U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics ------------------------------------------------------------ Note to readers of the ASCII version: This file is text only without graphics and tables. A Zip archive of the tables and graph data points in this report in spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/so00.htm. 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' Offices 2000 January 2003, NCJ 196534 Matthew J. Hickman and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians Lawrence A. Greenfeld Director The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) provided partial funding for the 2000 Census. Debra Cohen and Matthew Scheider of COPS assisted with questionnaire development More information on COPS can be obtained at their website . Data were collected and processed by the U.S. Census Bureau, with assistance from BJS. Census Bureau staff, under the supervision of Latrice Brogsdale-Davis and Charlene Sebold included Theresa Reitz, Martha Greene, Patricia Torreyson, Bill Bryner, and Paula Kinard. Sample design and selection and imputation procedures were conducted by Suzanne Dorinski and Yukiko Ellis of the Economic Statistical Methods and Programming Division of the Census Bureau under the supervision of Carma Hogue. Data presented in this report may be obtained from the National Archive of the Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The report and data are available on the Internet at: . Contents Highlights The LEMAS survey Personnel Budget and pay Operations Community policing Equipment Computers and information systems Special arrest policies Methodology Personnel *As of June 2000, sheriffs' offices had 293,823 full-time employees, including about 165,000 sworn personnel. Employment was up an average of about 4% per year since 1990. *Racial and ethnic minorities comprised 17.1% of full-time sworn personnel in 2000, up from 15.5% in 1990. Females comprised 12.5% of officers in 2000, down from 15.4% in 1990. *From 1990 to 2000, the number of African American officers increased by 1,600, or 12% and Hispanic officers by 3,400, or 51%. During this period, the number of female officers decreased by 1,200, or 5.5%. *Nearly all officers worked for an agency using criminal record checks (97%), background investigations (97%), personal interviews (96%), driving record checks (94%), and medical exams (90%) to screen applicants. Drug tests (81%) were also common. *In 2000, 11% of sheriffs' offices, employing 13% of sworn personnel, required new deputy recruits to have completed at least some college, up from 4% in 1990. *State-mandated field and academy training requirements for new deputies averaged about 670 hours combined. Additional training beyond state requirements averaged about 380 hours. Budget and pay *Sheriffs' offices had total operating budgets of $17.7 billion during fiscal 2000, 45% more than in 1990 after adjusting for inflation. Operating budgets in 2000 averaged $107,900 per sworn officer, and $65 per resident. *In 2000, starting salaries for sheriffs' deputies ranged from an average of about $21,700 in the smallest jurisdictions to about $32,900 in the largest. Almost half (45%) of all sheriffs' officers worked for an agency that authorized collective bargaining. Operations *Nearly all sheriffs' offices used automobiles for routine patrol. In addition, 23% used foot patrol routinely. An estimated 13%, including half of those serving 1 million or more residents, used bicycle patrol on a regular basis. *In 2000, 87% of sheriffs' offices, employing 90% of sworn personnel, participated in a 9-1-1 emergency system compared to 42% and 68% in 1990. In 2000, 66% of offices, employing 82% of sworn personnel, had enhanced 9-1-1, compared to 11% and 36% in 1990. *About 3 in 10 sheriffs' offices had officers assigned full time to a special unit for drug enforcement, with 3,300 officers so assigned nationwide. Two-fifths of sheriffs' offices had officers assigned to a multi-agency drug task force, with a total of 2,900 officers assigned full time nationwide. *Fifty-three percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 78% of sworn personnel, had drug asset forfeiture receipts during 1999. Collectively, offices had about $137 million in receipts, or $834 per sworn officer employed. *Almost all sheriffs' offices had responsibility for executing arrest warrants (99.7%), providing court security (97%), and serving civil process (99%). About 8 in 10 had responsibility for operating a jail. Community policing *Fifty-five percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 74% of sworn personnel, had a community policing plan of some type. An estimated 13% of offices, employing 36% of sworn personnel, had a formal, written plan. *Sixty-two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 76% of sworn personnel, used full-time community policing officers in 2000. Collectively, there were about 16,500 such officers. *Thirty-one percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 51% of sworn personnel, trained all new recruits in community policing. Fifty-two percent of offices, employing 69% of sworn personnel, trained at least some in-service personnel in community policing. *About 8 in 10 sheriffs' offices regularly met with community groups during 2000. About a third of those serving 100,000 or more residents conducted a citizen academy. *About a fifth of all sheriffs' offices, including more than a third of those serving 100,000 or more residents, upgraded technology in 2000 to support community policing efforts. *Forty-eight percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 71% of all sworn personnel, used full-time school resource officers in 2000. Collectively, these agencies employed about 5,300 such officers. Equipment *Ninety-seven percent of sheriffs' offices authorized the use of semiautomatic sidearms in 2000. This increased from 74% in 1990. *An estimated 89% of sheriffs' offices, employing 89% of all sworn personnel, authorized use of chemical agents such as pepper spray during 2000, up from 52% and 63% in 1990. *In 2000, 52% of sheriffs' offices, employing 53% of all sworn personnel, required all field officers to wear protective body armor, compared to 21% and 23% in 1990. *Nationwide, sheriffs' offices in 2000 operated an estimated 106,000 cars, or about 6 cars for every 10 officers employed. About a third of these cars were unmarked. *About half of all sheriffs' offices used dogs for law enforcement work, including more than two-thirds of those serving a population of 50,000 or more. Four percent of sheriffs' offices used horses, including 25% of those serving 1 million or more residents. *Fifty-three percent of all sheriffs' offices regularly used video cameras in 2000. Forty percent used them in patrol cars. Seven percent of sheriffs' offices used video cameras for traffic enforcement. Computers and information systems *From 1990 to 2000, the percentage of sheriffs' offices using in-field computers increased from 6% to 32%. Offices using in-field computers employed 61% of all sworn personnel in 2000, up from 28% in 1990. *The percentage of sheriffs' offices using computers for Internet access rose from 31% in 1997 to 67% in 2000. During 2000, about 8 in 10 offices serving 50,000 or more residents had this capability. *From 1997 to 2000, the percentage of sheriffs' officers employed by an agency with in-field computer access to vehicle records increased from 40% to 45%; driving records; 38% to 42%; calls for service histories, 24% to 33%; and criminal histories, 29% to 33%. *In 2000, 80% of sheriffs' offices used paper reports as the primary means to transmit criminal incident field data to a central information system, down from 87% in 1997. During the same period, use of computer and data devices increased from 7% to 14%. Written policy directives *Nearly all sheriffs' offices (92%) had a written policy on pursuit driving. Almost half restricted vehicle pursuits according to specific criteria such as speed or