2024 LEMAS Part A 9 27 24

2024 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey

OMB Control Number 1121-0240

OMB Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR 2024 LAW ENFORCEMENT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE STATISTICS SURVEY

1. JUSTIFICATION

Overview

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) requests clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the 2024 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. Conducted periodically since 1987, the LEMAS collects data from over 3,000 general-purpose, county, and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs), including all those that employ 100 or more full-time sworn officers and a nationally representative sample of smaller agencies. Data are obtained on agency responsibilities, operating expenditures, job functions of sworn and civilian employees, officer salaries and special pay, demographic characteristics of officers, weapons policies, education and training requirements, computers and information systems, special units, and community policing activities.

The LEMAS substantive domains currently include: the size, staffing, and specialization of agencies; personnel attributes including sex and race/ethnicity of sworn employees; hiring and training practices; the extent to which agencies adhere to core principles of community policing; agency authorized and provided equipment; the adoption of technology; and agency policies and procedures. Starting with the 2020 LEMAS, the LEMAS went from one survey to two surveys: one for local, county, and primary state police and one for sheriffs’ offices. The questions are almost identical across the two surveys with some additional questions on the sheriff’s questionnaire related to jails and jurisdiction and differences in how sworn staff are referred to throughout the survey (i.e., officer vs deputy). The 2020 LEMAS surveys were produced with extensive expert panel feedback and cognitive testing. Given the success of the 2020 LEMAS instruments and desire to measure trends based on the improved questions, BJS proposes minimal changes for the 2024 LEMAS instruments (Attachments A and B).

In 2023, BJS selected and funded RTI International (RTI) to act as the data collection agent for the Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS) program, to include the 2024 LEMAS (Federal Award Number 15PBJS-22-GK-00267-MUMU). RTI has successfully conducted multiple BJS surveys, including the most recent 2020 LEMAS, the 2022 CSLLEA, and the 2023 LEMAS Post-Academy Training and Officer Wellness supplement survey. RTI also has extensive experience managing large scale federal projects, including managing the LECS program since 2015.

The 2024 LEMAS instruments are almost identical in content as the 2020 LEMAS instruments. However, several items will be dropped to reduce respondent burden:

• two questions related to agency changes in policies and practices in response to COVID-19 which were highly relevant for 2020 but less so for 2024;

• three questions about immigration, as the data quality for these questions were poor and unreliable for publishing;

• one question on civilian complaints and use of force which has historically had poor data quality (see Hickman and Poore, 2016) and have not been published previously.

In each iteration of LEMAS, BJS draws a nationally representative sample of state and local LEAs, administers the LEMAS instruments, and produces national-level estimates about the organization and characteristics of LEAs. The proposed survey seeks to better meet the needs of the law enforcement community, while maintaining the ability to trend over time with the previous LEMAS waves. The 2024 LEMAS sample will consist of about 3,500 state, county, and local general purpose LEAs¹ in the United States, will be nationally-representative, and will preserve continuity between previous LEMAS waves on critical data elements about LEAs nationwide with minimal changes between the 2020 LEMAS surveys (OMB No. 1121-0240, expired 07/31/2023) and the proposed 2024 LEMAS surveys. The 2024 LEMAS will employ the same sampling strategy approved for the 2020 LEMAS using the Law Enforcement Agency Roster (LEAR) that includes approximately 16,000 general-purpose agencies as a frame. The LEAR has been used as the frame for law enforcement establishment surveys since the 2016 LEMAS. BJS plans to field the 2024 LEMAS surveys from January 2025 through September 2025.

BJS will use web-based data collection in the 2024 LEMAS to promote high response rates, rapid data collection, and simplified data verification and report preparation. The survey administration will use best practices in survey data collection technology to establish shorter cycles for future surveys of LEAs (e.g., LEMAS supplemental surveys, CSLLEA). RTI will collect various paradata (e.g., respondent response mode, time required to answer each question, total time for survey completion, the time interval between respondent access to the survey and completion of the survey, etc.) that will allow BJS to evaluate the impact of promoting online data collection. This information will also enable BJS to develop strategies to encourage greater online data collection for future LEMAS surveys.

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

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, tribal, and local levels (Attachment C). It disseminates high-quality information and statistics to inform policymakers, researchers, criminal justice practitioners, and the general public. LEAs are the primary point of entry into the criminal justice system and play a crucial gatekeeping function in receiving reports of offenses, investigating crimes, making arrests, and detaining suspects. These agencies are also a major provider of statistical data on crime and the administration of criminal justice.

