Section VI: law enforcement personnel

Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, Annual, 1999

As of October 31, 1999, an average of 2.5 full-time officers for every 1,000 inhabitants were employed by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Including full-time civilians, the overall law enforcement employee rate was 3.6 per 1,000 inhabitants according to 13,313 city, county, and state police agencies reporting in 1999. Collectively employing 637,551 officers and 261,567 civilians, these agencies provided law enforcement service to approximately 253 million U.S. inhabitants. A listing of reported full-time law enforcement officers and civilian employees by state is shown in Table 77.

Varying demographic traits as well as other jurisdictional characteristics greatly affect the requirements for law enforcement service from one locale to another. The needs of a community having a highly mobile or seasonal population, for example, may be very different from those of a city whose population is relatively stable. Similarly, a small community situated between two large cities may require a greater number of law enforcement personnel than a community of the same size which has no urban center nearby.

The functions of law enforcement are also significantly diverse throughout the Nation. In certain areas, sheriffs' responsibilities are limited almost exclusively to civil functions and/or the administration of the county jail facilities. Likewise, the responsibilities of state police and highway patrol agencies vary from one jurisdiction to another.

In view of these differing service requirements and responsibilities, care should be used when attempting any comparison of law enforcement employee rates. The rates presented in the following tables represent national averages; they should be viewed as guides or indicators, not as recommended or preferred police strengths. Adequate personnel for a specific locale can be determined only after careful study and analysis of the various conditions affecting service requirements in that jurisdiction.

The Nation's cities collectively reported an average of 3.2 law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants. The highest average, 4.4 employees per 1,000 population, was recorded in the Nation's largest cities (over 250,000 in population). Averages of 4.3 and 4.1 were recorded in suburban and rural counties, respectively. (See Table 74.)

Regionally, the law enforcement employee rate was 3.8 per 1,000 inhabitants in the Northeast, 3.6 in the South, 2.8 in the Midwest, and 2.5 in the West. (See Table 70.)

Sworn Personnel

Rates based solely on sworn law enforcement personnel (excluding civilians) showed the national average for all cities was 2.5 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. By city population grouping, the rates ranged from 1.8 for cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 to 3.2 in both cities with 250,000 or more inhabitants and cities with less than 10,000 inhabitants. Suburban county law enforcement agencies averaged 2.7 officers per 1,000 population, and agencies in rural counties averaged 2.6. (See Table 74.)

Geographically, the highest rates of sworn officers to population were recorded in the Northeastern States where there were 2.9 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. Those rates were followed by the Southern States with 2.8, the Midwestern States with 2.3, and the Western States with 1.8.

Males comprised 89 percent of all sworn employees nationally and in cities collectively. Ninety-two percent of sworn officers in rural counties and 88 percent in suburban counties were male. (See Table 74.)

Civilian Employees

Civilians made up 29 percent of the total United States law enforcement employee force in 1999. They represented 23 percent of the police employees in cities and 38 percent in both suburban and rural counties. Females comprised 64 percent of all civilian employees.

Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted

During 1999, there were 42 law enforcement officers feloniously slain in the line of duty, 19 fewer than in 1998. Accidents occurring in the performance of official duties claimed the lives of an additional 65 officers in 1999. The 1999 total for officers accidentally killed was 16 lower than the 1998 total of 81.

Extensive data on line-of-duty deaths and assaults on city, county, state, and federal officers can be found in the Uniform Crime Reports publication, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted.