CLETA2018_Supporting Statement - Part A 10192018

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – Part A

2018 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA)

Overview

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance to implement the 2018 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA). The 2018 census builds upon the previous three iterations of the CLETA data collections in 2013, 2006, and 2002. The proposed information collection includes all state and local law enforcement training academies offering basic recruit programs during calendar year 2018 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. BJS plans to field the 2018 CLETA from January through August 2019.

Through CLETA, BJS measures changes in the content of basic training curricula for new law enforcement recruits. By comparing changes in this content over time, BJS can describe how the nature of police training has changed. For example, at different times, training of police recruits has emphasized emerging types of crimes such as offenses against the elderly, domestic violence, cybercrime, and human trafficking. BJS also uses CLETA to describe characteristics of state and local law enforcement training academies in terms of which types of officer positions are trained; the number and types of training instructors used; academy funding sources and operating budgets; the resources that are a part of, or accessible through, the academies; the number of instruction hours provided for each training topic; the types of special training programs offered to basic recruits; the general training environment of the academy (stress/military style versus non-stress/academic style); the number of recruits starting and completing basic law enforcement training programs by race, Hispanic origin, and sex; and the reasons why recruits did not successfully complete their training program.

CLETA is part of BJS’s law enforcement statistics program. This program has traditionally emphasized surveys of organizations about the operations of the criminal justice system, consistent with BJS’s authorizing statute (see 34 USC § 10132(c)(4). Core to BJS’s effort in describing the operations of law enforcement agencies are the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA) (OMB Control Number 1121-0346) conducted every four years since 1992, and the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) Survey (OMB Control Number 1121-0240) conducted every 3-5 years since 1987.

Through CSLLEA, which has been conducted 7 times, BJS documents changes in the number of law enforcement agencies and the number of personnel employed by each agency. CSLLEA also provides the basis for distinguishing among various types of agencies by asking about the functions they perform (e.g., law enforcement, investigative, court security, process serving, and jail management).

Through LEMAS, which has been conducted 10 times, BJS captures more detailed information about the organizational structure and operations of law enforcement agencies, including personnel, budgets, salaries, operations, vehicles, equipment, information systems, policies, and use of technology. The survey has also covered a variety of special topics including community policing, gangs, and domestic preparedness.

BJS uses CLETA to complement the information obtained through CSLLEA and LEMAS. The CSLLEA and LEMAS collections target agencies that employ sworn personnel who provide law enforcement services nationwide. The CLETA focuses on the training that new recruits receive and the institutions that provide the training.

The 2018 CLETA will focus on the same topics as the 2013 collection: the number and type of law enforcement agencies served by academies, the academies’ accreditation status, oversight responsibilities related to field training, reasons for recruits failing to complete their training program, and subject areas covered in the training program curricula.

BJS will use a multi-mode approach in which respondents are directed to a web-based format as the primary mode of data collection. BJS uses a web-based collection to increase response rates, expedite the data collection process, simplify data verification, and facilitate report preparation. In 2002, 21% of academies responded through the web-based option, in 2006 this percentage increased to 34%, and in 2013 the percentage was 71%. Due to increased capabilities of the training academies and the project’s strong encouragement to respond using the web-based data collection tool, BJS expects that most academies will use this option for the 2018 CLETA. However, hard copy questionnaires will be available to academies as an alternative mode for response.

The design of the survey instrument is consistent with best practices on survey design including several design elements intended to increase the ease of reading and understanding the questionnaire. First, related questions are grouped together in topical sections. The design uses informative section headers to assist respondents in recognizing different sections of the survey. In addition, the survey instrument begins with the most salient items, as respondents can sometimes lose focus and attention towards the end of a questionnaire. Questions and instructions are presented in a consistent manner on each page to facilitate comprehension. Clear instructions regarding skip patterns assist the respondent in navigating the survey. Proper alignment and vertical spacing is also used to help respondents mentally categorize the information on the page and to aid in a neat, well-organized presentation.

Finally, the use of complex matrices has been minimized. When a matrix-type question cannot be avoided, it is presented simplistically and with straightforward directions to help ensure that respondents understand the question being asked and the available answer choices.

In 2015, BJS selected and funded RTI International (RTI) to act as the data collection agent for the Law Enforcement Core Statistics Program (LECS); a unified approach to administering the LEMAS, CSLLEA, and other law enforcement agency data collections. CLETA will be conducted under the LECS contract. RTI is a well-established federal contractor and has successfully conducted several BJS surveys including the recent 2016 LEMAS survey.

