2023 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Supplement Survey: Post-Academy Training and Officer Wellness
OMB Control Number 1121-xxxx
OMB Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx
SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR 2023 LAW ENFORCEMENT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE STATISTICS SUPPLEMENT SURVEY: POST-ACADEMY TRAINING AND OFFICER WELLNESS
JUSTIFICATION
Overview
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) requests clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the 2023 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) supplement survey. The title of the 2023 LEMAS supplement survey is Post-Academy Training and Officer Wellness (PATOW). OMB provided a generic clearance for cognitive testing of the proposed 2023 LEMAS supplement instrument in May 2022 (OMB No. 1121-0339, expires 04/30/2025). With cognitive testing now complete, BJS seeks to proceed with data collection.
The goal of the 2023 LEMAS PATOW is to obtain information from law enforcement agencies (LEAs) on two topics: post-academy law enforcement training and officer wellness programs that address suicide. The sample will consist of approximately 3,500 state, county, and local general-purpose law enforcement agencies1 in the United States. The sample will be nationally-representative, following the sampling strategy approved for the 2020 LEMAS core survey (OMB No. 1121-0240, expires 07/31/2023) and using the Law Enforcement Agency Roster (LEAR) that includes approximately 16,000 general-purpose agencies as a frame. The LEAR has been used as the frame for law enforcement establishment surveys since the 2016 LEMAS. BJS plans to field the 2023 LEMAS PATOW survey from September 2023 through May 2024.
The LEMAS PATOW is part of BJS’s Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS) program. This program includes surveys on law enforcement operations, which is within BJS’s authorizing statute (see 34 USC § 10132(c)(4)). Core to BJS’s effort in describing the operations of LEAs are the Census of State and Local LEAs (CSLLEA) (OMB Control Number 1121-0346) conducted every four years since 1992, and the LEMAS core survey (OMB Control Number 1121-0240) conducted every 3-5 years since 1987.
The LEMAS core survey is based on a nationally representative sample of approximately 3,500 general-purpose LEAs and provides national estimates of law enforcement salaries, expenditures, operations, equipment, information systems and policies and procedures. In addition to these regular surveys, BJS also fields LEMAS supplement surveys to capture detailed information on specific topics in law enforcement. BJS implemented this model of regular LEMAS core surveys and thematic supplement surveys following recommendations from the National Research Council.2 The first LEMAS supplement survey was fielded in 2017 (OMB Control Number 1121-0354, expired 2/28/2019), with a focus on body-worn camera use among LEAs.
The 2023 LEMAS PATOW supplement focuses on two topics, post-academy law enforcement training and officer wellness programs associated with suicide. Post-academy training is defined as law enforcement training provided to full-time sworn personnel with general arrest powers at any point in their law enforcement career following any academy or field training. While BJS has extensive knowledge of academy training due to the multiple waves of the Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA) (OMB Control Number 1121-0255, expiration 03/31/2026), information on post-academy training is limited to questions on the LEMAS core which asks for the total required annual hours of in-service (a subset of post-academy) training. One goal of the proposed supplement survey is to compliment the CLETA information by allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the whole law enforcement training environment. When applicable, question wording and formats were standardized across both the 2022 CLETA instrument and the proposed 2023 LEMAS PATOW. Applicable topics include the number and types of training instructors used; training budgets; the resources that are accessible to officers through the agency’s training program; the number of instruction hours provided for each training topic; and the types of special training programs offered to active full-time sworn personnel.
The 2023 LEMAS PATOW will also address law enforcement officer wellness programs related to suicide and agency responses to suicide risk. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (LESDC) in January 2022 (OMB Control Number 1110-0082). The 2023 LEMAS PATOW survey is intended to be a supporting effort to LESDC by collecting agency-level information on formal wellness programs, including suicide awareness, currently available to full-time sworn personnel.
The 2023 LEMAS PATOW supplement survey is part of BJS’s continuing effort to provide statistical information related to law enforcement operations. There is currently no nationally representative data on post-academy training in the U.S. and the LEMAS PATOW will fulfill this void. Research suggests that very little is known about training for active, experienced law enforcement officers.3 Additionally, research on officer wellness has often focused on specific case studies or best practices rather than agency implementation. The information collected as part of the 2023 LEMAS PATOW will be useful for a variety of stakeholders including researchers, LEAs and training academy directors, as well as Federal, state, and local governments. Results may be used to assess the areas in which additional resources for development, improvement, or expansion of law enforcement training capabilities and wellness programs may be necessary.
