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Home • Crime in the U.S. • 2012 • Crime in the U.S. 2012 • Tables • 70TableDataDecOverviewPDFs

Table 70

Full-time Law Enforcement Employees1

by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group

Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2012

Region/geographic division Total
(10,826
cities;
population
193,021,745) 		Group I
(75 cities,
250,000 and
over;
population
56,040,960)		 Group II
(196 cities,
100,000 to
249,999;
population
29,282,253)		 Group III
(426 cities,
50,000 to
99,999;
population
29,406,808)		 Group IV
(798 cities,
25,000 to
49,999;
population
27,574,550)		 Group V
(1,743 cities,
10,000 to
24,999;
population
27,664,124)		 Group VI
(7,588 cities,
under 10,000;
population
23,053,050)		 Total
city
agencies		 2012
estimated
city
population		 County2
(3,180
agencies;
population
91,998,321)		 Total city
and county
agencies		 2012
estimated
total agency
population		 Suburban Areas3
(7,503 agencies;
population
124,099,819)
TOTAL Number of employees 552,162 194,995 66,376 62,109 59,853 63,249 105,580 10,826 193,021,745 404,160 14,006 285,020,066 459,397
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.9 3.5 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.3 4.6 4.4 3.7
NORTHEAST Number of employees 145,007 63,475 8,368 14,802 17,835 18,719 21,808 2,586 44,679,102
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.2 5.5 2.9 2.3 2.2 2.1 3.3
NEW ENGLAND Number of employees 33,529 2,700 4,352 5,919 6,764 7,177 6,617 799 12,948,756
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 4.3 2.9 2.3 2.2 2.2 3.6
MIDDLE ATLANTIC Number of employees 111,478 60,775 4,016 8,883 11,071 11,542 15,191 1,787 31,730,346
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.5 5.6 2.9 2.4 2.2 2.0 3.2
MIDWEST Number of employees 106,774 33,859 8,240 13,023 13,801 16,172 21,679 2,893 41,779,283
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 3.6 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.1 3.4
EAST NORTH CENTRAL Number of employees 74,952 26,171 5,545 9,040 10,471 10,829 12,896 1,710 28,803,901
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 3.8 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.0 3.3
WEST NORTH CENTRAL Number of employees 31,822 7,688 2,695 3,983 3,330 5,343 8,783 1,183 12,975,382
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.5 3.0 2.1 1.7 1.9 2.1 3.5
SOUTH Number of employees 186,573 49,238 29,379 19,164 19,112 21,592 48,088 3,918 55,937,475
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.3 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.9 6.3
SOUTH ATLANTIC Number of employees 89,560 21,361 14,946 10,742 9,110 10,041 23,360 1,710 23,582,760
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.8 4.1 3.0 2.8 2.9 3.1 7.6
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of employees 31,882 7,190 4,758 2,227 3,880 4,638 9,189 872 9,318,340
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.4 2.9 3.4 2.9 2.7 3.1 5.3
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of employees 65,131 20,687 9,675 6,195 6,122 6,913 15,539 1,336 23,036,375
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.6 5.6
WEST Number of employees 113,808 48,423 20,389 15,120 9,105 6,766 14,005 1,429 50,625,885
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.2 2.5 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.0 5.7
MOUNTAIN Number of employees 42,344 16,500 7,313 4,619 3,821 2,570 7,521 657 16,317,532
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 2.7 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.4 6.1
PACIFIC Number of employees 71,464 31,923 13,076 10,501 5,284 4,196 6,484 772 34,308,353
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.1 2.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.9 5.4
  • 1 Full-time law enforcement employees include civilians.
  • 2 The designation county is a combination of both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.
  • 3 Suburban areas include law enforcement agencies in cities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and county law enforcement agencies that are within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (see Data Declaration). Suburban areas exclude all metropolitan agencies associated with a principal city. The agencies associated with suburban areas also appear in other groups within this table.

Data Declaration

Provides the methodology used in constructing this table and other pertinent information about this table.

Overview

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Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group, Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2012

  • In 2012, law enforcement agencies in U.S. cities reported an average of 2.9 full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants, including both sworn officers and civilians.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement employees was highest in cities in the South with 3.3 per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • In cities in the Northeast, the rate of full-time law enforcement employees was 3.2 per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement employees in cities in the Midwest was 2.6 per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement employees in cities in the West was 2.2 per 1,000 inhabitants.