The 2018 CLETA is part of BJS’s continuing effort to provide statistical information related to law enforcement in general, and basic law enforcement training. The previous CLETA data collections, conducted in 2013, 2006, and 2002, established historical information on the operations of the Nation’s law enforcement training academies.¹ The 2018 CLETA will update and document any changes in basic law enforcement training programs that have occurred since 2013. The 2018 CLETA will help the Nation’s understanding of law enforcement training. The information will be useful for Federal, state and local governments to assess the areas in which additional resources for development, improvement, or expansion of law enforcement training capabilities may be necessary.

A. Justification

1. Necessity of Information Collection

Under Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is directed to collect and analyze statistical information concerning the operation of the criminal justice system at the federal, state, and local levels. State and local law enforcement agencies are the primary point of entry into the criminal justice system. Law enforcement agencies play a crucial gate-keeping function in receiving reports of offenses, investigating crimes, and making arrests.

As of 2016, general purpose state and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. employed about 701,200 full-time sworn personnel. Each of these officers was required to undergo extensive training prior to obtaining certification as a law enforcement officer. For example, based on the preliminary data from the 2016 LEMAS survey, local police officers are estimated to complete an average of 620 hours of academy training prior to employment. The providers of basic law enforcement training are the approximately 700 state and local law enforcement training academies located throughout the United States.

Beyond critical interpersonal skills, officers must be trained extensively in federal and state law, evidence handling, prisoner transport, handcuffing, defensive tactics, firearms, driving, and many other areas depending on the responsibilities of the employing agency. No matter what the responsibilities and priorities of a law enforcement agency may be, the benefits of officer training are clear.

The 2018 CLETA is the only collection that provides national data on the personnel, resources, curricula, trainees, policies, and practices of the academies that train all state and local law enforcement officers. The 2018 CLETA data are necessary to conduct comparisons with prior iterations to describe trends over time in the content of the curricula that training academies deliver to law enforcement recruits. With this type of comparison over time, changes in training curricula and methods can be measured which provide a basis for assessing whether the training received by new recruits addresses the complex set of issues that law enforcement officers currently face on the job.

2. Needs and Uses

Department of Justice Needs and Uses

Through the type of trend analyses described above, BJS will use CLETA data to help understand the extent to which the training that law enforcement personnel receive addresses the job responsibilities and circumstances they face. It is expected that officers will enforce traffic laws, respond to emergencies, resolve disturbances, provide community services, respond to citizen complaints, and investigate, arrest, and process criminal cases as part of their duties. It is also expected that they do this with integrity and professionalism while utilizing proficient problem-solving skills. The training that officers receive must address the operational aspects of the job such as those related to medical emergency response, vehicle operations, computer use, patrol techniques, report writing, investigative processes, weapons use, and knowledge of the law. In addition, the training must address how officers interact with the community they serve, including dealing with special populations, mediation and conflict management, cultural diversity, and victim response. The 2018 CLETA will describe the types of training that law enforcement officers are receiving in states and jurisdictions across the country.

As a basis for understanding the capacities of law enforcement training to deliver curricula that address the variety of needs of law enforcement recruits, BJS will use CLETA data to describe the variations in experience, education, and certification requirements for the trainers and instructors in state and local law enforcement training academies. The 2018 CLETA will also provide detailed information on academy facilities and resources. This will facilitate the assessment of needed improvements and the development of future Department of Justice funding programs to provide assistance where needed.

The 2018 CLETA will provide critical information on the number and characteristics of recruits entering basic law enforcement training programs and their completion rates. These data can be used to describe the characteristics of academies with low completion rates by sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Data also will be collected on the primary reason for non-completion by sex which may help identify obstacles to obtaining greater representation among sworn personnel employed by state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide. The data can also help identify academy trends associated with recruitment and retention issues that may be occurring in law enforcement agencies. Data on reasons for failure could provide valuable assistance to agencies striving to boost completion rates without making sacrifices in the quality of officers on the street.

BJS will use the data gathered through the administration of the 2018 CLETA to disseminate information about law enforcement to the public. Past reports using the CLETA include (https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=280):

• State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2013

• State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2006

• State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2002

Uses of the CLETA data by others

The information generated from CLETA surveys is highly relevant to the work of law enforcement practitioners, the professional research community, and professional law enforcement organizations as it provides authoritative statistics on law enforcement training. CLETA data are used for many purposes ranging from general summary statistics and national averages describing training academies, to more detailed examinations of specialized training related to topics such use of force, domestic preparedness, and community policing. The 2018 CLETA will provide training information related to all these topics.

