Press release: “There were about 1.1 million full-time state and local law enforcement employees in the U.S., including about 732,000 sworn personnel as of September 30, 2004, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Local police departments were the largest employers, with 447,000 officers; followed by sheriffs’ offices, with 175,000; state law enforcement agencies, with 58,000 and other types of agencies, with 52,000. From 2000 to 2004, the number of full-time sworn personnel employed by state and local law enforcement agencies increased by about 24,000, a smaller increase than that during prior four-year periods. From 1996 to 2000, 44,500 officers were added; and from 1992 to 1996, 55,400 were added. From 2000 to 2004, the nationwide ratio of sworn personnel to residents actually declined slightly, from 252 per 100,000 to 249 per 100,000.”