BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
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Home  | Data Collection Detail

Data Collection: Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Status: Active
Frequency: Every four years since 1992
Latest data available: 2008

Provides data on all state and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide. Data collected include the number of sworn and civilian personnel by state and type of agency, and functions performed by each agency.

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Data Experts

  • Andrea Burch, Statistician, BJS
  • Alexia Cooper, Statistician, BJS
  • Shelley Hyland, Statistician, BJS
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    Collection Period

    1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008

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    Questionnaires

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
    2014 PDF (164K) | 2008 Long (94K) | 2008 Short (307K) | 2000 PDF (43K)
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    Documentation

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    Methodology

    The 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA) data collection form was mailed to more than 20,000 agencies potentially operating nationwide. This master list was created by compiling information from—

    • the 2004 CSLLEA
    • lists provided by Peace Officer Standards and Training offices and other state agencies
    • a FBI list of agencies requesting new identifiers since the 2004 CSLLEA.

    Responses were received through website, fax, and mail options. Responding agencies were screened for eligibility to be included in the final CSLLEA database. Agencies were excluded if any of the following conditions existed on the CSLLEA reference date of September 30, 2008.

    • The agency employed only part-time officers and their total combined hours averaged less than 35 hours per week.
    • The agency was closed, represented a duplicate listing, or was otherwise an invalid entry.
    • The agency contracted or outsourced to another agency for performance of all services.
    • The agency did not employ personnel with general arrest powers.
    • The agency did not operate with funds from a state, local, special district, or tribal government.
    • All sworn officers volunteered their time on an unpaid basis.

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    Publications & Products

    The following publications and products were generated by BJS using data from this collection.

    National Sources of Law Enforcement Employment Data This report describes and compares three law enforcement employment data sources: 1) the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, 2) the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll (ASPEP), and 3) the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA).
      PDF (1.8M) | ASCII file (48K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 23K)


    Hiring and Retention of State and Local Law Enforcement Officers, 2008 - Statistical Tables Presents the results of a special survey administered to a nationally representative sample of agencies that participated in the 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
      PDF (995K) | ASCII file (36K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 89K)
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008 Presents the results of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, which is conducted every four years and covers approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.
      PDF (836K) | ASCII file (36K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 23K)
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2004 Reports the results of a census, conducted every four years, of all State and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide.
      Press Release | PDF (337K) | ASCII file (34K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 60K) | To order paper version
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2000 Reports on a recurring census conducted for the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program that provides the number of employees of State and local law enforcement agencies.
      PDF (276K) | ASCII file (28K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 32K) | Codebooks and Datasets | To order paper version
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1996 "The number of State and local law enforcement officers assigned to patrol and response duties grew by 19 percent in four years"
      Press Release | More information about this release
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1996 Based on a census of the Nation's State and local law enforcement agencies, this report presents data on the number of sworn and civilian employees, both full-time and part-time, in each agency as of June 1996.
      Press Release | PDF (114K) | ASCII file (39K) | 17 spreadsheets of the tables and graphics in the report (Zip format 53K) | Codebooks and Datasets
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Law Enforcement Agencies and Employees State and local law enforcement agencies and employees, by State and type of agency, 1996.
      Spreadsheet (9K)


    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies "Census: State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies"
      Press Release | More information about this release
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

    Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1992 This BJS Bulletin reports on a census conducted for the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics program that provides the number of employees of the Nation's State and local law enforcement agencies.
      Press Release
    Part of the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Series

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    Related Topics

  • Law Enforcement
  • Law Enforcement | Local Police
  • Law Enforcement | Sheriffs' Offices
  • Law Enforcement | State Law Enforcement
  • Law Enforcement | Tribal Law Enforcement
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