Officials from state Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) agencies, and officials from the training academies themselves, have stated they are frequent users of the information obtained from CLETA surveys. The BJS summary report based on the 2018 CLETA will allow these users to make benchmark comparisons using characteristics such as academy type or size.

The CLETA data is made available to the public at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan (NACJD) where the data has been downloaded over 950 times.² Some example publications citing CLETA data include:

• Brandl, Steven G. and Meghan S. Stronshine. 2012. “The Physical Hazards of Police Work Revisited.” Police Quarterly 15: 262-282.

• Hickman, Matthew J., Jennifer Fricas, Kevin J. Strom, and Mark W. Pope. 2011. “Mapping Police Stress.” Police Quarterly 14:227-250.

• Morrison, Gregory B., and Timothy K. Garner. 2011. “Latitude in Deadly Force Training: Progress or Problem?” Police Practice and Research, 12:341-361.

• Thach, Samedi, Thomas, Robynn. Law Enforcement Officer's Readiness to Work with People Who Are Mentally Impaired. Thesis, 2013.

• Urbina, Martin Guevara, and Sofia Espinoza Alvarez. 2015. Latino Police Officers in the United States: An Examination of Emerging Trends and Issues. Charles C. Thomas Publications, Ltd.

2018 CLETA Survey Content

In addition to general information describing each academy, the proposed 2018 CLETA will also collect detailed information on personnel, resources, trainees, core curriculum, and other training issues addressed by academy programs. The content of the 2018 CLETA used the 2013 instrument as a starting point and some modifications were made based on a methodological review of the survey instructions, question wording, and hard copy format. As has been done after previous CLETA data collections, BJS will evaluate all comments and suggestions for improvement provided by respondents for possible incorporation into the next CLETA survey.

As a result of the methodological review, reference year was added and the wording changed to past tense for most items. BJS also modified the format and design of several survey items to improve measurement. Examples include changing “Mark all that apply” items to a yes or no response format, elimination of response options that were very rarely used, consistent use of underlining to emphasize key terms, and improvement or addition of instructions. In addition to format and design changes, several items were removed covering topics such as sources of training funds or equipment, satellite training locations, ways training curriculum is developed, training delivery methods, types of tests required, and specialized training for types of patrol. The main reasons for the removal of these items relates to utility and redundancy as some items did not produce meaningful data and others overlapped with other items. A summary of items included in 2013 CLETA and removed for the 2018 CLETA follows:

1. A question about satellite training locations and the type of training offered at those locations (Questions 19, 19a, and 19b on the 2013 survey) was removed because BJS has no plans to report or use information collected about satellite training locations.

2. A question about how many recruits were “recycled” through one or more previous training segments, and how many of them completed training in those years (Question 24b) was removed because BJS has no plans to report or use the information.

3. A question about training delivery methods (lecture, adult learning, scenario based, and other) (Question 32) was removed because BJS has no plans to report or use the information.

4. A question about the types of tests (scenario-based, written, oral, skills/proficiency, physical fitness, state competency, and other) and how many of those tests were required (Question 33) was removed because BJS has no plans to report or use the information.

5. A question about training on areas related to terrorism and responding to terrorist incidents (Question 34) was removed because it was duplicative of a broader item regarding the topic of terrorism. The 2018 CLETA will ask if terrorism is part of the basic training program and, if so, the number of hours of training instruction required on the topic (Questions 32F6 on the 2018 CLETA).

6. A question about community policing topic areas (Question 40) was removed and replaced with questions about how many hours of training on community policing topics is provided (Question 32D1-6 on the 2018 CLETA).

7. A follow up item asking if training or orientation for families of recruits occurred at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the academy was removed because it failed to provide meaningful data (Question 41a on the 2013 CLETA). The 2018 CLETA will continue to ask if training is provided for the families and if recruits are allowed to be present (Questions 14 and 15 on the 2018 CLETA).

8. Two questions—one about specialized training types of patrol (Question 42 and one about other topics covered in specialized training (Question 43) were removed because the focus of the 2018 survey is BASIC training.

The proposed 2018 CLETA instrument (CJ-52; Attachment 1) includes 37 items (19 of which BJS has identified as critical items and are highlighted in the questionnaire) that fall into five sections. A summary of the questionnaire follows:

General Academy Information (Q1-Q15)

This section collects information on who operates the academies and the types of officer positions for which they train recruits. Among others uses, this information supports various BJS sampling frames of more specialized surveys targeting certain types of academies. The section includes other general academy information such as accreditation and certification, college credit awarded, degree granting, and number and type of law enforcement agencies served. It includes general information about the length of basic training, field training, and training or orientation for families of recruits. Items in this section allow for comparisons by type of academy, certification status, and other academy characteristics.