The LEMAS is part of BJS’s Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS) program. This program includes surveys on law enforcement operations, which is within BJS’s authorizing statute (see 34 USC § 10132(c)(4)). Core to BJS’s effort in describing the operations of LEAs are the Census of State and Local LEAs (CSLLEA) (OMB Control Number 1121-0346) conducted every four years since 1992, and the LEMAS core survey (OMB Control Number 1121-0240) conducted every 3-5 years since 1987.

In the United States, local LEAs are numerous and diverse. In 2020, there were approximately 14,726 local police agencies, sheriff’s departments, and primary state police agencies. More than 69% of these LEAs had fewer than 25 sworn personnel but the largest 366 agencies employed more than 51% of all sworn personnel. The functions, policies, and practices of local and county LEAs are determined and implemented by local governments with limited state-level coordination and oversight. State LEAs are few in number (49 total as Hawaii does not have a state police), large in size and typically emphasize a limited range of law enforcement functions, such as traffic enforcement. Because of the diversity and number of independent state, local and county governments, there is no organizational basis for systematically collecting and regularly reporting changes in the characteristics of their LEAs or the personnel those agencies employ, except for BJS-sponsored surveys of LEAs.

In 2020, approximately $138 billion was spent by federal, state and local governments on police-related activities. Sizeable investments by local governments have led to new debates about the appropriate size, function, and control over these activities in the current economic and social climate. Given this significant scope and expenditures, collecting data on issues related to law enforcement personnel and functions is of critical concern to BJS. Developing and maintaining an accurate picture of the nation’s law enforcement workforce is paramount to understanding the current state of policing in the United States. As such, the LEMAS continues to serve as the most comprehensive survey on LEAs in the United States. Data collected through LEMAS are imperative to understanding law enforcement organizations.

The 2024 LEMAS focuses on a core set of questions about the characteristics of LEAs. As mentioned previously, the LEMAS covers a number of law enforcement organizational topics such as personnel, policies, procedures, equipment, technology, and operations. All questions on the 2024 LEMAS instruments were asked on the 2020 LEMAS surveys and will allow for trend comparisons. Additionally, the 2024 LEMAS will maintain the 2020 LEMAS structure of using two instruments: one for local, county, and primary state police departments and one for sheriffs’ offices.

The 2024 LEMAS instruments (Attachment A and B) are divided into eight sections for the local police and state law enforcements agency instrument (Attachment A - LP instrument) and nine sections for sheriffs’ office instrument (Attachment B - SO instrument).

The initial section of questions on both instruments in Section I covers the LEAs overall staffing, to include personnel responsibilities, demographics, and how sworn personnel are assigned to address certain problems or tasks. While the questions are the same, the SO instrument contains additional answer choices to reflect the roles sheriffs’ offices play in jails and courts that other general-purpose agencies do not.

Within Section I, three questions ask about race and/or ethnicity. Question 5 (sex and race and/or ethnicity of the LEA chief executive) is compliant with the 2024 revision to Statistical Policy Directive Number 15 (SPD15). ² We use the minimum categories only because we would not have a sufficient sample size to report out on detailed race categories. There is only one chief executive per LEA.

For Question 4 (race and ethnicity of all sworn personnel) and Question 6 (race and ethnicity of sworn supervisory positions), BJS previously conducted a pilot of revised race and ethnicity questions with LEAs during the development of revisions to SPD15 (OMB Control No. 1121-0339, expires 4/30/2025). Based on that work, BJS concluded that LEAs are not currently and immediately equipped to answer race and ethnicity questions for all sworn personnel consistent with the revisions to SPD15 (see Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards: Annex 2. Testing Team Final Report). BJS will work with its criminal justice partners to assist in implementing SPD15 going forward, but collection of data for Questions 4 and 6 that is consistent with the Directive is not feasible for this study as only a few months have passed since the final revisions to SPD15 were released.

Section II covers budget on both instruments, though the SO instrument has additional questions asking about budgets for jail administration. Section III for the SO instrument asks about the sheriffs’ office service area and population. This section of questions is unique to sheriffs’ offices, as it was in the 2020 LEMAS instrument.

Section IV (SO instrument)/Section III (LP instrument) covers community policing activities. On the LP instrument, only local police departments answer these questions and no primary state law enforcement agencies, as state agencies typically do not have patrol-related functions that correspond with the community policing activities being asked about on LEMAS.

Section V (SO instrument)/Section IV (LP instrument) asks about selection and training of sworn personnel.

Section VI (SO instrument)/Section V (LP instrument) covers topics related to hiring and retention of sworn personnel, to include questions about hiring/separation counts, salaries, and incentive programs to retain sworn personnel.

Section VII (SO instrument)/Section VI (LP instrument) presents questions on equipment and operations authorized within LEAs.

Section VIII (SO instrument)/Section VII (LP instrument) asks about specific uses of technology within the LEA, such as whether an agency has a website, uses social media, and uses data for decision making.