offense. About a third had a policy that left the decision to the officer's discretion. Five percent discouraged all vehicle pursuits. *Ninety-two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 98% of all sworn personnel, had a written policy on the use of deadly force. Eighty-five percent, employing 94% of sworn personnel, had a policy on nonlethal force. *Eighty-nine percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 91% of sworn personnel, had a special policy regarding arrest for domestic assaults. Sixty-eight percent had a mandatory arrest policy, and 17% had a pro-arrest policy. *Eighty-four percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 85% of sworn personnel, had a special policy regarding arrest for violations of protection orders. Sixty-two percent had a mandatory arrest policy, and 18% had a pro-arrest policy. The LEMAS survey During 2000, 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 State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide. Previous LEMAS surveys were conducted in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, and 1999. This report presents data from the 2000 survey describing the more than 3,000 sheriffs' offices operating in the United States in terms of their personnel, expenditures and pay, operations, community policing initiatives, equipment, computers and information systems, and written policies. Comparisons are made with prior years where appropriate. Sheriffs' offices typically serve counties and independent cities. Although sheriffs' offices may have countywide jail and court-related responsibilities, their law enforcement jurisdiction may exclude county areas served by a local police department. In certain counties, some municipalities contract with the sheriff's office for law enforcement services. In counties and independent cities with a separate police department, the sheriffs' office may not have any primary law enforcement jurisdiction. The 2000 LEMAS survey questionnaire was mailed to 3,132 State and local law enforcement agencies. The overall response rate was 97.4% (see Methodology for a description of the sample). This report, and its companion report (Local Police Departments 2000, NCJ-196002), summarize data collected from agencies of all sizes. Trend data on the police departments serving the 62 largest U.S. cities were previously published in the BJS Special Report, Police Departments in Large Cities: 1990-2000, NCJ-175703. Personnel As of June 30, 2000, sheriffs' offices had 293,823 full-time employees. They also employed about 23,000 persons on a part-time basis. Approximately 165,000, or 56%, of full-time local police employees were sworn personnel (those with general arrest powers). Sheriffs' offices employed 23% of all State and local sworn officers nationwide. Their 129,112 full-time civilian employees comprised 41% of all nonsworn State and local law enforcement employees. There were about 90,000, or 44%, more full-time sheriffs' office employees in 2000 than in 1990. When only sworn personnel are considered, employment by sheriffs' offices increased by about 23,300, or 16.5%, from 1990 to 2000. Overall, the number of part-time sheriffs' office employees increased by about 6,300, or 39%, from 1990 to 2000. When only sworn personnel are considered, part-time employment by sheriffs' offices was up by about 1,100, or 12.1%, from 1990 to 2000. Nationwide 351 sheriffs' offices employed at least 100 sworn personnel (11.4%), including 12 with 1,000 or more full-time officers (0.4%). A total of 844 offices employed fewer than 10 full-time sworn personnel (27.5%). Nearly a fifth of all full-time sheriffs' deputies were employed by an agency with 1,000 or more sworn personnel, and nearly two-thirds were employed by one with at least 100 sworn personnel. Agencies that employed fewer than 10 full-time sworn personnel accounted for about 3% of all sheriffs' deputies nationwide. Although only a sixth of sheriffs' offices served a jurisdiction with 100,000 or more residents, such agencies employed about two-thirds of all sworn personnel. About a fifth of sworn personnel were employed in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents. Sheriffs' offices in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more had an average of 1,646 full-time employees, including 905 sworn personnel. In contrast, offices in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents had an average of 6 full-time sworn personnel and 5 nonsworn employees. Part-time employees were more common among sheriffs' offices serving larger jurisdictions, ranging from an average of 2 in the smallest jurisdictions to 38 in the largest. The highest average number of sworn part-time employees was 11, among sheriffs' offices serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents. Overall, 40% of full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices had regularly assigned duties that included responding to calls for service. By population category, the proportion of sworn personnel responding to calls ranged from 3 in 10 among offices serving 500,000 or more residents, to about 3 in 4 among those serving fewer than 10,000 residents. As of June 30, 2000, sheriffs' offices collectively employed 88% of the maximum number of full-time sworn personnel authorized by their budgets. The lowest actual-to-authorized ratio for full-time sworn personnel was among offices serving 1 million or more residents (84%). Gender and race of officers Of the 164,711 full-time sworn personnel employed by sheriffs' offices in 2000, an estimated 12.5% were women. The percentage of female officers ranged from more than 13% in jurisdictions with a population of 100,000 or more to about 7% in those with fewer than 10,000 residents. In 2000, 17.1% of the full-time sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices were members of a racial or ethnic minority. Minority officers comprised almost a third of the total in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents. Blacks or African Americans accounted for 9.4% of all sworn personnel in 2000. This included more than 11% of the sworn personnel in jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more. An estimated 6.1% of sworn personnel were Hispanic or Latino, with the highest representation among offices serving a population of 1 million or more (15.4%). In 2000 the estimated 20,589 female officers represented a decrease of about 1,200, or 5.5%, from 1990. During this time female representation among sworn personnel decreased from 15.4% to 12.5%. The 28,166 sworn personnel who were members of a racial or ethnic minority in 2000 represented an increase of about 6,250, or 28%, since 1990. From 1990 to 2000, minority representation among sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices increased from 15.5% to 17.1%. The estimated 15,483 full-time black or African American officers employed in 2000 represented an increase of about 1,600, or 12%, compared to 1990. However, there was a slight decrease during this period in the percentage of all sworn personnel who were black -- from 9.8% to 9.4%. There were an estimated 10,047 Hispanic or Latino sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices as of June 2000. This was about 3,400, or 51%, more than in 1990. From 1990 to 2000, the percentage of sworn personnel who were Hispanic or Latino rose from 4.7% to 6.1%. From 1990 to 2000 the number of other minority groups such as Asians, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians increased by 86% to about 2,600 officers. These groups comprised 1.6% of sworn personnel in 2000 compared to 1.0% in 1990. Screening of officer applicants Sheriffs' offices employed a variety of screening methods when hiring new deputies. Nearly all used personal interviews (94%), and a majority used medical exams (75%) and drug tests (61%). About half used psychological evaluations (47%), including about four-fifths of those serving 250,000 or more residents. About a third of sheriffs' offices used