Directory of Law Enforcement Agencies Series

Investigator(s): Bureau of Justice Statistics

To ensure an accurate sampling frame for its Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, the Bureau of Justice Statistics periodically sponsors a census of the nation's state and local law enforcement agencies. This census, known as the Directory Survey, gathers data on all police and sheriffs' department that are publicly funded and employ at least one full-time or part-time sworn officer with general arrest powers. Variables include personnel totals, type of agency, geographic location of agency, and whether the agency had the legal authority to hold a person beyond arraignment for 48 or more hours.