Under Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is directed to collect and analyze statistical information concerning the operation of the criminal justice system at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels (Attachment 1). It disseminates high-quality information and statistics to inform policymakers, researchers, criminal justice practitioners, and the general public. LEAs are the primary point of entry into the criminal justice system and play a crucial gatekeeping function in receiving reports of offenses, investigating crimes, making arrests, and detaining suspects. These agencies are also a major provider of statistical data on crime and the administration of criminal justice. The LEMAS PATOW survey addresses two related topics covering important management and administrative statistics, providing insight into the training and available resources provided to law enforcement personnel in general-purpose agencies. The survey starts with post-academy training questions as the larger, overarching concept before introducing questions on the more specific subset of officer wellness resources (which itself will have a component that is post-academy training, in addition to other voluntary resources for active sworn personnel).
Post-academy Training
As of 2020, general-purpose state and local LEAs in the U.S. employed about 708,000 full-time sworn personnel. Each of these officers was required to undergo extensive training prior to obtaining certification as a law enforcement officer. CLETA produces key, national findings to help understand the academy-level training scope. However, these full-time sworn personnel are often required to take continuing training each year to maintain certification. According to the 2016 LEMAS, more than 90% of U.S. agencies required in-service training,4 with each sworn personnel in those agencies taking about 35-40 in-service hours per year on average. But that is the extent of knowledge about post-academy training at a national level.
Even less is known about the content of post-academy training. Conceptually, this training is a mechanism for refreshing and updating the skills initially taught in the academy. LEA stakeholders, to include the communities being served, policy makers, and various levels of government, desire sworn officers to be trained across numerous key topics. Beyond critical interpersonal and problem-solving skills, officers should be routinely trained in federal and state law, patrol procedures, defensive tactics, de-escalation and the use-of-force, firearms, driving, and many other areas depending on the responsibilities of the employing agency. Officers also are trained as they matriculate through the LEA through promotion or changes to assignment or role.
Yet, research and data collection efforts have historically focused on academy and field training at the start of a law enforcement career, rather than the frequency or content of post-academy training. This lack of data has not prevented multiple federally-funded programs designed to change post-academy training. For example, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office had approximately $3 million in funding available for regional de-escalation training centers for FY 2023; this is in addition to more than $11 million in COPS funding for LEAs available to support and improve de-escalation, duty to intervene, and implicit bias training for FY 2023.
The 2023 LEMAS PATOW would be the only known collection to provide national data on the personnel, resources, curricula, trainees, policies, and practices of post-academy training. The consensus of the research literature (see Huey, 2018), a BJS-sponsored expert panel in September 2021, and cognitive interviews of a draft instrument highlight how limited the current knowledge of post-academy training is, let alone a lack of nationally representative data on such training. The 2023 LEMAS PATOW would provide critical new information to a variety of stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, LEAs, and the public.
Following an initial section of questions about the LEAs overall staffing and budget (section 1), sections 2-4 of the PATOW survey instrument (Attachment 2) cover post-academy training characteristics (section 2), providers of post-academy training (section 3), and post-academy training content (section 4). Within section 4, there are four sub-sections. Part A (Use of Force Continuum/Situational Use of Force), B (Peer Intervention Programs), and C (De-escalation) each cover a specific topic with detailed questions about the training. These topics were selected based on the results of the expert panel and cognitive interviews. Part D (Additional Post-Academy Training Topics) covers a wider range of topics to provide a broader perspective of post-academy content.
Officer Wellness Programs Associated with Suicide
While current research has often focused on examining LEA wellness programs using case studies (see Building and Sustaining an Officer Wellness Program) and recommending broad, clinically-based best practices (see the National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide), there is no substantive national empirical data on the prevalence and use of said programs. One of the key wellness outcomes that has gained even more attention recently is law enforcement suicide. For example, while programs to address alcohol dependency and mental health care obviously seek to improve outcomes directly linked to substance use and psychological well-being, such programs are also linked to suicide and attempted suicide events. The proposed supplement survey directly addresses this need and can be used to guide important, ongoing national conversations about these important topics.
