Hiring and Retention of State and Local Law Enforcement Officers, 2020 – Statistical Tables

NCJ Number

310652

Author(s)

Rachael Arietti, MS, Bjs-Funded Research Assistant, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Sean E. Goodison, PhD, BJS Statistician

Date Published

March 2026

Publication Series

Hiring and Retention of State and Local Law Enforcement Officers

Description

This report presents statistics on the hires and separations of full-time sworn personnel by general-purpose law enforcement agencies and the incentives offered to retain them. Findings in the report are based on BJS's 2020 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. Conducted periodically since 1987, the LEMAS survey collects data on a range of topics from a nationally representative sample of general-purpose state and local law enforcement agencies. General-purpose agencies include municipal, county, and regional police departments; most sheriffs' offices; and primary state and highway patrol agencies.

Highlights

• There were 64,200 full-time sworn vacancies reported across all agency types, with 39,500 vacancies in local police departments, 16,300 in sheriffs' offices, and 8,400 in primary state agencies.
• Among the 55,000 full-time sworn personnel hired, 81% were entry-level hires and 16% were lateral hires.
• Agencies employing fewer than 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) sworn personnel were more likely to have lateral hires than agencies employing 500 or more FTE sworn personnel.
• Among the 57,400 full-time sworn separations, 47% were voluntary resignations. These resignations were less common in agencies employing 500 or more FTE sworn personnel (30%) compared to smaller agencies.
• Among agencies employing 500 or more FTE sworn personnel, 97% offered paid academy training, compared to 57% of agencies with 24 or fewer FTE sworn personnel.