Section IX (SO instrument)/Section VIII (LP instrument) covers policies and procedures, including the scope of written policies or directives in place, use of Early Warning Systems or civilian review boards, and polices requiring external investigation of use of force incidents.

Additionally, BJS seeks to ask three questions on each instrument following completion of the LEMAS survey. These questions are to assess the feasibility of obtaining sworn personnel contact information of potential future research. The questions will be on the web instrument only and will be optional following the submission of the LEMAS survey. BJS will use results from these questions solely for internal planning purposes and not as part of the final data, codebooks, or publication. The text for the three questions is included at the end of Attachments A and B.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

BJS employs various methods to capture data to better understand the criminal justice system. For example, BJS captures data on crime from resident surveys, inmate surveys and the collection of administrative data. Data collections on agency characteristics are primarily conducted through establishment surveys, and this is the primary data collection vehicle for the law enforcement core collections. The LEMAS is the only systematic establishment survey that produces national estimates of personnel, resources, policies, and practices of the most common types of LEAs.

BJS Needs and Uses

Without LEMAS, BJS will be unable to describe the number and types of officers in state, county and local LEAs and to report to the nation the activities and functions LEAs perform. In addition, this survey provides BJS with systematic knowledge about the resources, policies, practices, and organizational responses used to meet the challenges faced by contemporary LEAs. Comparisons of the 2024 LEMAS data with those from prior LEMAS surveys will also provide important information on how LEAs have changed over time including the adoption of new technology, instituting policies to address issues of contemporary importance (e.g., militarization of police and dealing with mentally ill persons), adopting community policing practices and changing diversity in law enforcement.

The list below details the type of information that will be available through the 2024 LEMAS data:

• Number of full-time and part-time sworn officers and non-sworn employees

• Number of full-time sworn vacancies

• Number of sworn and non-sworn personnel by task scope (e.g., administration, operations, and support)

• Sex, race and Hispanic origin of full-time sworn personnel, the chief executive, intermediate and first line supervisors

• Average number of sworn and non-sworn staff who are bilingual

• Prevalence of specialized units designed to address specific problems

• Average total operating budget

• Average total forfeiture assets

• Rates/percentages of agencies that engage in key community policing activities

• Prevalence of educational requirements for new officers

• Percentage of agencies that employ specific pre-employment screening techniques

• Average academy, field, and in-service training hours

• Number of new hires by type of hire

• Average number of weeks until hire

• Prevalence of special hiring recruitment efforts

• Percent of agencies using hiring incentives

• Number of officers who separated by type of separation

• Average base salary by position type

• Percent of agencies using special pay

• Percent of agencies using methods to increase retention

• Average shift length

• Rates/percentages of agencies that authorize the use of specific kinds of weapons or force actions

• Average number of video cameras utilized regularly

• Percent of agencies who are using body worn cameras

• Average number of K-9 employed by agencies

• Percent of agencies using a website or social media

• Percent of agencies employing various types of technology

• Prevalence of written policies and procedures

• Prevalence of civilian review board

• Percent of agencies who use external investigation for use of force incidents

These characteristics can be disaggregated to produce estimates by agency size and type based on the stratification procedure.

Since 1987, BJS has published 40 reports on data obtained from previous LEMAS surveys to describe characteristics of different types of LEAs (e.g., local police departments and sheriff’s offices). These reports are often cited in textbooks, research articles and public discussions as the authoritative source on the characteristics of state and local LEAs. Recent reports using the 2020 LEMAS data include:

• Sheriffs' Offices, Procedures, Policies, and Technology, 2020 - Statistical Tables

• Local Police Departments, Procedures, Policies, and Technology, 2020 - Statistical Tables

• Primary State Law Enforcement Agencies: Personnel, 2020

• Local Police Departments Personnel, 2020

• Sheriffs’ Offices Personnel, 2020

Other Uses

The information generated from LEMAS surveys is highly relevant to the work of law enforcement practitioners, the professional and academic research community, and professional law enforcement organizations as it provides authoritative statistics on law enforcement.

The LEMAS core is a recurring survey with well-established credibility in the criminal justice field and the data and BJS-published reports from the prior LEMAS surveys have been extensively used since release. For example, LEMAS is the only national data available on the race/Hispanic origin of sworn law enforcement personnel. It is also the only source of nationally representative data on agency policies on matters such as less-lethal force (including the use of chokeholds), deployment of body-worn cameras, and in-service training by sworn personnel. 