Basic Training Personnel (Q16-Q22)

This section collects information on the number of full-time and part-time trainers and instructors by type, as well as the minimum education and number of years of law enforcement experience required, if any, for full-time personnel. Academies are asked if they share their instructors or trainers with other academies. The section ends with items about evaluation and training of the academy’s trainers or instructors. Items in this section allow for examination of trends in the staffing levels and the professionalization of training at law enforcement academies.

Academy Resources (Q23-Q25)

This section collects information on the educational, weapon and self-defense, physical fitness, driving-related, and residential physical resources of training academies. The total operating budget and budget for equipment is collected. These items allow the identification of funding needs that can be targeted by assistance programs.

Basic Academy Trainees (Q26-Q30)

This section collects information on completion rates by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, and on the primary reason for non-completion, by sex, for recruits in basic training programs. This allows for the examination of academy characteristics such as number and type of instructors, financial resources, facilities, curricula, and training environment that may be related to completion rates. Finally, the completion and primary reason for non-completion rates of recruits can be analyzed in relation to academy characteristics to identify factors that may impede progress in increasing the number of women and minorities employed by law enforcement agencies.

Basic Core Curriculum (Q31-Q37)

This section collects information on the training curricula at academies including topics covered, the amount of time spent on each topic, and the methods of training delivery. These data can be examined in terms of how law enforcement training is changing over time to reflect the changing nature of policing. The data can help describe the differences and similarities between training programs and provide information on the type of training environment used. These data can be examined in conjunction with the completion rates for recruits to better understand the relationship between curriculum and completion.

3. Use of Information Technology

The 2018 CLETA instrument has been designed for online data collection. BJS will be able to export survey data and paradata in various data formats. The software allows RTI to email respondents explaining the CLETA program and containing a hyperlink to the questionnaire. Respondents can access the survey website using a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) and password. Attachment 2 shows screen-shots from the 2018 CLETA questionnaire and page layouts that web respondents will encounter as they complete the survey. Additionally, the software allows for real-time online tracking of respondents allowing BJS to track the completion of each academy’s responses. The tracking utility allows BJS to begin data quality review soon after the academy completes the questionnaire and removes the academy from future contact attempts.

In 2013 CLETA, 71% of the respondents used the web. However, academies may have several reasons for not responding via the internet. For example, some might not have reliable internet access and others might find it difficult to complete because of the complexity of the requested data or the need to involve multiple people in preparing the response. Academies that require a hard copy of the survey will have multiple methods of receiving paper versions of the instrument. A hard copy questionnaire will be mailed in the third reminder as part of the respondent contact strategy. Academies will be able to download a PDF version of the survey from the survey site that can be printed or e-mailed to academy staff. Academies can then complete the survey in hard copy and transcribe it to the online survey instrument, or scan and return the completed form via mail or e-mail.

The resulting dataset and supporting documentation will be made available without charge at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and at Data.gov. Access to the data allows analysts to identify specific responses of individual academies and to conduct statistical analyses about law enforcement training academies. The BJS-produced findings from the 2018 CLETA will be available to the public in electronic format on the BJS website.

3. Efforts to Identify Duplication

Based on knowledge of the Federal statistical system, in general, and law enforcement surveys in particular, BJS has determined that the 2018 CLETA does not include measures found in other surveys conducted by any other Federal agencies. The only survey identified that includes any similar types of data collection items is a survey conducted by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST). This survey differs from CLETA in several important ways. It is conducted with each state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) agency, resulting in aggregate state-level data. It does not collect data at the academy level, which is the focus of this BJS survey. BJS has been careful to avoid any duplication with the IADLEST survey, and IADLEST fully supports the BJS survey effort.

In the 2013 CLETA, BJS included questions related to community policing programs developed through a collaboration with the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) office of the U.S. Department of Justice. These questions remain in the 2018 questionnaire and are designed to avoid the collection of information already available, or soon to be available, from surveys or other data collections conducted by the COPS office.

3. Efforts to Minimize Burden

The proposed 2018 CLETA instrument was designed to minimize response burden in two ways. First, based on feedback received from the law enforcement and research communities through cognitive interviews, the new instrument features questions that have been refined to increase clarity and improve response options where needed. Second, the 2018 CLETA was modified with web-based data collection in mind and includes built-in skip patterns, data checks, and with best-practice web layouts including matrices when appropriate.