physical agility tests and written aptitude tests. Less common was the use of personality inventories (21%), polygraph exams (18%), or voice stress analyzers (4%). In addition to interviews, tests, and examinations, nearly all sheriffs' offices screened recruits through criminal record checks (97%), background investigations (95%), and driving record checks (91%). Nearly all sheriffs' deputies were employed by agencies that screened recruits with criminal record checks (97%), background investigations (97%), personal interviews (96%), driving record checks (94%), and medical exams (90%). About 8 in 10 were employed by agencies that used drug tests (81%), and about 2 in 3 by those that used psychological evaluations (68%). Education and training requirements Nearly all (97%) sheriffs' offices had an education requirement for new deputy recruits. The typical minimum requirement was a high school diploma (86%). Eleven percent of offices required some college education, including 6% with a 2-year degree requirement. The percentage of sworn personnel employed by an agency with a college requirement for new deputies in 2000 (13%) was about 3 times that of 1990 (4%). From 1990 to 2000, the percentage of sworn personnel employed by an agency with a degree requirement increased from 3% to 5%. In 2000, new deputy recruits in sheriffs' offices serving a population of 100,000 or more were required to complete an average of about 1,400 hours of academy and field training. In contrast, those in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents were required to complete an average of about 780 hours. Overall, an average of 64% of training hours were State mandated, with the remainder an agency requirement. The average annual in-service training requirement for non-probationary officers was 62 hours, including 26 State-mandated hours. Overall, 13% of sheriffs' offices operated a training academy, including about two-thirds of those serving a population of 500,000 or more. Nationwide, 44% of all sworn personnel were employed by an agency that operated an academy. Budget and pay Operating budgets The total operating budget of sheriffs' offices during fiscal 2000 was about $17.7 billion. This was 95% more than in 1990. Controlling for inflation, the net increase in the total operating budget was 45%. (These figures do not include budgets for capital expenditures such as equipment purchases or construction projects.) Sheriffs' offices accounted for 27% of the $65.7 billion in total operating budgets for State and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal 2000. Nationwide, operating budgets were about $5.8 million per sheriffs' office for fiscal 2000, ranging from about $123 million for those serving a population of 1 million or more, to $412,000 among those serving fewer than 10,000 residents. The overall operating cost per resident was $65, with offices serving a population of less than 10,000 costing the most to operate, $74 per resident. Offices serving 25,000 to 99,999 residents had the lowest per resident cost --about $58. Nationwide, sheriffs' offices cost an estimated $107,900 per sworn officer to operate for fiscal 2000, ranging from $160,100 per officer in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more, to $66,900 per officer in jurisdictions with a population under 10,000. When both sworn and nonsworn employees are included, the average operating budget for sheriffs' offices was about $59,000 per employee for the year. Operating costs ranged from $83,100 per employee in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents to $37,000 per employee in those with fewer than 10,000 residents. After controlling for inflation, per officer operating costs for 2000 were $24,000, or 28.7%, higher than in 1990. The largest increase, from $103,600 to $149,100, was recorded in jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents. The smallest increase, from $90,000 to $103,100, was in jurisdictions with 100,000 to 499,999 residents. Salaries The overall average base starting salary for sheriffs was $49,400 in 2000. Average starting salaries for sheriffs ranged from $99,300 in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents to $33,800 in those with a population under 10,000. By agency, the average base starting salary offered to entry-level deputies in 2000 was $23,700. Starting salaries ranged from $21,700 in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents to $32,900 in those with a population of 1 million or more. When size of agency is factored in, it is estimated that new entry-level deputies started at an average salary of about $28,700. Salaries for first-line supervisors (sergeant or equivalent) increased with jurisdiction size in a pattern similar to that for entry-level deputies. Overall, the average starting salary for sergeants was $30,500, ranging from $45,500 in the largest jurisdictions to $25,900 in the smallest. When size of agency is considered, it is estimated that sergeants in sheriffs' offices started at an average salary of about $38,800 during 2000. From 1990 to 2000 average starting salaries increased 36% for entry-level deputies (from $17,400 to $23,700). However, after controlling for inflation, salaries rose only 1.7%. By population category, the largest increase was in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents, where salaries rose an average of 6.2% after adjusting for inflation, from $20,715 to $22,008. Small increases also occurred in jurisdictions with 100,000 to 499,999 residents, from $26,064 to $27,215 (4.4%); and jurisdictions with 25,000 to 99,999 residents, from $23,308 to $24,103 (3.4%). In jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents, starting salaries for deputies declined 0.6%, from $32,035 to $31,849. Special pay Nationwide, 24% of all sheriffs' offices, including a majority of those serving a population of 250,000 or more, offered tuition reimbursement to officers. About half (51%) of sworn personnel nationwide worked for an agency that offered it. Nineteen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 40% of sworn personnel nationwide, offered merit pay to qualifying officers. About two-fifths of offices serving a population of 100,000 or more had merit compensation. An estimated 18% of sheriffs' offices offered education incentive pay to qualifying officers, including a majority of those serving a population of 1 million or more. Forty-five percent of sworn personnel worked for an agency that offered this type of incentive pay. Eighteen percent of sheriffs' offices offered shift differential pay to full-time sworn personnel. This included about half of the offices serving a population of 250,000 or more. Nationwide, 34% of sworn personnel were employed by a agency with shift differential pay. Ten percent of sheriffs' offices offered special skills pay, including 4 in 10 offices serving a population of 1 million or more and about 3 in 10 offices serving a population of 250,000 to 999,999. Overall, 32% of sworn personnel worked for an agency that offered special skills pay. Hazardous duty pay was available in 8% of all sheriffs' offices, employing 29% of all sworn personnel. About a third of offices serving a population of 500,000 or more offered this pay. Work-related policies Fifty-five percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 70% of all sworn personnel, had a written policy on the maximum number of hours that officers can work. About 5 in 6 offices serving a population of 500,000 to 999,999 residents maintained such a policy. Eighty-one percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 94% of all sworn personnel, had a written policy pertaining to off-duty employment by officers. More than 9 in 10 offices serving a population of 50,000 to 999,999 had such a policy. Unions and collective bargaining Nationwide, 30% of all sheriffs' offices, employing 45% of all sworn personnel, authorized collective bargaining for officers. About 4 in 5 offices serving 1 million or more