LEMAS core and supplement data is made available to the public at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan (NACJD). The 2020 LEMAS survey was made publicly available in March 2023; the supporting documentation has been downloaded 1,983 times and the data file itself downloaded 1,098 times.³

BJS references LEMAS when responding to queries from the U.S. Congress, Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Supreme Court, state officials, international organizations, researchers, students, the media, and others interested in criminal justice statistics, to include:

Federal Agencies – To understand patterns and practices among state and local law enforcement agencies. For example, the May 2023 National Science and Technology Council report, “Equity and Law Enforcement Data Collection, Use, and Transparency” both referenced LEMAS to support improvements across a range of law enforcement issues, including data availability and transparency. In February 2024, BJS responded to a Congressional Research Service question on hiring and separations of sworn personnel by noting the archived 2020 LEMAS data as the only source for nationally representative data on the issue.

Media – To address timely questions about law enforcement. Over the past year, BJS has responded to 24 media inquiries by referencing the 2020 LEMAS data collection and reports.

International Agencies – To help build data collection instruments. In May 2022, BJS met with representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) about law enforcement data, in which LEMAS was a key example of how the United States collects such data. UNODC produced a final report, “Guidelines for the Production of Statistical Data by the Police,” in part influenced by findings and lessons learned from LEMAS.

Academia and Independent Researchers – To conduct research on a range of criminal justice topics. According to Google Scholar, the two 2020 LEMAS publications released in November 2022 have been cited 27 times in the research literature as of February 2024. Some example publications citing the 2020 LEMAS data include:

• Paoline III, Eugene A., and Jacinta M. Gau. "Officer gender and opportunities for mentoring and advancement in policing." Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 18 (2024): Pre-publication online.

• Rief, Rachael M., et al. "Ask the women in blue: Female officers’ thoughts on the recruitment and retention of women in policing." Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 18 (2024): Pre-publication online.

• Pickett, Justin T., et al. "Officer diversity may reduce Black Americans’ fear of the police." Criminology (2023).

• Najdowski, Cynthia J. "How the “Black criminal” stereotype shapes Black people’s psychological experience of policing: Evidence of stereotype threat and remaining questions." American Psychologist (2023).

• Lum, Cynthia, et al. "Differences Between High and Low Performing Police Agencies in Clearing Robberies, Aggravated Assaults, and Burglaries: Findings From an Eight-Agency Case Study." Police Quarterly (2023).

• Brunet, Nicolas M., et al. "Trust in the police and affective evaluation of police faces: a preliminary study." Frontiers in Psychology 14 (2023).

• McLean, Kyle, et al. "An experimental look at reasonable suspicion and police discretion." Policing: An International Journal (2023).

• Padilla, Kathleen E., Alexis R. Rockwell, and Jessica Huff. "A qualitative exploration of stress in a criminal investigations section." Police Practice and Research (2023): 1-17.

• Burns, Ronald G. Careers in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Taylor & Francis, 2023.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

The 2024 LEMAS uses a multi-mode design in which respondents are directed to a web survey through mailed and emailed instructions. The web survey is hosted on www.BJSLECS.org by BJS’s data collection agent, RTI International (RTI). This website has been used by LECS since the 2016 LEMAS Body-Worn Camera supplement and has hosted six surveys to date. Respondents will access the survey by using a unique username and password provided by RTI. The instrument has been designed using RTI’s Hatteras survey software that will allow RTI to send an email to respondents explaining the LEMAS survey and containing a hyperlink to the questionnaire.

The web survey application will incorporate consistency checks to validate data entries and machine edits that check for inconsistent, out-of-range, or missing responses. These automated processes will help improve data quality and minimize respondent burden resulting from follow-up contact to resolve data discrepancies or other issues. Respondents will be able to start the survey, save their responses and later resume from the point in the survey where they last entered data. The survey software allows for real-time online tracking of respondents, thereby allowing BJS to monitor the completion of each agency’s responses. In addition, the web system supports the export of survey data and paradata in various formats specified by BJS.

Although online completion of the survey is preferable for many reasons, agencies may have several reasons why they do not respond via the internet. For example, some might not have reliable internet access, and others might find it difficult to complete online because of the need to involve multiple people in preparing the response.⁴ Agencies that require paper access will have multiple methods of receiving paper versions of the instrument. Agencies will be able to download a PDF version of the survey from the survey site that can be printed or e-mailed to agency staff. Respondents can then gather data in hard copy and enter it into the online survey instrument or scan and return the completed survey form via mail or e-mail. Hard copies will also be sent via mail during routine non-response follow-up.

To process completed hard copy surveys, RTI will use a software package that employs Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to electronically convert scanned images of handwritten, typewritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text. Data captured via OCR will be manually reviewed to ensure accuracy. Use of this technology will minimize paper handling, reduce processing time, increase reliability, and enhance retention of written survey responses.