According to a 2021 CDC study, suicide is a leading cause of death for all age groups in the United States.5 Due to the nature of their work, law enforcement is at a considerable risk with some research suggesting that LEO officers have a 54% increase in suicide risk compared to civilians.6
The Department of Justice (the Department) recognizes the importance of collecting information on police suicides and making it available to policymakers and the public. One of the primary efforts to collect data on law enforcement suicide was recently established by the FBI through the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (LESDC, OMB Control Number 1110-0082) within its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. That program, which went live in January 2022, collects data on suicide fatalities directly from LEAs, as mandated by the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act (LESDCA) (P.L. 116-260, enacted December 27, 2020).
To support the FBI collection of data on the number of suicide deaths by public safety officers, BJS developed questions designed to gather information that will contextualize and enhance our understanding of the circumstances around law enforcement suicide fatalities. This includes compiling data on various officer wellness programs that may correlate with suicide or attempted suicide among law enforcement and correctional officers. The goal of this proposed instrument is to complement the FBI’s incident-level work by collecting baseline, nationally representative agency-level measures on what wellness programs and polices agencies have in place to address suicide risk. There are no known collections with nationally representative or contemporaneous information to augment the LESDC with agency-level data.
Given the lack of data on the topic, questions were developed using a mixed-method approach. First, BJS consulted the FBI data collection instrument to ensure the LEMAS PATOW does not overlap with the FBI effort. Second, the general scope and specific content of questions were based on an extensive literature review focused on the measurement of agency responses to police suicide within smaller, non-representative data collections and qualitative reviews of the topic. BJS reviewed more than 30 resources, including recent federally-funded publications and academic articles, to ensure questions accurately reflect current scholarship and would contribute to the field. Third, BJS used prior LEMAS surveys to standardize answer choices when possible.
The PATOW survey instrument has two sections covering officer wellness programs associated with suicide prevention, section 5 (Current Formal Wellness Programs) and section 6 (Current Wellness Policies and Training).
BJS will use the 2023 LEMAS PATOW data to help stakeholders understand the extent to which the post-academy training that law enforcement personnel receive addresses the job responsibilities and circumstances they face.
BJS Uses
Data from the 2023 LEMAS PATOW will help provide BJS with a more complete perspective on law enforcement training. BJS’s CLETA survey covers the academy training environment, with the LEMAS PATOW covering post-academy training. The 2022 CLETA is currently in the field, while the 2023 LEMAS PATOW would be fielded near the end of 2023. The two surveys were developed concurrently, with BJS and RTI staff working on both surveys simultaneously to maximize collaboration and standardization across instruments. Given this development schedule and proposed timing, BJS will be well positioned to provide national results on law enforcement training as a whole.
BJS will use 2023 LEMAS PATOW data to describe the variations in experience, education, and certification requirements for the trainers and instructors in state and local LEAs. This is important as a basis for understanding the capacities of law enforcement training to deliver curricula that address the variety of needs of current law enforcement officers.
BJS will use the data gathered through the administration of the 2023 LEMAS PATOW survey to disseminate information about law enforcement to the public. Past reports using the LEMAS core and supplement data include:
Other Uses
These survey results will facilitate the assessment of needed improvements and the development of future Department of Justice funding programs to provide assistance where needed. This topic has no nationally representative baseline measures, yet is a key topic in recent public discussions, proposed federal legislation (see the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, 2021) and new federal laws (see the Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Law Enforcement Training Act and the Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act of 2022). The 2023 LEMAS PATOW will provide key national baseline estimates for law enforcement training that will help inform current and future legislative efforts across the country. These data can also be used to help assess some of the ongoing efforts to federally- and locally-fund law enforcement post-academy training and officer wellness programs linked to suicide prevention efforts within LEAs.
The information generated from LEMAS surveys is highly relevant to the work of law enforcement practitioners, the professional and academic research community, and professional law enforcement organizations as it provides authoritative statistics on law enforcement. While the LEMAS core is a recurring survey with well-established credibility in the criminal justice field, there has only been a single topical LEMAS supplement survey fielded previously. Still, the data and BJS-published report from the prior LEMAS supplement has been extensively used since release.
