all agencies that employ 100 or more sworn officers and a nationally representative sample of smaller agencies. Previous LEMAS data collections occurred in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2007. These past surveys obtained data on functions performed, operating expenditures, job functions of sworn and nonsworn employees, officer salaries and special pay, demographic characteristics of officers, education and training requirements, community policing activities, types of weapons authorized, body armor policies, computers and information systems, types of vehicles operated, the use of special units, and task force participation. A more limited data collection that focused on community policing was conducted in 1999. Survey questions are updated with each iteration to reflect emerging issues in the field of law enforcement. Publications based on prior LEMAS Surveys can be accessed on the BJS website. Sampling frame **************** The sampling frame used for the 2013 LEMAS Survey was the 2008 BJS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA) (the most recent available). At the time of the 2008 CSLLEA, nearly all of the more than 12,000 police departments were operated at the sub-county level by individual municipal (85%) or township (13%) governments. The remainder were operated by tribal governments, multiple local governments (regional or joint departments), or county governments. The agency universe represented by the CSLLEA is more inclusive than that of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Some agencies are excluded from the UCR counts because they do not have an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) assigned by the FBI. (Some agencies without an ORI are still included in the UCR employee counts (but not in the agency counts) because they report their data to another agency, which reports it to the FBI.) The CSLLEA data include all officers with full arrest powers regardless of function, while the UCR data exclude officers not paid out of police funds. This exclusion generally pertains to officers working exclusively for jails or courts. The CSLLEA definition excludes many of these officers, but not all of them. The UCR program defines law enforcement officers as individuals who ordinarily carry a firearm and a badge, have full arrest powers, and are paid from governmental funds set aside specifically for sworn law enforcement representatives. The CSLLEA definition relies exclusively on whether the officer possesses full arrest powers. Regardless of the arrest powers of their officers, agencies included in the CSLLEA that do not have a primary jurisdictional area for which they provide law enforcement services are considered out of scope for the LEMAS Survey because of its policing focus. In 2008, the CSLLEA counted 765,246 full-time sworn officers, which was about 57,000 (or 8%) more than the 708,569 reported by the UCR. A similar difference was observed for the 2004 and 2000 CSLLEA collections. Although the CSLLEA counts are larger than those of the UCR, the employment growth trends recorded by the CSLLEA over time have been consistent with those recorded by the UCR. Sample design and selection **************************** Local police departments and sheriffs’ offices are chosen for the LEMAS Survey using a stratified sample design based on the number of sworn personnel. The original 2013 LEMAS sample included 3,336 state and local law enforcement agencies. It was designed to be representative of all general purpose state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, with separate samples drawn of local police departments and sheriffs’ offices. All 50 primary state law enforcement agencies (state police and highway patrol) were included. Agencies serving special jurisdictions (such as schools, airports, or parks), or with special enforcement responsibilities (such as conservation laws or alcohol laws), were considered out of scope for the survey. The 2013 LEMAS sample design called for 2,353 local police departments, divided into 7 strata based on the number of sworn officers employed, to receive the survey. During the initial contact phase, it was determined that 26 of these departments had closed since the 2008 CSLLEA and were dropped from the sample. Of the remaining 2,327 departments, the sample design called for all 659 departments employing 100 or more full-time sworn personnel to be self-representing (SR) and receive the survey. It was later determined that 29 of these SR departments did not receive the survey because of inaccurate contact information. As a result, the base weight for SR departments is 1.046 instead of the expected 1.000. The 6 remaining strata and their corresponding base weights are 50 to 99 officers, 2.572; 25 to 49 officers, 4.225; 10 to 24 officers, 6.260; 5 to 9 officers, 7.288; 2 to 4 officers, 14.611; and 1 officer, 31.302. Agency response rate ********************** Of the 2,327 eligible local police departments that received the survey, 2,059 completed it, for a response rate of 88%. By size, the response rate ranged from 91% for departments with 50 or more officers to 84% for those with fewer than 10 officers. An adjustment factor unique to each stratum was used to account for nonresponse. These nonresponse adjustments and the resulting final analytical weights for each stratum are included in appendix table 9. Item nonresponse and imputations ********************************** All departments, regardless of size, were asked to complete the 80-item CJ-44 survey questionnaire. A majority of the responses were received electronically through a survey website. For the 2,059 departments completing the survey, item nonresponse rates due to omission or invalid data were low for the data elements used in this report (appendix table 10). When a department did not supply a response to a numerical item, a ratio imputation method was used. The ratio imputation used the value of the ratio of the numerical variable to the number of full-time sworn personnel for departments that provided the numerical data. This ratio was computed for each population category and applied to the number of full-time sworn personnel in departments with the missing data to produce the imputed value. Imputations were not used for categorical variables. Accuracy of the estimates ************************** The accuracy of the estimates presented in this report depends on two types of error: sampling and nonsampling. Sampling error is the variation that may occur by chance because a sample was used rather than a complete enumeration of the population. Nonsampling error can be attributed to many sources, such as the inability to obtain information about all cases in the sample; inability to obtain complete and correct information from the administrative records; and processing errors. In any survey, the full extent of the nonsampling error is never known. The sampling error, as measured by an estimated standard error, varies by the size of the estimate and the sample size. Because the LEMAS data were collected from a sample, the results are subject to sampling error. Variance and standard error estimates for the 2013 LEMAS were generated using the SUDAAN statistical software package. The Taylor linearization method for a “stratified without replacement” design was used for these calculations. See appendix tables for the standard error estimates. These standard error estimates may be used to construct confidence intervals around percentages in this report. For example, the 95%-confidence interval around the percentage of local police departments using body-worn cameras is 32% ± 1.96 × 1.4% (or approximately 29% to 35%). These standard errors may also be used to test the significance of the difference between two sample statistics by pooling the standard errors of the two sample estimates. For example, the standard error of the difference between departments serving 10,000 to 24,999 residents and those serving 2,500 to 9,999 residents for using license plate readers would be 2.3% (or the square root of the sum of the squared standard errors for each group). The 95%-confidence interval around the difference would be 1.96 × 2.3% (or 4.6%). Because the observed difference of 14% (24% minus 10%) is greater than 4.6%, the difference would be considered statistically significant. *********************************************************** 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 and valid 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. William J. Sabol is director. This report was written by Brian A. Reaves. Marshay Lentini verified the report. Data were collected and processed by the Urban Institute. Lynne McConnell and Jill Thomas edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced the report. July 2015, NCJ 248767 *********************************************************** ************************************************* Office of Justice Programs Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov ************************************************* ************************* 6/17/15 JER 12:45am *************************