Upon completion of the project, the final dataset and supporting documentation will be made available to the public for free and without restriction in an online archive (NACJD) in multiple statistical platform formats. Access to these data permits analysts to identify the specific responses of individual agencies and to conduct statistical analyses about LEAs. These data will have agency- and jurisdiction-specific identifiers that will permit public use in combination with other data files with similar identifiers.

The BJS-produced findings from the 2024 LEMAS will be provided to the public in electronic format. The report will be available on the BJS website.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.

The LEMAS is the only systematic establishment survey that produces national estimates of personnel, resources, policies, and practices of the most common types of LEAs. Based on our knowledge of the federal statistical system, in general, and law enforcement surveys in particular, BJS has determined that the 2024 LEMAS includes measures of the number of law enforcement personnel that are also included in five ongoing surveys by other Federal agencies, which are listed here As described further below, BJS determined that the number of items duplicated is small and, in some cases, measured differently.

1. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) annually collects information from LEAs about the number and sex of sworn and nonsworn personnel as part of the “Number of Full-Time Law Enforcement Employees” (OMB No. 1110-0004).

2. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) “Occupational Employment Survey” (OMB No. 1220-0042) samples employers yearly about the number, race and Hispanic origin of employees in three Protective Service Occupation subcategories: 1) police and sheriff’s patrol officers, 2) detectives and criminal investigators, and 3) first line supervisors of police and detectives.

3. The Census Bureau tabulates and publishes Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information on the sex, race and ethnicity of persons who work in a protective service. This information is available for geographies that represent worksite and residence. This information has been based on the decennial census and more recently on the American Community Survey (OMB No. 0607-0810 & 0607-0936). This tabulation is sponsored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

4. The Census Bureau also collects data on number of employees (and total payroll) of police protection agencies as part of its Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (ASPEP; OMB No. 0607-0585).

5. The EEOC biennially collects information from state and local governments on the number of employees who work in a protective service by salary, race/ethnicity, and sex (EEO-4; OMB No. 3046-0008).

BJS has identified four variables—the number of male sworn, male nonsworn, female sworn, and female nonsworn personnel—that are collected and reported by the FBI survey and by BJS in the CSLLEA and LEMAS surveys.

BJS and FBI data collections differ on several key measures. First, the definition of law enforcement officer varies depending upon how the officer is funded at the agency. The FBI survey is limited to personnel paid “with law enforcement funds” while the BJS surveys include all personnel regardless of what public funds pay their salaries. Second, the scope of agencies considered for inclusion in data collection efforts differs. BJS surveys capture all agencies that employ the equivalent (i.e., two part-time staff) of at least one full-time sworn personnel, while the FBI requires at least one full-time sworn staff member. Third, the data collection goals differ. The items about personnel in the FBI survey are collected in conjunction with annual data collections of hundreds of items about reported offenses and about assaults on law enforcement officers. The FBI uses these data to report on offense, arrest, and assault rates per sworn personnel. Finally, BJS includes additional demographic variables (race and ethnicity) for sworn personnel.

These design elements lead to differences in the estimated number of total sworn officers, which persist over time across various waves of data collection. In the six years (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2018) for which both the FBI survey and the BJS CSLLEA were conducted, the FBI collected data from 3,600 to 5,200 fewer agencies (24.9%) and reported about 100,000 fewer total personnel (10.0%). These differences are due in part to the different criteria for inclusion of agencies and personnel in these two surveys. Lastly, the FBI survey is limited to agencies that report to the FBI’s UCR program during a particular year (see Reaves, 2011).

The number of duplicate data collection items in the BJS and FBI data collection is small, and the information collected is necessary to meet the goals of each survey. Further, personnel items included in the LEMAS surveys are used to produce national estimates of personnel and to provide the basis for computing the percentages of sworn personnel by race and ethnicity, by law enforcement function, and by current and newly hired personnel. LEMAS also collects information about part-time employees of LEAs.

Turning to the Occupational Employment Survey, both the BJS and BLS surveys report information about the number of law enforcement employees. The BLS survey emphasizes comparisons of the number of positions and their compensation among many occupations types across different geographical areas of the country. The samples and employee definitions used in these two surveys vary due to the differing purposes of the surveys. In law enforcement surveys the distinction between sworn and nonsworn is crucial, but this distinction is not made in the BLS occupational sub-codes. Moreover, many law enforcement employees, such as forensic scientists or crime analysts, are unlikely to fit into any BLS occupational codes for protection service occupations.

As with the FBI survey, the number of duplicate items in the BJS and BLS surveys is small, and the items are needed for the internal purposes of the survey. The BJS annual data are collected and reported at the agency level and at the national level separately for sheriff’s offices and local and county police departments. The BLS data are collected at the employer level and three-year averages are reported at the SMSA level and the national level with no distinction among federal, state or local LEAs.

