In 2002 the United States had 13,981 city, county, and state police agencies and nine major federal law enforcement agencies. As of October 31, 2002, there were 957,502 full-time law enforcement employees. Of the total, 665,555 were sworn police officers and civilian employees accounted for 291,947. Almost 90 percent of police officers were male, while 62.1 percent of civilian employees were female. Suburban counties employed 268,044 law enforcement personnel, and the 70 cities in the nation with populations of 250,000 or more employed 205,573 law enforcement personnel. The 10 cities with populations of one million or more employed 112,183 law enforcement personnel. (See Table 9.1.)

Wearing a badge is a dangerous profession.… While progress is being made, violence remains a serious threat to those who have sworn to protect society.

—The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1996

From 1993 through 2002, felons killed 636 law enforcement officers, an average of about 73 officers per year. Law enforcement murders were higher in the mid-1990s than other years during this time. From a peak of 80 in 1994, the number of officers killed declined to 61 in 1996, rose to 71 in 1997 and dropped in 1999 to 42. In 2002, 56 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty, down from 70 in 2001. (See Table 9.2.)

In 2002, 15 officers were killed in ambush situations. Ten officers died during arrest situations, such as drug-related arrests. Ten died in traffic stops or pursuits, nine were killed answering disturbance calls, and eight officers died while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances. Being in a one-officer vehicle was the most dangerous situation: 17 officers were in one-officer vehicles without assistance when they were killed. (See Table 9.3.)

Firearms claimed the lives of 591 of the 636 officers killed in the line of duty from 1993 through 2002. Of these murders, 443 were committed with handguns, 112 with rifles, and 36 with shotguns. Bombs killed nine officers, while knives (eight), personal weapons (three), and other weapons (25) killed the remainder of officers. (See Table 9.4.) During 2002, firearms were used in 51 of the 56 slayings, and handguns were used in 38 of those killings. Ten were killed with rifles and three with shotguns.

In 2002, 61 suspects were arrested for the murders of law enforcement officers; 59 were male and two were female. Thirty-seven of the arrestees were white, and 24 were black. Thirty-six assailants were under the age of 31, and 24 were ages 18 to 24. The average age was 32. (See Table 9.5 and Table 9.6.)

Among the 785 persons arrested and charged for their involvement in killing officers from 1993 to 2002, the average age was 28. Some 528 had been previously arrested for criminal activities (245 of them for crimes of violence), and 373 had been convicted, while 158 were on parole at the time of the killings. (See Table 9.7.)

TABLE 9.1
Full-time law enforcement employees, as of October 31, 2002