Based on prior administrations, BJS expects many respondents to complete the survey online. Web-based system functions will be in place to ease the burden of survey completion. RTI utilizes an intelligent log-in program for data collection, which stores academy information and responses and allows for multi-session completion of the survey instrument. Since many academies, particularly the larger ones, will need to seek multiple information sources within their organizations to answer different sections, this will reduce burden by facilitating data entry from different sources. It will also reduce burden by allowing respondents to stop and restart pending confirmation of information from others in the academy.

RTI will provide assistance by phone and email. Staff will be available during regular business hours (Eastern Time). When staff are not available, calls will be routed to voicemail. All inquiries will be responded to within 24 hours. A dedicated CLETA help email address will be provided with all written materials and emails. Phone numbers and email addresses for the survey’s principal investigator will be provided to respondents to ensure timely communications.

3. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection

Based in part on recommendations from the National Research Council (Groves and Cork, 2011) and the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (Melekian, 2011), BJS has determined that it is necessary to improve the timeliness of data flowing from its law enforcement data collections. For CLETA, the periodicity of the collection is 5 years. The proposed data collection cycle should result in a publication released in 2020 discussing data covering training academies in 2018, continuing reduction in the gap between reference date and publication release date.

The last CLETA described the programs, facilities, staff, clients, and budgets of training academies in 2013. Understanding changes since that time would allow policymakers and researchers to understand the degree to which academies continue to feel budget crunches, and, if so, how they respond. One outcome could be a decline in the number of recruits being hired by law enforcement agencies. Another outcome may be a reduction in the amount of training given to recruits, operationalized by either removing some aspects of training from the normal curriculum or reducing the number of hours spent on different topics.

Another factor possibly affecting the law enforcement training is change in the priorities of law enforcement agencies. In recent years, as crime has declined, agencies have increased their attention on new priority areas (e.g., terrorism, human trafficking, gun crimes, predictive policing, and police-public interactions). The 2018 CLETA will help measure the degree to which these areas have been the focus of increased attention in basic training programs.

3. Special Circumstances

No special circumstances have been identified for this project.

3. Adherence to 5 CFR 1320.8(d) and Outside Consultations

The research under this clearance is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.8. The 60-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 83, Number 141, page 34881 on Monday, July 23, 2018 (Attachment 3). The 30-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 83, Number 203, pages 53109-53110, on Friday, October 19, 2018 (Attachment 4). In response to the 60-day notice, we received one communication containing general comments on the importance of the collection.

RTI staff members providing feedback included the following staff:

Travis Taniguchi, PhD

Research Criminologist

RTI International, Policing Research Program

[email protected]

919.428.8501

Timothy Smith, MA

Director, Security and Resilience Program

RTI International, Survey Research Division

[email protected]

919.316.3988

Ashley Griggs, MS

Survey Methodologist

RTI International, Survey Research Division

[email protected]

919.541.8050

Alicia Frasier, MPH

Senior Survey Director

RTI International, Survey Research Division

[email protected]

312.759.5214

3. Paying Respondents

Neither BJS nor RTI will provide any payment or gift of any type to respondents. Respondents will participate on a voluntary basis.

3. Assurance of Confidentiality

According to 34 U.S.C. § 10134, the information gathered in this data collection shall be used only for statistical or research purposes, and shall be gathered in a manner that precludes their use for law enforcement or any purpose relating to a private person or public agency other than statistical or research purposes. The data collected through the CLETA represent institutional characteristics of publicly-administered law enforcement training academies. Information collected from these organizations is considered within the public domain. The fact that participation in this survey is voluntary and that information about individual agency responses will be available to the public is included on the first page of the survey instrument. However, BJS will not release the names, phone numbers or email of the actual persons responsible for completing the 2018 CLETA.

3. Justification for Sensitive Questions

There are no questions of a sensitive nature in the proposed 2018 CLETA.

3. Estimate of Respondent Burden

BJS has estimated the respondent burden for the proposed 2018 CLETA Survey at 1,995 hours (Table 1). The 2018 CLETA burden estimate was calculated using an estimated 2 hours per respondent for each of the 950 training academies nationwide for 1,900 burden hours. In addition, BJS plans to conduct data quality follow-up with approximately 570 academies at 10 minutes per call, totaling 95 burden hours.