The EEO tabulations based upon the decennial census, and more recently the American Community Survey, provide national estimates on the number persons working in protective services. The dataset contains breakdowns by sex, race, and Hispanic origin. The EEO tabulations suffer from the same limitations as the Occupational Employment Survey, namely it is impossible to fully understand the law enforcement related job codes that may be subsumed under the “protective service” heading. This dataset also provides geographic rather than agency staffing estimates. Estimates are provided for location of employment or residence rather than the law enforcement agency. LEMAS data reflect place of work rather than location of work or place of residence.

The EEOC’s own data collection is insufficient to disaggregate the number of sworn versus nonsworn officers and are also insufficient to disaggregate those working in local law enforcement versus Sheriff’s offices. Similarly, while the EEOC data includes job function with protective service, a clear distinction does not exist between sworn and nonsworn officers. Data collected by the EEOC are reported only at the national level; individual responses are confidential and used for investigative purposes by the EEOC and the Department of Justice.

Finally, the ASPEP data collection provides full-time and part-time employment and payroll estimates for persons with power of arrest within the police protection category, but the rest of the police protection category provides insufficient detail as to the work of sworn personnel and little to no detail on the job functions of nonsworn personnel.

BJS has identified five federally-sponsored surveys with varying samples and measures of employees that can be used to estimate the number of law enforcement personnel in the United States. However, only BJS has a primary goal of creating national estimates of the number of LEAs and number of sworn and nonsworn personnel. Furthermore, the LEMAS is the only data source that provides demographic characteristics of full-time sworn by supervisory position based on the employing agency rather than residents.

Efforts to Minimize Burden

The 2024 LEMAS instruments were designed to minimize response burden in two ways. First, BJS is using items previously administered for the 2020 LEMAS as the starting point. The 2024 LEMAS instruments do not add any new questions, but rather drop six questions which are less relevant and potentially time consuming, thus reducing burden on respondents.

Second, the 2024 LEMAS surveys were developed with web-based data collection in mind. Based on prior administrations, BJS expects at least 90% of respondents to complete the survey online. Web-based system functions will be in place to ease the burden of survey completion. This includes built-in skip patterns, data checks, and best-practice web layouts including matrices when appropriate. In addition, RTI utilizes an intelligent log-in program for data collection, which stores LEA information and responses and allows for multi-session completion of the survey instrument. Since many LEAs, particularly the larger ones, will need to seek multiple information sources within their organizations to answer the survey, this will reduce burden by allowing 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 LEA.

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 LEMAS help email address will be provided with all written materials and emails. A phone number and email address for the survey’s principal investigator will be provided to respondents to ensure timely communications.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The 2024 LEMAS data collection does not involve small businesses but includes small law enforcement agencies. BJS continues to use web-based data collection instruments to ease reporting and reduce the need for follow-up due to errors in reporting and incorrect skips caught by programmatic edit checks. Questions on the LEMAS instrument have been streamlined such that most responses allow LEAs to select from a list of options without needing to provide narratives or consult raw data pulls. This is intended to allow for easier LEA response burden as it avoids extensive data requests or entry. For small agencies that may not be able to submit electronically, the 2024 LEMAS will also be available via paper and phone.

6. Describe the consequence to federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Based in part on recommendations from the National Research Council, BJS determined it is necessary to establish a regular schedule of surveys of LEAs. To this end, a significant portion of BJS’s law enforcement data collection efforts have been combined into the LECS, which is comprised of the CSLLEA, LEMAS core, and LEMAS topical supplements. These data collection efforts will now share a common alternating schedule that will serve to reduce burden and increase the timeliness of data collection. Included in this schedule is a BJS effort to explore and test the viability of an annual LEMAS-related survey, called the Law Enforcement Agency Pulse (LEAP) survey, which was recommended through he May 2023 National Science and Technology Council report, “Equity and Law Enforcement Data Collection, Use, and Transparency.” BJS has obtained a generic clearance to test the feasibility of administering the LEAP on a compressed timeline (OMB control #1121-0339). Table 1 shows the anticipated data collection schedule for these projects.

