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Home • Crime in the U.S. • 2012 • Crime in the U.S. 2012 • Tables • 71TableDataDecOverviewPDFs

Table 71

Full-time Law Enforcement Officers

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		 County1
(3,180
agencies;
population
91,998,321)		 Total city
and county
agencies		 2012
estimated
total agency
population		 Suburban Areas2
(7,503 agencies;
population
124,099,819)
TOTAL Number of officers 429,925 150,037 50,669 48,218 47,809 51,253 81,939 10,826 193,021,745 240,514 14,006 285,020,066 303,642
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.2 2.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.9 3.6 2.6 2.4
NORTHEAST Number of officers 115,267 46,716 7,175 12,347 14,997 15,887 18,145 2,586 44,679,102
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 4.0 2.5 1.9 1.8 1.7 2.7
NEW ENGLAND Number of officers 27,745 2,130 3,772 5,048 5,676 5,832 5,287 799 12,948,756
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.1 3.4 2.6 1.9 1.8 1.8 2.9
MIDDLE ATLANTIC Number of officers 87,522 44,586 3,403 7,299 9,321 10,055 12,858 1,787 31,730,346
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.8 4.1 2.5 1.9 1.9 1.7 2.7
MIDWEST Number of officers 88,523 29,113 6,767 10,585 11,099 13,228 17,731 2,893 41,779,283
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.1 3.1 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.7 2.8
EAST NORTH CENTRAL Number of officers 63,142 23,314 4,594 7,389 8,448 8,910 10,487 1,710 28,803,901
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.2 3.4 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 2.7
WEST NORTH CENTRAL Number of officers 25,381 5,799 2,173 3,196 2,651 4,318 7,244 1,183 12,975,382
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.0 2.3 1.7 1.4 1.5 1.7 2.9
SOUTH Number of officers 143,964 38,605 22,428 14,670 15,049 17,018 36,194 3,918 55,937,475
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.3 4.8
SOUTH ATLANTIC Number of officers 69,381 16,351 11,463 8,279 7,255 8,104 17,929 1,710 23,582,760
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.9 3.1 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.5 5.8
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of officers 25,359 6,012 3,635 1,757 3,132 3,642 7,181 872 9,318,340
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.3 2.2 2.4 4.1
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of officers 49,224 16,242 7,330 4,634 4,662 5,272 11,084 1,336 23,036,375
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.9 2.0 4.0
WEST Number of officers 82,171 35,603 14,299 10,616 6,664 5,120 9,869 1,429 50,625,885
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 1.6 1.9 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 4.0
MOUNTAIN Number of officers 29,817 11,281 5,219 3,212 2,862 1,944 5,299 657 16,317,532
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.8 4.3
PACIFIC Number of officers 52,354 24,322 9,080 7,404 3,802 3,176 4,570 772 34,308,353
Average number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants 1.5 1.9 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.4 3.8
  • 1 The designation county is a combination of both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.
  • 2 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 Officers, by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group, Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2012

  • In the nation’s cities in 2012, the average number of full-time law enforcement officers was 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
  • Law enforcement agencies in the Northeast and in the South each reported a rate of 2.6  full-time law enforcement officers per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • In cities in the Midwest, the rate of full-time law enforcement officers per 1,000 residents was 2.1.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement officers per 1,000 inhabitants was 1.6 in cities in the West.