The 2-hour estimate is based on feedback received during the administration of the 2013 CLETA instrument, given the differences between the two data collection instruments were minimal and should not contribute in increased time necessary to complete the questionnaire.

Table 1: Estimated Burden Hours for 2018 CLETA

Collection	Sample Size	Estimated Burden per Respondent	Total Burden Hours
All Academies	950	2 hours	1,900
Data Quality Follow-up	570	10 minutes	95
			1,995

Based on results from the 2013 CLETA, it is expected that 95% of the approximately 950 law enforcement training academies eligible for the 2018 CLETA data collection will respond to the survey.

3. Estimate of Respondent’s Cost Burden

There are no anticipated costs to respondents beyond the employee time expended during completion of the survey instrument and addressed in the above section.

BJS anticipates that the full-time equivalent of one person per surveyed academy will complete the data collection instrument. Assuming a pay rate approximately equivalent to the GS-12 / 01 level ($73,375 per year), the estimated agency cost of employee time would be $35.28 per hour. Approximately 950 agencies will be asked to complete the 2018 CLETA. Based on the estimated time burden per response and employee pay rate, the respondent employee time cost burden to complete the survey is estimated at $67,032 ($35.28 x 1,900). BJS anticipates contacting 570 agencies for data quality follow-up for an additional time cost burden of $3,352. The total cost burden to respondents associated with this clearance request is $70,384.

3. Costs to Federal Government

The total expected cost to the Federal Government for this data collection is $442,504 to be borne entirely by the BJS. This work consists of planning, developing the questionnaire, preparation of materials, collecting the data, evaluating the results, and generating the PDF and web-based query reports. A BJS GS-Level 14 statistician will be responsible for overseeing the work on this project. The budget for this project is shown in table 2.

Table 2. Estimated Costs for the 2018 CLETA Survey
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Staff salaries
2019 Fiscal Year
GS-12 Statistician (20%)		$22,000
GS-14 Senior Statistician (5%)		$6,000
GS-13 Editor (10%)		$10,000
Other Editorial Staff		$5,000
Senior BJS Management		$3,000
Subtotal salaries		$46,000
Fringe benefits (28% of salaries)		$12,880
Subtotal: Salary & fringe		$58,880
Other administrative costs of salary & fringe (15%)		$8,832
Subtotal: BJS costs		$67,712
Data Collection Agent (RTI International)
Personnel		$139,650
Fringe Benefits		$54,463
Travel		$0
Equipment		$0
Supplies		$0
Consultants/Contracts		$3,861
Other		$17,518
Total Direct Costs		$215,492
Total Indirect		$159,300
Subtotal Data Collection Agent		$374,792
Total estimated costs		$442,504

3. Reason for Change in Burden

The CLETA was last administered in 2013 with a total estimated burden of 1,470 hours. The total estimated time burden of the 2018 CLETA has increased 525 hours to an estimated 1,995 hours. The increase in burden is due to an adjustment to the estimate of the number of academies from 700 to 950, increasing the burden by 500 hours. The adjustment to the estimate of the number of academies also increases the number of academies selected for data quality follow up from 420 to 570, adding 25 more hours to the total burden estimate.

3. Project Schedule

Pending OMB approval, the 2018 CLETA data collection is scheduled to begin in January 2019 (see Attachments 1 and 2 for paper and web versions of the survey instrument) and to end no later than August 2019.

Once all data are collected, and cleaning and verification are completed, final analytical work will begin with plans to issue a BJS summary report “State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018”, in early 2020. This report will provide readers with general information on the characteristics of state and local law enforcement training academies in terms of their trainers and instructors, their facilities and resources, their core curricula, their trainees, and special training programs. While this program anticipates a final response rate of 95%, BJS is prepared to conduct and report national estimates based on response rates as low as 85%, if that is necessary to meet the deadline for the release of published findings by March 2020.BJS will conduct a non-response bias study if the final response rate is less than 80%. The final summary report will be provided to the public on the BJS web site.

The dataset, and supporting documentation, will be made available for download without charge at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and at Data.gov within 3 months of the publication of the report. Access to these data permits analysts to identify the specific responses of individual training academies and to conduct statistical analyses.

3. Display of Expiration Date

The expiration date will be shown on the survey form.

3. Exception to the Certificate Statement

BJS is not requesting an exception to the certification of this information collection.

1 The final reports summarizing these data collections, State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2002 (http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/slleta06.pdf), State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2006 (http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/slleta06.pdf), and State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2013 (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/slleta13.pdf) may be found on the BJS website.

2 See https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/27262/datadocumentation

14