residents authorized collective bargaining for officers, as did about 3 in 5 offices serving 250,000 to 999,999 residents. Nonsworn sheriffs' employees were about as likely to have bargaining rights as sworn ones. Overall, 25% of sheriffs' offices, employing 44% of all nonsworn personnel, authorized collective bargaining for civilian employees. The average starting salary for entry-level officers was 24% higher in departments that authorized collective bargaining than in those that did not authorize it. Departments with collective bargaining for officers had higher average entry-level salaries in all population categories. In jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents the difference was about $4,500, 25,000 to 99,999 residents, $5,200; 100,000 to 499,999 residents, $1,900; and 500,000 or more residents, $2,400. Operations Patrol and response In 2000 nearly all (98%) sheriffs' offices used automobiles to provide routine patrol services in their jurisdiction. In addition, nearly a quarter used foot patrol units (23%) and marine patrols (22%) on a routine basis. This included more than two-fifths of those serving a population of 1 million or more. Sheriffs' offices with routine foot patrols employed 37% of all sworn personnel, and those with routine marine patrols, 49%. Thirteen percent of sheriffs' offices had routine bike patrols, including about half of those serving 500,000 or more residents. Forty-five percent of sworn personnel were employed by an agency using bicycle patrol units on a routine basis. The percentage of sheriffs' offices using foot and bicycle patrols increased after 1997, when 16% were using foot patrols, and 6% were using bicycle patrols. From 1997 to 2000, the percentage using one or both of these patrol types increased from 20% to 30%. Just 7% of all sheriffs' offices used motorcycle patrol on a routine basis during 2000. However, nearly half of those serving 500,000 or more residents did so. Sheriffs' offices using motorcycle patrols employed 39% of all sworn personnel. Five percent of sheriffs' offices routinely scheduled horse patrol units. Nearly a third (31%) of the offices serving 1 million or more residents used this type of patrol. Nearly all sheriffs' offices (96%) were responsible for responding to citizen calls for service. Agencies in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents (62%) were the least likely to perform this function. Seventy-eight percent of sheriffs' offices handled the dispatching of calls. This included more than 80% of those serving fewer than 50,000 residents. 9-1-1 emergency telephone system In 2000, 87% of sheriffs' offices participated in an emergency telephone system whereby one of their units could be dispatched as a result of a call to 9-1-1 or its equivalent. Two-thirds of sheriffs' offices had enhanced 9-1-1 systems, capable of automatically displaying information such as a caller's phone number and address, as well as any special instructions that may have been provided. The 87% participation rate in 9-1-1 during 2000 was a substantial increase from 1990 when 42% of sheriffs' offices were 9-1-1 participants. In 2000, 90% of sworn personnel were employed by an office with 9-1-1. The 66% of sheriffs' offices participating in an enhanced 9-1-1 system in 2000 also represented a large increase over 1990 when 11% were participants. In 2000, 82% of sworn personnel were employed by an agency with enhanced 9-1-1. Among existing sheriffs' 9-1-1 systems, there were about 3 times as many with enhanced capabilities in 2000 (76%) as in 1990 (24%). The percent of systems that were enhanced was up significantly in all population categories (Highlights figure on page iv). In jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents, the percent of systems with enhanced capabilities went from 14% in 1990 to 65% in 2000; 25,000 to 99,999 residents, from 24% to 80%; 100,000 to 499,999 residents, from 53% to 94%; 500,000 or more residents, from 72% to 96%. Crime investigation Overall, 93% of sheriffs' offices regularly investigated at least some types of crimes during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2000. Eighty percent handled homicide investigations. This included about 9 in 10 offices serving a population of 25,000 to 99,999. Seventy-six percent of sheriffs' offices conducted arson investigations. This included about 8 in 10 offices serving 10,000 to 249,999 residents. Less than half of sheriffs' office serving 1 million or more residents handled arson investigations. Drug enforcement activities Ninety-five percent of sheriffs' offices regularly performed drug enforcement functions. More than 90% of the offices in each population category below 250,000 had drug enforcement responsibilities. Offices with drug enforcement responsibilities employed 93% of all sworn personnel. Twenty-nine percent of sheriffs' offices operated a special unit for drug enforcement with one or more officers assigned full-time. About half of offices serving 100,000 or more residents had a full-time drug enforcement unit. An estimated 3,270 sheriffs' deputies were assigned full time to drug enforcement units nationwide. The average number of officers assigned ranged from 23 in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents to 1 or 2 in population categories under 50,000. Drug task force participation In 2000 an estimated 40% of sheriffs' offices had one or more officers assigned full time to a multi-agency drug enforcement task force. Seventy percent of sworn personnel worked for an agency that assigned officers to a task force. Nationwide, about 2,900 sheriffs' deputies were assigned full time to a drug task force. The average number assigned ranged from 12 in jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more 1 in those with fewer than 25,000 residents. Drug asset forfeiture receipts Fifty-three percent of all sheriffs' offices received money, property, or goods from a drug asset forfeiture program during 1999. These offices employed 78% of all sworn personnel. About 7 in 10 offices serving a population of 50,000 or more had drug asset forfeiture receipts. The overall median amount received from drug asset forfeiture programs by sheriffs' offices during 1999 was $14,700. By population category, the median amount received ranged from $300,000 among jurisdictions with a population of 1 million or more to $5,000 among those with fewer than 10,000 residents. Collectively sheriffs' offices received an estimated $137 million in money goods, and property during 1999 -- the equivalent of about $834 per sworn officer employed. Offices with 100 to 249 full-time sworn personnel received the most -- about $1,341 per officer. Next highest were offices with 25 to 49 ($1,021 per officer), 1,000 or more ($1,013), or under 25 ($939) sworn personnel. Offices with 250 to 999 ($439) or 50 to 99 ($466) sworn personnel had the lowest receipts per officer. Court-related functions Almost all sheriffs' offices in 2000 executed arrest warrants (99.7%), served civil process (99%), and provided court security (97%). Detention-related functions Eighty-one percent of sheriffs' offices operated at least one jail during 2000. Nearly 9 in 10 offices serving jurisdictions with 25,000 to 99,999 residents operated a jail. Ninety percent of all sheriffs' officers worked for an agency that operated a jail. Twenty percent of sheriffs' offices operated at least one temporary holding (lockup) facility for adults that was separate from a jail. The median maximum holding time for these facilities was 24 hours. The median total capacity of adult lockups ranged from 110 in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999 residents to 4 in those with 10,000 to 24,999 residents. The total adult capacity of sheriffs' office lockups nationwide was about 17,400. Seven percent of sheriffs' offices had a lockup facility for juveniles. The median capacity of juvenile lockups ranged from 15 in jurisdictions with 500,000 to 999,999 residents to 2 in those with fewer than 50,000 