NCJ Number
199109
Journal
Justice Research and Policy Volume: 4 Dated: Fall 2002 Pages: 11-19
Date Published
2002
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article briefly traces the history of the Police Employee data of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, describes the various data elements, tentatively addresses the validity and reliability of these data, and suggests improvement as well as possible uses for the data.
Abstract
Since the 1930's, the FBI has consistently collected specific data on the number of police and civilian employees in law enforcement agencies. The data include information on a number of variables, which include the number of police employees (1930 to the present) and number of civilian employees (1937 to the present); employee gender (1970 to the present); one-year-only data collections; officer patrol assignments (1970 to the present); officers killed in the line of duty (1938 to the present); and officers assaulted in the line of duty (1960 to the present). The accuracy of the data reported in the police employee data sets varies. The counts of officers and civilians and their gender are probably the most accurately reported variables in the police employee data. Still, it is not currently clear how serious a problem data validity is; however, there are some indications of erratic reporting of civilian employees (from year to year) for some agencies. Similarly, few agencies consistently report the number of assaults on officers, and there appear to be unusual variations in the number of police assaults reported. Both these concerns should be investigated and steps taken to remedy any validity problems, so that the police employee data can continue to be a helpful resource for future generations of police executives and researchers. 9 references