The purpose of this study was to describe the dynamics of police research, how the role and practice of research differ among police agencies, and why this appears to happen. This study also attempts to answer, on a national scale, four fundamental questions: (1) What is police research? (2) Who does it? (3) Why is it done? and (4) What impact does it have? In addition to describing the overall contours of the conduct of research in United States police agencies, this study also sought to explore the organizational dynamics that might contribute to understanding the different roles research plays in various types of police organizations. Questionnaires were mailed in 1990 to 777 sheriff, municipal, county, and state police agencies selected for this study, resulting in 491 surveys for analysis. Respondents were asked to identify the extent to which they were involved in each of 26 distinct topic areas within the past year, to specify the five activities that consumed most of their time during the previous year, and to describe briefly any projects currently being undertaken that might be of interest to other police agencies. A second approach sought to describe police research not in terms of the topics studied but in terms of the methods police used to study those topics. A third section of the questionnaire called for respondents to react to a series of statements characterizing the nature of research as practiced in their agencies. A section asking respondents to describe the characteristics of those responsible for research in their agency followed, covering topics such as to whom the research staff reported. Respondent agencies were also asked to evaluate the degree to which various factors played a role in initiating research in their agencies. Finally, questions about the impact of research on the police agency were posed.

This survey, the first in the Bureau of Justice Statistics' program on Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS), presents information on three types of general purpose law enforcement agencies: state police, local police, and sheriffs' departments. Data from the primary state police agency in each of 49 states (Hawaii does not have a state police agency) are also presented. Variables include size of the populations served by the typical police or sheriffs' department, levels of employment and spending, various functions of the department, average salary levels for uniformed officers, and other matters relating to management and personnel.

This dataset was retrieved from the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services Division website on February 29, 2008. "This table provides the total number of state law enforcement employees, the total number of male officers, the total number of female officers, the total number of male civilian employees, and the total number of female civilian employees". Values for individual agencies were aggregated for each state. Estimated population was added for each state for 2006 that appeared on Table 5 of the data from 2006. "The FBI collects these data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program". Please see the Data Declaration for further information on the data set. Values of -1 represent no value.

This dataset provides information about duly sworn city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers who were feloniously killed in the line of duty from 1997-2006 in the South. More non-geographic statistics about these fatalities can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2006/feloniouslykilled.html note: Data from the past 10 years do not include the officers who died as a result of the events of September 11, 2001. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2006/table1.html

This dataset provides information about duly sworn city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers who were accidentally killed in the line of duty from 1997-2006 in the Midwest. More non-geographic statistics about these fatalities can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2006/accidentallykilled.html http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2006/table46.html