residents Nationwide juvenile lockups in sheriffs' offices had a total capacity of about 4,600 with a median maximum holding time of 6 hours. Special operations functions An estimated 73% of sheriffs' offices, employing 82% of all sworn personnel, performed search and rescue operations on a regular basis during 2000. Agencies serving 1 million or more residents (56%) were the least likely to perform this function. Forty percent of sheriffs' offices performed tactical operations, utilizing what are commonly known as SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams. These offices employed 72% of all sworn personnel. A majority of offices serving a population of 25,000 or more performed tactical operations on a regular basis. Community policing Community policing promotes organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem-solving tactics and community partnerships. A fundamental shift from traditional reactive policing, community policing stresses the prevention of crime before it occurs. The implementation of a community policing plan supports and empowers front-line officers, decentralizes command, and encourages innovative problem solving. In 2000, 13% of sheriffs' offices, employing 36% of all sworn personnel, had a formally written community policing plan. About a third of offices serving a population of 100,000 or more had such a plan. In all population categories of 25,000 or more, a majority of sheriffs' offices had either a formal, written community policing plan or an informal, unwritten plan. Offices were more likely to have a formal, written community policing plan than an informal plan in jurisdictions with 500,000 or more residents. Overall, 74% of sworn personnel worked for an agency with some type of community policing plan. Community policing training During the year ending June 30, 2000, 47% of sheriffs' offices, employing 67% of all sworn personnel, trained at least some new deputy recruits in community policing skills such as problem-solving; Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment (SARA); and developing community partnerships. Thirty-one percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 51% of all sworn personnel, trained all new deputy recruits in community policing. The proportion of offices that trained all recruits ranged from about half among those serving 100,000 or more residents to about a sixth of those serving fewer than 10,000 residents. Fifty-two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 69% of sworn personnel, trained at least some in-service officers in community policing during the 1-year period. Thirteen percent, employing 15% of all sworn personnel, trained all in-service officers. Fifteen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 34% of all nonsworn employees, trained at least some of these employees in community policing during the 1-year period. This included about 1 in 4 offices serving a population of 250,000 or more. Community policing personnel Overall, 62% of sheriffs' offices, employing 76% of all sworn personnel, had full-time community policing officers. In some jurisdictions, these officers may be known as community relations officers, community resource officers, or some other name indicative of the community policing approach they employed. Nationwide, sheriffs' offices employed about 16,500 community policing officers or their equivalent. A majority of sheriffs' offices in all population categories had full-time community policing officers. Those serving a population of 1 million or more employed 161 such officers on average. Offices serving fewer than 10,000 residents had 4 on average. In all population categories the percentage of sheriffs' offices using community policing officers was greater in 2000 than in 1997. In jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents, the percentage rose from 15% to 63%; in those with 25,000 to 99,999 residents, from 34% to 56%; in those with 100,000 to 499,999 residents, from 44% to 70%; and in those with 500,000 or more residents, from 56% to 72%. An estimated 48% of sheriffs' offices, employing 71% of all sworn personnel, had full-time school resource officers during 2000. A majority of offices serving a population of 25,000 or more used school resource officers, including about two-thirds of those in jurisdictions with 250,000 to 999,999 residents. School resource officers use a community policing approach to provide a safe environment for students and staff. In addition to handling calls for service within the school, they work closely with school administrators and staff to prevent crime and disorder by monitoring crime trends, problem areas, cultural conflicts, and other areas of concern. Overall, sheriffs' offices had about 5,300 full-time sworn personnel assigned as school resource officers as of June 2000. The average number of school resource officers ranged from 44 in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents, to 2 in those with fewer than 50,000 residents. Community-oriented policies and programs Forty-nine percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 71% of all sworn personnel, gave patrol officers responsibility for specific geographic areas or beats during 2000. This included a majority of those serving a population of 25,000 or more. Seventeen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 45% of all sworn personnel, assigned cases to investigators by geographic area. This included half of the offices serving 1 million or more residents, and about two-fifths of those serving 100,000 to 999,999 residents. Twenty-three percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 39% of all sworn personnel, actively encouraged patrol officers to become involved in problem-solving projects. About a third of those serving 100,000 or more residents had such a policy. Nine percent of sheriffs' offices included problem-solving projects in the performance evaluation criteria for patrol officers. This included 25% of those serving 1 million or more residents. Offices including problem-solving projects in performance evaluation criteria employed 20% of all sworn personnel. Twenty-two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 44% of all sworn personnel, upgraded technology to support their community policing efforts. This included more than a third of the offices serving 100,000 or more residents. An estimated 22% of sheriffs' offices enhanced their proactive role in solving community problems by forming problem-solving partnerships with community groups, local agencies, or others through written agreements. Sheriffs' offices forming partnerships through written agreements employed 41% of all sworn personnel. Sixteen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 36% of all sworn personnel, offered training to citizens on community policing topics such as community mobilization and problem-solving during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2000. About a third of those serving 250,000 or more residents more offered such training. Ten percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 35% of all sworn personnel, conducted a citizen police academy during the year ending June 30, 2000. About a third of those serving a population of 100,000 or more conducted citizen academies during this period, compared to fewer than 1 in 10 offices serving a population of under 50,000. Eighty-one percent of sheriffs' offices met regularly with community groups during the year ending June 30, 2000. This included about 90% of those serving a population of 25,000 to 999,999. Sheriffs' offices regularly holding community group meetings employed 92% of all sworn personnel. Most sheriffs' offices met with a wide variety of community groups during 2000. Those that regularly met with school groups employed 75% of all sworn personnel. The corresponding percentages for other types of groups were as follows: neighborhood associations (69%), domestic violence groups (58%), local public agencies (57%), senior