1110-0004 Supporting Statement B (2025.Final)

Part B. Statistical Methods

1. Response Universe

The potential respondent universe for the Number of Law Enforcement Employees as of October 31 Data Collection (OMB No. 1110-0004) includes all United States LEAs submitting data to the FBI’s UCR Program. During 2024, a total of 15,080 LEAs voluntarily participated in the collection. The LEAs consist of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies that correlate to all population group sizes and have many diverse attributes. These agencies include a mix of population density and degrees of urbanization; various compositions of population; population mobility with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors; different cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics; family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness; climate; effective strength of law enforcement; policies of other components of the criminal justice system; citizens’ attitudes toward crime; and crime reporting practices of the citizenry.

The table below provides the total number of the UCR agencies which provided law enforcement employee data in 2024.

Law Enforcement Employee Agencies, 2024
	Population Group	Number of Agencies	Population Covered
Cities	Group I (250,000 inhabitants and more)	87	63,366,570
	Group II (100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants)	224	32,580,689
	Group III (50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants)	466	32,518,146
	Group IV (25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants)	830	28,668,691
	Group V (10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants)	1,728	27,498,772
	Group VI (Less than 10,000 inhabitants) 1,2	7,630	21,583,925
Counties	Group VIII (nonmetropolitan County)2	2,326	23,672,704
	Group IX (Metropolitan County)2	1,789	73,680,049
	Total	15,080	303,569,546
1 Includes universities and colleges to which no population is attributed. 2 Includes state police to which no population is attributed.

2. Collection of Information Procedures

All law enforcement employee data are collected/received from state UCR program participants on an annual basis. The FBI’S UCR Program has established timeframes and deadlines for acquiring the annual data. Letters are disseminated via email in October to the state UCR program managers and the individual LEAs requesting the completion of information on the current year’s law enforcement employee counts as of October 31. The letter specifies the data submission deadline is December 14 of each reporting year. Prior to December 14, the FBI’S UCR Program will contact the state UCR program managers and the individual LEAs to inform them the FBI has not received the counts, if necessary. Annual reports/submissions should be received at the FBI by December 14 of each reporting year. There are times when special circumstances may cause an agency to request an extension. The FBI’S UCR Program has the authority to grant these extensions.

3. Response Rates/Non-Response

Response rates are maximized through liaison with the state UCR programs. The reported law enforcement employee counts are collected by contributing agencies and reported to the FBI. The FBI’s UCR Program assists agencies with law enforcement employee data collection through active liaisons. Communications encouraging data submissions occur frequently because of the relationship between the FBI’s UCR Program’s staff and LEAs. The FBI’s UCR Program staff regularly work to overcome non-response issues when such challenges occur. The mission of the FBI’s UCR Program includes acquiring law enforcement employee data, establishing guidelines for the collection of such data, and publishing the information.

The CJIS Committees of the IACP and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) provide the FBI’s UCR Program with vital links to local law enforcement personnel. The IACP, ever since the FBI’s UCR Program inception, represents the thousands of police departments nationwide. The NSA encourages sheriffs throughout the country to fully participate in the FBI’s UCR Program. Through the CJIS APB, both committees serve in advisory capacities to the FBI’s CJIS Division and, in turn, the operation of the FBI’s UCR Program. The Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs focuses on the UCR issues within individual state law enforcement associations and also promotes interest in the FBI’s UCR Program. These organizations foster widespread and responsible use of uniform crime statistics and assist data contributors when needed.

4. Collection Development

The FBI has conducted the law enforcement employee data collection since 1930 with high rates of response. Today, the FBI’s UCR Program receives advice and guidance for implementing or making changes to a data collection from the CJIS APB. The APB, which is organized and exists under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, was established to implement a “shared management” concept with the nation’s law enforcement community for all criminal justice information systems managed by the FBI’s CJIS Division. It ensures LEAs have the opportunity to discuss and vote on any policy or procedural changes to CJIS systems affecting the FBI’s ability to collect, maintain, and share information with the nationwide criminal justice community. The APB reviews policy, technical, and operational issues related to the CJIS services and recommends appropriate changes to the Director. In addition to the APB, the CJIS Advisory Process includes five regional working groups, and ten subcommittees, including the UCR subcommittee. The CJIS Advisory Process is an effective way to discuss proposed concepts and develop the shared systems which support law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

With the addition of the UoF data collection, the FBI’s UCR Program added the following data collection elements to the law enforcement employee data collection. These will create more comprehensive datasets for both collections.

• The ability to capture part-time and reserve/auxiliary/other LEOs

• Race and ethnicity categories

5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection

Scott E. Schubert

Law Enforcement Engagement and Data Sharing (LEEDS) Section Chief

ucr@fbi.gov

304-625-4830

Joey L. Hixenbaugh

LEEDS Assistant Section Chief

ucr@fbi.gov

304-625-4830

Linda Shriver

Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics Unit, Acting Chief

ucr@fbi.gov

304-625-4830

Chad M. Garman

Supervisory Survey Statistician

ucr@fbi.gov

304-625-4830

Malissa C. Vavra

Survey Statistician

ucr@fbi.gov

304-625-4830

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