How many cops are there in the usa

It is so neglected that even BJS statisticians overlooked it in their own report on sources of police officer data. The survey uses a large sample of state and local agencies to estimate nationwide trends in demographics and policies for US police departments.

It stretches from to , and it is typically conducted every few years. The upshot of that is that we can be pretty confident in the LEMAS estimates, too — which is good, because that is the only recent, methodologically consistent nationwide estimate for police officers.

Fortunately, sheriffs, local, and state police are included in every LEMAS report unlike special police or Texas constables, which are inconsistently reported. In , according to the BJS, there were about , full-time sworn officers in general purpose categories.

They either have a specialized purpose like state bureaus of investigation, which increasingly handle investigations seen as too difficult or important for smaller local agencies or a special jurisdiction like university, school, or park police.

They still have general arrest powers, like any other sworn officer, but they have a narrower focus or range. In , there were about 57, full-time sworn officers in special police agencies. One notable trend inside the smaller categories: state bureaus of investigation increased five-fold, from fewer than full-time officers in to over 3, in There was no similar growth in city or county special investigative agencies. The feds seem to have a remote connection to the kinds of daily, local crimes that concern ordinary citizens.

Californians share national concerns about community-police relationships. Following a year of mass protests against racial injustice and police brutality, community-police interactions continue to be a focus of national attention, and calls to reexamine police funding and practices have become common. Law enforcement funding mainly comes from local sources.

Police funding is typically the largest spending area for cities, though substantial variation across communities exists. City and county police protection is funded by property, business, and sales taxes; federal and state grants; local fees and fines; and voter-approved increases in general and special sales taxes. Local budget cuts may affect future staffing levels. City and county budgets will most likely be significantly affected by the current recession, which could either slow new hiring or lead to cuts in staffing.

In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Police officers shown in red than for the overall labor force shown in gray. The number of people employed as Police officers has been growing at a rate of 2. This graphic shows the share of Police officers employed by various industries. Demographic information on Police officers in the US. The average age of male Police officers in the workforce is This chart shows the gender breakdown of Police officers.

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