citizen groups (55%), business groups (54%), advocacy groups (45%), youth service organizations (42%), religious groups (37%), and tenants' associations (27%). Nineteen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 38% of all sworn personnel, surveyed citizens in their jurisdiction during the year ending June 30, 2000. Twelve percent of offices, employing 32% of all sworn personnel, surveyed citizens' regarding their satisfaction with agency services. Nearly 3 in 10 offices serving 100,000 or more residents conducted this type of survey. Eight percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 27% of all sworn personnel, surveyed citizens regarding their perception of crime problems; 8%, employing 21% of all sworn personnel, surveyed citizens regarding crime reporting; and 5%, employing 19% of all sworn personnel, surveyed citizens regarding their personal crime experiences. A majority of the sheriffs' offices conducting surveys used the data to provide information to officers (70%), or to evaluate program effectiveness (58%). Other common uses included formulation of agency policy and procedures (44%), training development (44%), prioritizing crime and disorder problems (42%), and allocation of resources to neighborhoods (35%). Equipment Sidearms In 2000, 97% of sheriffs' offices authorized the use of some type of semi- automatic sidearm. This represents a significant increase from 1990 when 74% authorized them. In 2000, 73% of sheriffs' offices authorized the .40-caliber semiautomatic. This represents an increase from 59% in 1997, the first year for which comparable data are available. Offices authorizing the .40-caliber in 2000 employed 69% of all sworn personnel. Sixty-five percent of offices, employing 74% of all sworn personnel, authorized the 9mm. Other semiautomatic sidearms authorized included the .45-caliber (59%), the .380-caliber (38%), and the 10mm (32%). Forty-seven percent of sheriffs' offices authorized the use of revolvers by sworn personnel. Sixty-four percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 73% of all sworn personnel, supplied regular field officers with their primary sidearm. Three percent of offices, employing 3% of all sworn personnel, provided a cash allowance. Body armor In 2000, 65% of sheriffs' offices, employing 73% of all sworn personnel, required at least some field officers to wear protective body armor while on duty. Eighty-two percent of offices, employing 89% of all sworn personnel, supplied armor to officers and 4% provided a cash allowance. The percentage of sheriffs' offices requiring all field officers to wear body armor increased from 21% in 1990 to 52% in 2000. Such an increase was seen in all population categories: Under 25,000 residents, 21% to 46%; 25,000 to 99,999, 25% to 58%; 100,000 to 499,999, 23% to 60%; 500,000 or more, 17% to 53%. Nonlethal weapons In 2000 nearly all sheriffs' offices authorized sworn personnel to use one or more types of nonlethal weapons. Chemical agents, such as pepper spray, were the most commonly authorized. Eighty-eight percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 88% of sworn personnel, authorized the use of pepper spray. Batons were also commonly authorized, with 84% of all sheriffs' offices allowing their use. Those authorizing one or more types of batons employed 90% of all sworn personnel. Collapsible batons (73%) were authorized by more than twice as many offices as PR-24 (34%) or traditional (32%) batons. Four-fifths of sworn personnel in sheriffs' offices nationwide worked for an agency authorizing collapsible batons and two-fifths for one authorizing traditional (44%) or PR-24 (41%) batons. Twenty-three percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 48% of all sworn personnel, authorized flash/bang grenades. Ten percent of offices, employing 22% of all sworn personnel, authorized electrical devices such as stun guns and tasers. Eight percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 17% of all sworn personnel, authorized the use of carotid holds, choke holds, or neck restraints. Offices serving a population of 1 million or more (25%) were the most likely to authorize these types of actions. From 1990 to 2000, in all population categories, there were large increases in the percentage of sheriffs' offices authorizing chemical agents. These increases were as follows: 500,000 or more residents, 65% to 90%; 100,000 to 499,999 residents, 59% to 90%; 25,000 to 99,999 residents, 52% to 93%; and under 25,000 residents, 49% to 85%. In 2000, 89% of sworn personnel were employed by a sheriffs' office that authorized chemical agents. Use of force policies Ninety-two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 98% of all sworn personnel, had a written policy pertaining to the use of deadly force. Nearly all offices serving 25,000 or more residents had such a policy. Eighty-five percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 94% of all sworn personnel, had a written policy pertaining to the use of nonlethal force. At least 92% of the agencies in each population category of 25,000 or more had this type of policy. Vehicles Nationwide, sheriffs' offices operated an estimated 105,758 cars, or about 64 cars per 100 sworn personnel. By population category, the ratio of cars to sworn personnel was lowest in jurisdictions with 1 million or more residents -- 42 cars per 100 officers. This was about half the ratio in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents. About a third of the cars operated by sheriffs' offices were unmarked (35%). The proportion of cars that were unmarked ranged from about two-fifths in jurisdictions with a population of 250,000 or more to one-sixth in jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents. In addition to cars, 74% of sheriffs' offices used other 4-wheel motorized vehicles such as sport utility vehicles, trucks or vans. Overall, there were about 15,800 such vehicles operated, or about 10 per 100 sworn personnel. Nine percent of sheriffs' offices used motorcycles during 2000, including about half of those serving a population of 500,000 or more. Nationwide, sheriffs' offices operated about 1,500 motorcycles, or about 1 for every 100 sworn personnel. Fourteen percent of sheriffs' offices were using bicycles as of June 2000, with a total of about 2,900 nationwide. The overall ratio of bicycles to sworn personnel was 2 per 100. Vehicle-related policies Ninety percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 75% of sworn personnel, allowed officers to take marked vehicles home. The percentage with such a policy was highest in jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 residents (96%). In contrast, 31% of agencies serving a population of 1 million or more had such a policy. In a large majority of the jurisdictions that allowed marked vehicles to be taken home, officers were allowed only to drive the vehicle to and from work. Just 21% of sheriffs' offices allowed officers to operate a marked vehicle for personal errands, with those serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents (29%) the most likely to have such a policy. Forty-seven percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 56% of all sworn personnel, had a restrictive pursuit driving policy. This type of policy restricts pursuits according to criteria such as offense type or maximum speed. Thirty-six percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 27% of all sworn personnel, had a judgmental pursuit policy, one that leaves pursuit decisions to the officer's discretion. Five percent of offices, employing 5% of all sworn personnel, discouraged all vehicle pursuits. Off-land vehicles Thirty percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 59% of sworn personnel, operated at least one boat during 2000. This included about half of those serving 50,000 to 499,999 residents, or 1 million or more residents. Nationwide, sheriffs' offices operated about 2,300 boats during 2000. Four percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 