To provide an accurate sampling frame for the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) periodically sponsors the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA).  The census is the most systematic and comprehensive source of national data on the number of sworn and non-sworn personnel employed by law enforcement agencies nationwide and provides a complete accounting of policing agencies that employ the equivalent of at least one full-time sworn officer by collecting data on law enforcement agency functions, facilities, personnel, and budget.

In addition to providing an accurate sampling frame, the CSLLEA is itself a valuable source of information on trends in law enforcement employment in the United States.  The administration of the 2012 CSLLEA will produce national statistics about the number of publically funded law enforcement agencies, the number of sworn and nonsworn personnel, and the range of functions performed by those agencies during reference year 2013. The 2012 CSLLEA will expand the scope of the program to include law enforcement agencies with federal jurisdiction. These data will be used to produce multi-year trends regarding characteristics of federal, state, local, and special purpose law enforcement agencies.  The sampling frame generated from the 2012 CSLLEA will also be used to update information in BJS's Law Enforcement Agency Identifiers Crosswalk (Crosswalk). The Crosswalk is designed to link other data resources by providing information on or about each law enforcement agency included in either the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program or the CSLLEA.

NORC along with our partners, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) will develop an accurate and comprehensive universe of eligible respondents and collect the data using a multi-mode technique that applies web, mail, and phone administration.