Table 1. Data collection schedule for the key law enforcement collections, 2022-2028

Collection	Start of Data Collection
2022 CSLLEA	September 2022
2023 LEMAS PATOW supplement	November 2023
2024 LEAP pilot	August 2024
2024 LEMAS core	January 2025
2025 LEAP	January 2026
2026 CSLLEA	January 2027
2027 LEMAS topical supplement	January 2028
2028 LEMAS core	January 2029

Conducting multiple surveys to LEAs in a single year may lead to lower response rates and result in less precise and biased estimates for key survey items. Under the LECS model and taking into consideration other key BJS collections, only one survey administration using the same frame will be administered per year. Starting with the 2020 LEMAS core, RTI developed a new strategy to reduce burden on smaller agencies over time. Agencies with fewer than 100 full-time equivalent sworn personnel were assigned a permanent random number (PRN) and sorted by PRN within strata. The PRN is a random number selected uniformly between 0 and 1. After sorting the frame by the PRN, the first agencies in each stratum were selected for the 2020 LEMAS, where is the sample size for each stratum. Agencies with 100 or more full-time equivalent sworn personnel are selected with certainty in every BJS sample, except for the 2024 LEAP pilot in part to only administer one survey per year.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentially that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.

There are no special circumstances. The LEMAS collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

• Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

• Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years -- even if the collection-of-information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained

The research under this clearance is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.8(d). - The 60-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 89, Number 139, pages 58765-58766 on Friday, July 19, 2024 (Attachment D). The comment period ended on September 17, 2024. In response to the 60-day notice, BJS did not receive any comments. The 30-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 89, Number 188, page 79315, on Friday, September 27, 2023 (Attachment E).

9. Explain any decision to provide any payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No government funds will be used as payment or for gifts to respondents. Participation is voluntary and no gifts or incentives will be given.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

BJS, its employees, and its data collection agents will use the data it collects only for statistical or research purposes, consistent with 34 U.S.C. § 10134, which states “data collected by the Bureau 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 a private person or public agency other than statistical or research purposes.” BJS is required to protect information identifiable to a private person from unauthorized disclosure and may not publicly release data in a way that could reasonably identify a specific private person, consistent with the confidentiality requirements in 34 U.S.C. § 10231 and 28 CFR Part 22.

The data collected through the LEMAS represent institutional characteristics of publicly administered LEAs. Information collected from these organizations is considered within the public domain. The fact that participation in this survey is voluntary is included on the first page of the survey instrument. While the final data are archived publicly, BJS will not release the names, phone numbers, or email addresses of the actual persons responsible for completing the 2024 LEMAS survey.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

No questions of a sensitive nature are proposed for the 2024 LEMAS.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. General, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

Approximately 3,500 agencies will be invited to participate in the 2024 LEMAS.

BJS anticipates that one or more persons per surveyed agency will spend time reviewing, gathering, and completing the collection of information. Whether the response is provided by one or by more than one person, the average total burden for each agency is estimated to be 2 hours based on the estimate from the 2020 LEMAS (2.5 hours) coupled with the removal of six questions in the 2024 LEMAS instrument.

Estimates of annual burden on respondents includes the time required to review the instructions associated with the instruments, search existing data sources, obtain information necessary to complete data collection instruments, and respond to verification calls. Based on recent LEMAS administrations, it is unlikely all LEAs surveyed will respond. A more tailored estimate is provided in Table 4 by using an estimated response rate of 81%. Data collection costs are estimated to be applicable for 81% of the LEMAS sample that will respond (3,500 LEMAS sample x 81% = 2,835 agencies). Previous LEMAS collections suggest 50% of respondents will require data quality follow-up (2,835 responding agencies x 50% = 1,418 agencies, rounded up), the majority of which are minor corrections or clarifications.

Using the national estimate of mean hourly wage for police officers and sheriff’s deputies from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the estimated agency cost of employee time would be approximately $36.80 hourly.⁵ Based on the estimated time burden per response and employee pay rate, the total respondent employee time cost burden is estimated at $217,378.

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

Table 4. Summary of annual burden hours associated with the 2024 LEMAS survey

Activity	Number of Respondents	Frequency	Total Annual Responses	Participation time (minutes)	Total Burden (Hours)	Hourly Rate6	Monetized Value of Respondent Timea
Data collection	2,835	1	2,835	120	5,670	$36.80	$208,656
Data quality follow-up	1,417	1	1,417	10	237	$36.80	$8,722
Total	2,835		2,835		5,907		$217,378

a. Monetized Value of Respondent Time = Total Burden (hours) x Hourly Rate

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

There are no anticipated costs to respondents beyond the employee time expended in gathering advance information or completing the instrument. Respondents are not being asked to purchase anything or maintain any services as part of this data collection. Furthermore, purchase of outside accounting or information collection services, if performed by the respondent, is part of usual and customary business practices, not specifically required for providing information to BJS.

14. Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.

The estimated total annual burden cost to the federal government for all aspects of the 2024 LEMAS (average) is $362,501. BJS personnel costs are calculated based on the Office of Personnel Management’s salary table effective January 2024. The Department estimates $498,808 of contractual costs for 2025 and $0 for 2026. The estimated (average) total annual contractual cost burden for this collection is $249,404.