28% of sworn personnel, used helicopters in 2000. This included about a fourth of those serving 250,000 or more residents. There were an estimated 310 sheriffs' helicopters in use during 2000. Three percent of sheriffs' offices operated at least 1 airplane, with a total about 110 in use nationwide. Roughly 1 in 5 offices serving 50,000 or more residents operated at least 1 airplane. Sheriffs' offices using airplanes employed 20% of all sworn personnel. Animals Fifty-one percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 78% of all sworn personnel, used dogs for law enforcement activities. This included more than two-thirds of those serving 50,000 or more residents. Overall, about 3,700 dogs were maintained by sheriffs' offices in 2000. About 4% of sheriffs' offices, employing 14% of all sworn personnel, used horses for law enforcement purposes. This included a quarter of those serving 1 million or more residents. Sheriffs' offices collectively maintained approximately 1,100 horses. Video cameras Fifty-three percent of all sheriffs' offices used video cameras on a regular basis during the year ending June 30, 2000. Agencies regularly using video cameras employed 68% of all sworn personnel. The most common use of video cameras was in patrol cars (40%). Sheriffs' offices using video cameras in cars employed 50% of all sworn personnel. Twenty percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 24% of all sworn personnel, used video cameras for fixed-site surveillance. Thirteen percent of offices, employing 26% of all sworn personnel, used video cameras for mobile surveillance. Seven percent of offices, employing 14% of all sworn personnel, used video cameras for traffic enforcement. Special technologies Twenty-one percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 43% of all sworn personnel, use infrared (thermal) imagers on a regular basis. Eight percent of offices, employing 15% of all sworn personnel, used image intensifiers. Laser range finders were used regularly by 8% of all sheriffs' offices, employing 15% of all sworn personnel. Electrical/engine disruption technology was used regularly by less than 0.5% of all sheriffs' offices. These agencies employed 6% of all sworn personnel. Two percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 20% of all sworn personnel, used stolen vehicle tracking technology on a regular basis. Tire deflation spikes were used regularly by 41% of all sheriffs' offices, employing 56% of all sworn personnel. Forty-seven percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 72% of all sworn personnel, regularly used digital imaging technology for mugshots. Twenty-one percent of offices, employing 41% of all sworn personnel, used digital imaging technology for suspect composites. Twenty-seven percent of offices, employing 62% of all sworn personnel, regularly used digital imaging technology for fingerprints. Computers and information systems Computer functions Sheriffs' offices utilized computers for a wide variety of functions in 2000. For example, 63% of offices, employing 78% of all sworn personnel, used computers for records management. Two-thirds of sheriffs' offices used computers for Internet access, including about four-fifths of those serving a population of 50,000 or more. Those using computers for Internet access employed 84% of all sworn personnel in 2000. More than twice as many sheriffs' offices used computers for Internet access in 2000 (67%) as in 1997 (31%). Among those serving fewer than 25,000 residents, nearly 4 times as many were using computers for this purpose in 2000 (57%) as in 1997 (15%). The increases in other population categories were as follows: 25,000 to 99,999 residents, from 26% to 64%; 100,000 to 499,999 residents, from 47% to 79%; 500,000 or more residents, from 62% to 82%. Sixty percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 77%% of sworn personnel, used computers for automated booking. A majority of the offices in jurisdictions with 10,000 or more residents had this capability. In 2000, 48% of sheriffs' offices used computers for crime investigations, including a majority of those serving 25,000 or more residents. Those using computers for crime investigations employed 62% of all sworn personnel. Forty-seven percent of sheriffs' offices used computers for dispatching calls for service. A majority of those serving a population of 25,000 or more had computer-aided dispatch, and 68% of all sworn personnel worked for an office with this capability. Forty-six percent of offices, employing 69% of all sworn personnel, used computers to maintain personnel records. Twenty-seven percent of offices, employing 51% of all sworn personnel, used computers for crime analysis. Related to crime analysis efforts in sheriffs' offices is the use of crime mapping. In 2000, 13% of offices, including 44% of those serving 1 million or more residents used computers in conjunction with crime mapping. Offices using computers for crime mapping employed 37% of all sworn personnel in 2000. Thirty-three percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 55% of all sworn personnel, used computers for interagency information sharing. Computerized files In 2000 a majority of sheriffs' offices were maintaining computerized files on incident reports (74%), warrants (73%), arrests (72%), stolen property (61%), and calls for service (59%). All of these types of information were maintained in a computerized format by a majority of the agencies in each population category of 10,000 or more. Less than half of all sheriffs' offices maintained computerized files on traffic citations (44%), criminal histories (43%), traffic accidents (41%), summonses (41%), alarms (27%), traffic stops (25%), use of force incidents (20%), fingerprints (19%), and linked files for crime analysis (13%). Except for alarms (47%), fingerprints (46%), traffic stops (41%), use of force incidents (40%), and linked files for crime analysis (31%), a majority of sworn personnel worked for a sheriffs' office that had computer files on each type of information included in the 2000 LEMAS survey. Fourteen percent of all sheriffs' offices had exclusive or shared ownership of an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that included a file of digitized prints. These agencies employed 41% of all sworn personnel. About two-fifths of the offices serving a population of 250,000 or more owned an AFIS system. Seventeen percent of sheriffs' offices used an AFIS terminal with access to a remote system. These agencies employed 27% of all sworn personnel. Overall, 31% of sheriffs' offices, employing 68% of all sworn personnel, had some type of AFIS capability. This included a majority of those serving a population of 100,000 or more. Use of computers in the field A majority of sheriffs' offices serving 100,000 or more residents used mobile computers or terminals in the field during 2000, including about three-quarters of those serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents. Overall 32% of sheriffs' offices, employing 61% of all sworn personnel, were using in-field computers or terminals. Fifteen percent of all sheriffs' offices, employing 46% of all sworn personnel, used vehicle-mounted computers in 2000. This included about 3 in 5 offices serving 250,000 to 999,999 residents. About 3 in 10 offices serving a population of 250,000 or more were using vehicle-mounted digital/data terminals. Overall, 6% of offices, employing 26% of all sworn personnel, used them. Eight percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 16% of all sworn personnel, used vehicle-mounted laptops during 2000. Four percent used vehicle-mounted digital/data computers. Twenty-five percent of all sheriffs' offices, employing 38% of all sworn personnel, used portable (not vehicle-mounted) computers in 2000. This included half of those serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents. Portable laptops, the most common type of in-field computer, were used by 