FY 2019 Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS) Program

The FY2019 Law Enforcement Core Statistics Program (LECS) will incorporate two of BJS’s core statistical programs: Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) and Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA). The LEMAS has been conducted every 3-4 years since 1987, while the CSLLEA has been conducted regularly since 1992. The CSLLEA enumerates all publicly funded state, county and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) operating in the United States and provides complete personnel counts. The LEMAS is based on a nationally-representative sample of approximately 3,000 agencies, and provides the most systematic and comprehensive source on law enforcement expenditures and pay, operations, equipment, information systems and policies and procedures. The goal of the LECS is to provide accurate and timely national statistics about the personnel, operations, policies, and procedures of federal, state, county, and local LEAs, with a particular focus on measuring agency performance.

BJS is awarding funding to the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) to develop a program that incorporates the following tasks: (1) manage the 48-month project, (2) field the LEMAS in 2020, (3) clean the frame and field the CSLLEA in 2022, (4) develop and test a LEMAS supplemental survey instrument, and (5) develop and maintain an active roster of in-service LEAs. RTI developed a comprehensive plan to meet these project tasks.

(CA/NCF)