LEMAS core and supplement data is made available to the public at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan (NACJD). The 2016 LEMAS supplement survey on body-worn cameras was made publicly available in June 2019; the supporting documentation has been downloaded 1,175 times and the data file itself downloaded 617 times7.
According to Google Scholar, Body-Worn Cameras in LEAs, 2016 has been cited 113 times in the research literature since November 2018. Some example publications citing the LEMAS supplement survey data include:
Miller, Joel, and Vijay F. Chillar. "Do police body-worn cameras reduce citizen fatalities? Results of a country-wide natural experiment." Journal of Quantitative Criminology 38.3 (2022): 723-754.
Andreescu, Viviana, and David Kim. "Drivers of police agencies’ resistance to body-worn camera adoption." International Journal of Police Science & Management 24.4 (2022): 437-452.
Adams, Ian T., Scott M. Mourtgos, and Sharon H. Mastracci. "High‐stakes administrative discretion: What drives body‐worn camera activations?." Public Administration Review 81.4 (2021): 691-703.
Demir, Mustafa. "Effect of awareness and notification of body-worn cameras on procedural justice, police legitimacy, cooperation, and compliance: Findings from a randomized controlled trial." Journal of Experimental Criminology (2021): 1-31.
Nix, Justin, Natalie Todak, and Brandon Tregle. "Understanding body-worn camera diffusion in US policing." Police Quarterly 23.3 (2020): 396-422.
Robinson, Laurie O. "Five years after Ferguson: Reflecting on police reform and what’s ahead." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 687.1 (2020): 228-239.
Coleman, Ronald J. "Police Body Cameras: Go Big or Go Home?." Buff. L. Rev. 68 (2020): 1353.
Lum, Cynthia, Megan Stoltz, Christopher S. Koper, and J. Amber Scherer. "Research on body‐worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know." Criminology & public policy 18, no. 1 (2019): 93-118.
Saulnier, Alana, Kelly C. Burke, and Bette L. Bottoms. "The effects of body‐worn camera footage and eyewitness race on jurors' perceptions of police use of force." Behavioral Sciences & the Law 37.6 (2019): 732-750.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
The 2023 LEMAS PATOW survey uses a multi-mode design in which respondents are directed to a web survey through mailed and emailed instructions. The web survey is hosted on www.BJSLECS.org by BJS’s data collection agent, RTI International (RTI).8 This website has been used by LECS since the 2016 LEMAS Body-Worn Camera supplement and has hosted five surveys to date. Respondents will access the survey by using a unique username and password provided by RTI. The instrument has been designed using RTI’s Hatteras survey software that will allow RTI to send an email to respondents explaining the LEMAS PATOW survey and containing a hyperlink to the questionnaire.
The web survey application will incorporate consistency checks to validate data entries and machine edits that check for inconsistent, out-of-range, or missing responses. These automated processes will help improve data quality and minimize respondent burden resulting from follow-up contact to resolve data discrepancies or other issues. Respondents will be able to start the survey, take a break, and later resume from the point in the survey where they last entered data. The survey software will allow for real-time online tracking of respondents, thereby allowing BJS to monitor the completion of each agency’s responses. In addition, the web system supports the export of survey data and paradata in various formats specified by BJS.
Agencies may have various reasons why they do not respond via the internet. For example, some might not have reliable internet access, and others might find it difficult to complete online because of the need to involve multiple people in preparing the response.9 Agencies that require paper access will have multiple methods of receiving paper versions of the instrument. Hard copies will be sent via mail during routine non-response follow-up. Agencies will be able to download a PDF version of the survey from the survey site that can be printed or e-mailed to agency staff. Respondents can then gather data in hard copy and enter it into the online survey instrument or scan and return the completed survey form via mail or e-mail.
To process completed hard copy surveys, RTI will use a software package that employs Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to electronically convert scanned images of handwritten, typewritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text. Data captured via OCR will be manually reviewed to ensure accuracy. Use of this technology will minimize paper handling, reduce processing time, increase reliability, and enhance retention of written survey responses.
Upon completion of the project, the final dataset and supporting documentation will be made available to the public for free and without restriction in an online archive (National Archive of Criminal Justice Data) in multiple statistical platform formats. Access to these data permits analysts to identify the specific responses of individual agencies and to conduct statistical analyses about LEAs. These data will have agency- and jurisdiction-specific identifiers that will permit public use in combination with other data files with similar identifiers.