24% of sheriffs' offices. These agencies employed about a third of all sworn personnel. Less common were portable digital/data terminals (1%) and portable digital/data computers (1%). The 32% of sheriffs' offices using in-field computers or terminals in 2000 was more than 5 times the percentage using them in 1990 (6%). From 1990 to 2000, increases in the use of in-field computers and terminals occurred in jurisdictions of all sizes. During this period, in-field computer use among offices serving 500,000 or more residents increased from 45% to 63%; among those serving 100,000 to 499,999 residents, from 14% to 61%; among those serving 25,000 to 99,999 residents, from 6% to 37%; and among those serving fewer than 25,000 residents, from 2% to 20%. Twenty percent of sheriffs' offices used in-field computers or terminals for writing field reports. These agencies employed 33% of all sworn personnel. Thirteen percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 34% of all sworn personnel, used in-field computers for at least some in-field communications. In approximately 1 in 7 sheriffs' offices, at least some officers in the field could use computers to access vehicle or driving records. This included about half of those serving a population of 250,000 or more. Agencies using in-field computers for these purposes employed about two-fifths of all sworn personnel. In 11% of sheriffs' offices, employing 24% of all sworn personnel, in-field computers or terminals could be used to access calls for service information. This included two-fifths of those serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, about a third of those serving 1 million or more, and about a fourth of those serving 100,000 to 249,999 and 500,000 to 999,999 residents. In 9% of sheriffs' offices, employing 29% of all sworn personnel, in-field computers or terminals could be used to access criminal history information. This included about a third of offices serving a population of 250,000 or more. In 4% of sheriffs' offices, employing 6% of all sworn personnel, in-field officers had access to linked files for crime analysis. This included 17% of agencies serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents. From 1997 to 2000, the percentage of sworn personnel employed by a sheriffs' office providing at least some officers with access to information via in-field computers increased for each type of information included in the LEMAS survey. For motor vehicle records, the increase was from 40% to 45%; driving records, 38% to 42%; criminal history records, 29% to 33%; calls for service, 24% to 33%; linked files for crime analysis, 6% to 8%. In 2000, 80% of sheriffs' offices used paper reports as the primary method to transmit criminal incident reports from the field to the agency's central information system. Other methods included computers and data devices (14%), as well as telephones and wireless systems (6%). From 1997 to 2000, use of paper reports to transmit criminal incident reports declined from 87% to 80%. During the same period, use of computer and data devices increased from 7% to 14%, and use of telephone and wireless methods remained at 6%. By jurisdiction size, the use of paper reports declined in all population categories: 500,000 or more residents, 89% to 79%; 100,000 to 499,999, 85% to 73%; 25,000 to 99,999, 88% to 83%; under 25,000, 86% to 82%. Special arrest policies Sheriffs' offices often have special policies to guide officers' decision-making in specific situations, such as the handling of domestic assaults and the enforcement of protection orders. Eighty-nine percent of sheriffs' offices, employing 91% of all sworn personnel, had a special policy regarding arrest for domestic assault. Sixty-eight percent of offices, employing 71% of sworn personnel, had a mandatory arrest policy for domestic assault. Seventeen percent of offices, employing 17% of sworn personnel, had a pro-arrest policy for domestic assault. Eighty-four percent of sheriffs' offices had a special policy regarding arrest for violations of protective orders. These agencies employed 85% of all sworn personnel. Sixty-two percent of offices, employing 59% of all sworn personnel, had a mandatory arrest policy and 18%, employing 22% of sworn personnel, had a pro-arrest policy. Methodology The Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey collects data from a nationally representative sample of publicly funded State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. This report presents data from the 2000 survey describing local police departments in terms of their personnel, expenditures and pay, operations, community policing initiatives, equipment, computers and information systems, and written policies. The 2000 LEMAS survey questionnaire was mailed to 3,132 State and local law enforcement agencies. Sixty-seven agencies were determined to be out-of-scope for the survey because they had closed, outsourced their operations, or were operating on a part-time basis. The initial mailing of the questionnaire was conducted in July 2000. The pay period containing June 30, 2000, was used as the reference date for all questions, unless otherwise noted. Allowing for the exclusion of special jurisdiction agencies and Texas constables, 881 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. with 100 or more sworn personnel as of June 30, 1996 were included in the sample as self-representing (SR) agencies. This included 528 local police departments, 304 sheriffs' offices, and the 49 primary State law enforcement agencies. The self-representing (SR) agencies were supplemented by a nationally representative sample of agencies with fewer than 100 sworn personnel. These nonself-representing (NSR) agencies were chosen using a stratified random sample with cells based on the type of agency (local police or sheriff), size of population served, and number of sworn personnel. The 2,184 NSR agencies selected included 1,491 local police departments and 693 sheriffs' offices. A total of 2,985 agencies responded to the LEMAS questionnaire for a response rate of 97.4%. This included 866 SR agencies and 2,119 NSR agencies. The final database includes responses from 1,975 local police departments, 961 sheriffs' offices, and the 49 primary State law enforcement agencies. Among sheriffs' offices, 961 of 997 surveys were returned for a 96.4% response rate. The base weight for all SR agencies is 1. For NSR sheriffs' offices, it is 4. For NSR local police departments, the base weights are determined by number of sworn officers employed as reported in the 1996 BJS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies. For agencies with 0 to 6 sworn officers, the base weight is 15.55; for 7 to 13 officers, it is 9.65; for 14 to 23 officers, it is 7.09; for 24 to 39 officers, it is 4.95; for 40 to 62 officers, it is 3.38; and for 63 to 99 officers, the base weight is 2.14. The final weight associated with every agency, both SR and NSR, is the product of the base weight, a factor that adjusted for changes in the universe since 1996, and a factor that adjusted for any nonresponding agencies in each cell. Some responding agencies did not fully complete the LEMAS questionnaire. When an agency did not supply a response to an item, hot deck imputation, median value imputation, or ratio imputation was used. Hot deck imputation uses the value reported by a randomly selected agency from the same sample cell. Median value imputation uses the median value of an item reported by agencies in the same sample cell. Ratio imputation uses the median value of a ratio reported by agencies in the same sample cell. Because the data from agencies with fewer than 100 sworn personnel were collected from a sample, the results are subject to sampling error. Statements of comparison in this report reflect observed differences between values that are significant at 2 standard errors (the 95-percent confidence level) or higher. The survey data are also subject to response and processing errors. th 1/14/03