Currently, the division of labor for data collection is as follows: The data collection agent via cooperative agreement maintains and updates the respondent contact information database, conducts the survey through web-based collection, conducts follow-up, collects the data, and prepares a dataset for BJS use. BJS staff analyze the data, prepare statistical tables, and write reports based on these data. See Table 5 for a detailed breakdown of costs to the Federal government.

Table 5. Estimated Federal burden costs for the 2024 LEMAS, 2025-2026

BJS costs			2025	2026
	Staff salaries
		GS-14 Statistician (30%)	$41,800	$43,000
		GS-13 Statistician (5%)	$6,700	$6,900
		GS-15 Supervisory Statistician (5%)	$9,300	$9,600
		GS-14 Lead Editor (5%)	$7,000	$7,200
		Contract Writer/Editor (3%)	$4,200	$4,200
		GS-15/SES/SL BJS Leadership (3%)	$5,600	$5,800
		Subtotal salaries	$74,600	$76,700
	Fringe benefits (30% of salaries)		$22,380	$23,010
	Subtotal: Salary & fringe		$96,980	$99,710
	Other administrative costs of salary & fringe (15%)		$14,547	$14,957
	Subtotal: BJS costs		$111,527	$114,667
Data collection agent cost
Data collection agent costs (salaries, fringe benefits, web survey, email and telephone follow-up, programming, and overhead)			$498,808	$0
Total estimated Federal burden costs			$610,335	$114,667

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

The 2024 LEMAS instruments are almost identical in content as the 2020 LEMAS instruments. Six items will be dropped to reduce burden: two questions related to agency changes in policies and practices in response to COVID-19 which were highly relevant for 2020 but less so for 2024; three questions about immigration, as the data quality for these questions were poor and unreliable for publishing; and one question on civilian complaints and use of force which has historically had poor data quality (see Hickman and Poore, 2016) and have not been published previously. These changes will result in less burden to responding agencies.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Table 6. Anticipated LEMAS 2024 project schedule

Task	Start Date	End Date
Data collection	January 2025	September 2025
Notification of impending due dates, nonresponse follow-up, thank you letters	January 2025	September 2025
Data editing, verification, final callbacks	January 2025	September 2025
Delivery of final analytic file and documentation	October 2025	December 2025
Analysis	January 2026	March 2026
Report writing, editing, and release	April 2026	December 2026

For details on the project schedule, see Supporting Statement B.

Dissemination products include press releases, annual bulletins, and the availability of the data online. In addition, BJS makes products available through the BJS website to disseminate key statistics. BJS plans at least one public report based on the 2024 LEMAS, scheduled for December 2026, as part of the LEMAS report series.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

No exemptions are being requested.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

This collection of information does not include any exceptions to the certificate statement.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATON EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.

This collection contains statistical data.

List of Attachments

Attachment A: 2024 LEMAS Survey – Local and State Police Departments

Attachment B: 2024 LEMAS Survey – Sheriff’s Offices

Attachment C: Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132

Attachment D: 60-Day Notice

Attachment E: 30-Day Notice

Attachment F: Invitation Letter

Attachment G. Letter of Support

Attachment H: Survey Flyer

Attachment I: Email Invitation

Attachment J: First Reminder Letter

Attachment K: Second Reminder Email

Attachment L: Third Reminder Postcard

Attachment M: Fourth Reminder Email

Attachment N: Fifth Reminder Letter

Attachment O: Sample Phone Follow-Up Script

Attachment P: Sixth Reminder Letter

Attachment Q: Seventh Reminder Email

Attachment R: Eighth Reminder Postcard

Attachment S: Ninth Reminder Email

Attachment T: Tenth Reminder Letter

Attachment U: Eleventh Reminder Letter

Attachment V: End of Study Letter

Attachment W: Thank You Letter

1 General-purpose LEAs include municipal, county, and regional police departments; most sheriffs’ offices; and primary state and highway patrol agencies. They are distinct from special-purpose agencies, sheriffs’ offices with jail and court duties only, and federal LEAs.

2 See https://spd15revision.gov/content/spd15revision/en/2024-spd15/question-format.html

3See https://pcms.icpsr.umich.edu/pcms/reports/studies/38651/utilization as of July 15, 2024.

4 Institution-level surveys of LEAs are typically directed to the chief executive, who will then assign data gathering to other units and employees. Once gathered, the data are typically reviewed by the chief executive and submitted either by the executive directly or by a point of contact assigned by the chief executive. This is a common experience across our LECS-related work and other LEA surveys.

5 Occupational Tables for police and sheriff’s patrol officers as of May 2023 are here: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333051.htm

6 Ibid.

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