Matthew J. Hickman, Ph.D., Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D.

April 1, 2006    NCJ 210118

Presents data collected from a representative sample of local police departments nationwide on a variety of agency characteristics based on the 2003 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. National estimates for local police departments are provided for such issues as staff and financial resources, technologies and equipment in use, and policies and practices of the agencies on a wide array of law enforcement and administrative concerns.

Highlights include the following:

• In 2003 starting salaries for local police officers ranged from an average of about $23,400 in the smallest jurisdictions to about $37,700 in the largest.
• From 1990 to 2003 the percentage of local police departments using infield computers increased from 5% to 56%.
• Fourteen percent of local police departments, employing 44% of all officers, maintained or created a written community policing plan during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003.

Part of the Local Police Departments Series

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