A review of existing data collections revealed small areas of overlap between some of the LEMAS PATOW questions and other data collections. Specifically, questions on agency budget and in-service hours are similar to those included on other BJS law enforcement surveys. However, the context of these questions differ and therefore there is no true overlap in the results. Additional detail is included below.
Two personnel count questions on the 2023 LEMAS PATOW are also captured through the other LECS collections, CSLLEA and LEMAS core. Item 1, which collects the number of full-time and part-time personnel by sworn status, is considered an essential item for all LECS collections—it serves as the measure of agency size for sampling purposes and is required for producing weights to report results on the LECS collections. The number of full-time sworn equivalent is calculated from this item, which is used for report tables. Due to fluctuations in staffing size year to year, BJS’s estimates rely on having an up-to-date FTE count.
Total operating budget is also asked throughout LECS collections. Having the operating budget matched to the year of the survey is important to providing context to the information the agency provides. PATOW also asks about training budget specifically and its necessary to collect overall operating budget to understand what proportion is dedicated to post-academy training. Budgets fluctuate year-to-year and on any given year, BJS only fields one LEA collection.
Item 7 on the 2023 LEMAS PATOW asks about LEAs authorizing or providing various options for officers to improve their education, skills, or outside training. While this question is captured in the LEMAS core, the requested breakdowns for the 2023 LEMAS PATOW are significantly reduced as compared the LEMAS core to focus on training-related opportunities. Additionally, the 2023 LEMAS PATOW includes a request for whether an LEA allows for flexible hours to attend conferences, which is not asked on the LEMAS core. Finally, the LEMAS core asks about required in-service training hours. While the PATOW also asks for required training hours, the focus is on post-academy training hours in total. The PATOW definition of post-academy includes, but is not limited to, in-service training.
Numerous questions and answer choices are identical across the 2022 CLETA and 2023 LEMAS PATOW instruments. However, these identical questions will not produce duplicative results. The CLETA sample is law enforcement training academies and questions ask about academy-level training for recruits before being hired or still in the academy/field training. The LEMAS PATOW sample is LEAs and questions ask about post-academy training of fully hired sworn officers that have completed the academy and any field training requirements. There will be overlap among LEAs answering both the CLETA and PATOW this year, however as noted there is no overlap in the context as academy-level and post-academy training are distinct.
While the LEMAS PATOW and FBI’s LESDC both collect data related to the topic of law enforcement suicide, the LEMAS supplement requests agency-level information about officer wellness programs and LESDC requests officer-level information about suicide incidents. BJS has consulted with the FBI directly to ensure there is no duplication of survey items and data elements.
Based on knowledge of the Federal statistical system in general and law enforcement surveys in particular, BJS has determined that the 2023 LEMAS PATOW does not include measures found in any other surveys conducted by other Federal agencies.
Efforts to Minimize Burden
The proposed 2023 LEMAS PATOW instrument was designed to minimize response burden in three ways. First, BJS conducted an expert panel meeting in September 2021 with more than 30 law enforcement, research, and government participants with extensive knowledge of post-academy training (Table 2). BJS used the topics and ideas discussed in the meeting to develop the initial instrument draft, which was then circulated back to the expert panel via email in December 2021 for feedback. After incorporating the additional feedback, BJS had a more streamlined draft for further testing.
Second, BJS conducted cognitive interviews with 24 LEAs starting in June 2022, with the goal of having responses from each of the three general-purpose agency types (local police, sheriffs, and state police) and different sized agencies (100 or more sworn and fewer than 100 sworn) to provide a broad perspective on the survey instrument (Table 3). Based on feedback received, the new instrument features questions that have been refined to increase clarity, improve response options, and better reflect current standards and practices where needed. For example, the complex tables in Items 50-55 were simplified and broken into six questions rather than one large table. Also, five topics previously included for in-depth questioning were removed and the remaining in-depth topics were moved higher up in the survey to encourage response. The full cognitive interview report is found as Attachment 3.
Third, the 2023 LEMAS PATOW survey was modified with web-based data collection in mind and includes built-in skip patterns, data checks, and with best-practice web layouts including matrices when appropriate.
Based on prior administrations, BJS expects at least 90% of respondents to complete the survey online. Web-based system functions will be in place to ease the burden of survey completion. RTI utilizes an intelligent log-in program for data collection, which stores LEA information and responses and allows for multi-session completion of the survey instrument. Since many LEAs, particularly the larger ones, will need to seek multiple information sources within their organizations to answer the two different topical sections, this will reduce burden by facilitating data entry from different sources. It will also reduce burden by allowing respondents to stop and restart pending confirmation of information from others in the LEA.
RTI will provide assistance by phone and email. Staff will be available during regular business hours (Eastern Time). When staff are not available, calls will be routed to voicemail. All inquiries will be responded to within 24 hours. A dedicated LEMAS PATOW help email address will be provided with all written materials and emails. A phone number and email address for the survey’s principal investigator will be provided to respondents to ensure timely communications.
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.
The LEMAS PATOW data collection does not involve small businesses but includes small law enforcement agencies. BJS continues to use web-based data collection instruments to ease reporting and reduce the need for follow-up due to errors in reporting and incorrect skips caught by programmatic edit checks. Questions on the LEMAS PATOW instrument have been streamlined such that most responses allow LEAs to select from a list of options without needing to provide narratives or consult raw data pulls. This is intended to allow for easier LEA response burden as it avoids extensive data requests or entry. For small agencies that may not be able to submit electronically, the LEMAS PATOW will also be available via paper and phone.
Based in part on recommendations from the National Research Council, BJS determined it is necessary to establish a more regular schedule of future surveys of LEAs. To this end, a significant portion of BJS’s law enforcement data collection efforts have been combined into the Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS), which is comprised of the CSLLEA, LEMAS core, and LEMAS topical supplements. These data collection efforts will now share a common alternating schedule that will serve to reduce burden and increase the timeliness of data collection. Related to LECS is the CLETA, which also obtains law enforcement information about academy-level training. However, CLETA request data from law enforcement training academies, which are predominately two-year colleges rather than LEAs themselves. Table 1 shows the data collection schedule for these projects.
Table 1. Data collection schedule for the key law enforcement collections, 2022-2026
Collection |
Start of Data Collection |
2022 CSLLEA |
September 2022 (in field) |
2022 CLETA |
April 2023 |
2023 LEMAS PATOW supplement |
September 2023 |
2024 LEMAS core |
September 2024 |
2026 CSLLEA |
September 2026 |
Conducting multiple surveys to LEAs in a single year may lead to lower response rates and result in less precise and biased estimates for key survey items. Under the LECS model and taking into consideration other key BJS collections, only one survey administration using the same frame will be administered per year. Given the LECS schedule for CSLLEA and LEMAS core surveys, the next timeframe to start collecting post-academy and officer wellness programs data would be in late 2025 if not approved for September 2023.
7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:
requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;
requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;
requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;
requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;
in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;
requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;
that includes a pledge of confidentially that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or
requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.
There are no special circumstances. The LEMAS PATOW supplement collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.
The research under this clearance is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.8(d). The 60-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 88, Number 94, pages 31277-31278 on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 (Attachment 4). The comment period ended on July 17, 2023. In response to the 60-day notice, BJS did not receive any comments. The 30-day notice for public commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 88, Number 154, page 54666, on Friday, August 11, 2023 (Attachment 5).
BJS conducted an initial expert panel focused on in-service law enforcement training in September 2021. The purpose of the meeting was to identify the appropriate potential scope of topic list for a LEMAS supplement survey on such training. After initial survey development, BJS shared a copy of the draft LEMAS supplement survey instrument with the expert panel participants (research scholars known to have an interest in law enforcement issues and law enforcement professionals) in December 2021. These expert reviewers were given an electronic draft of the survey instrument and asked to comment on question wording, response categories, and overall structure and layout. Responses were primarily received as written annotations within the document. Participants outside of BJS and the RTI data collection team included:
Table 2. Expert panelists for BJS meeting on in-service/post-academy training
First |
Last |
Position |
Organization |
Shafiq |
Abdussabur |
Sergeant |
New Haven (CT) Police Department |
Joe |
Adams |
Deputy Chief |
Roseville (MN) Police Department |
Erik |
Bourgerie |
POST Director |
Colorado Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission (P.O.S.T.) |
Ryan |
Bricker |
Assistant Commander, Professional Development |
Maryland Department of State Police |
Timothy |
Cameron |
Sheriff |
St. Mary’s County (MD) Sheriff’s Office |
Gary |
Cordner |
Academic Director |
Baltimore (MD) Police Department |
Kenneth |
Corey |
Chief of Training |
New York Police Department |
William |
Forrester |
Commissioner, Tennessee POST |
Memphis (TN) Police Department |
Laura |
Huey |
Professor |
University of Western Ontario |
Shelley |
Hyland |
Supervisory Program Analyst |
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office |
Steve |
James |
Assistant Professor |
Washington State University |
Thaddeus |
Johnson |
Assistant Professor |
Georgia State University/Council on Criminal Justice |
Peter |
Koutoujian |
Sheriff |
Middlesex County (MA) Sheriff |
Scott |
Mourtgos |
Captain |
Salt Lake City (UT) Police Department |
James |
Mulcahy |
Acting Director of Professional Standards |
Cambridge (MA) Police Department |
Tom |
Nestel |
Chief of Police |
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority |
Mike |
Reese |
Sheriff |
Multnomah County (OR) Sheriff's Office |
Luther |
Reynolds |
Chief of Police |
Charleston (SC) Police Department |
Laurie |
Robinson |
Professor |
George Mason University |
Michael |
Schlosser |
Director |
Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois |
Brian |
Smith |
Commander, Education and Training Division |
Maryland Department of State Police |
Sean |
Smoot |
Director |
Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois/Council on Criminal Justice |
Mark |
Spangler |
Commander (ret.) |
Austin (TX) Police Department (ret.) |
Eve |
Stephens |
Lieutenant |
Austin (TX) Police Department |
Perry |
Tarrant |
Assistant Chief |
Seattle (WA) Police Department/NOBLE (ret.) |
Andrew |
Walsh |
Assistant Sheriff |
Las Vegas (NV) Metropolitan Police Department |
Mike |
White |
Professor |
Arizona State University |
Scott |
Wolfe |
Associate Professor |
Michigan State University |
The instrument was then cognitively tested. Twenty-four LEAs across the country, distributed evenly across small, large, state and local agencies, were emailed a draft of the supplement instrument, and a time was set up to talk through the instrument with a cognitive interviewer (Table 3). Law enforcement agency representatives also commented on question wording, response categories and layout, and identified any issues with recall or ability to complete the instrument. Results from cognitive interviewing were used to make final revisions to the instrument.
Table 3. Law enforcement agencies participating in LEMAS PATOW supplement cognitive interviews
Agency Type |
Agency Size |
Agency Name |
State |
Local PD |
Large |
Gloucester Township Police |
NJ |
Local PD |
Large |
Murfreesboro Police Department |
TN |
Local PD |
Large |
Fort Smith Police Department |
AR |
Sheriffs |
Large |
The Broward Sheriff’s Office |
FL |
Sheriffs |
Large |
Travis County Sheriff’s Office |
TX |
Sheriffs |
Large |
Montgomery County Sheriffs Office |
OH |
State PD |
Large |
Iowa Department of Public Safety |
IA |
Sheriffs |
Large |
Collin County Sheriffs Office |
TX |
Sheriffs |
Large |
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office |
NY |
State PD |
Large |
Florida Highway Patrol |
FL |
Local PD |
Large |
Lakeland Police Department |
FL |
Local PD |
Large |
Dallas Police Department |
TX |
Local PD |
Large |
Oceanside Police Department |
CA |
Sheriffs |
Large |
Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office |
LA |
Local PD |
Large |
Salt Lake City Police Department |
UT |
Sheriffs |
Small |
Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office |
MD |
Sheriffs |
Small |
Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office |
NE |
Local PD |
Small |
Canton Police Department |
NC |
Local PD |
Small |
Windsor Police Department |
VA |
Local PD |
Small |
Prosper Police Department |
TX |
Sheriffs |
Small |
Boyd County Sheriffs Office |
NE |
Local PD |
Small |
Upland Police Department |
CA |
Local PD |
Small |
Carpentersville, IL Police Department |
IL |
No government funds will be used as payment or for gifts to respondents. Participation is voluntary and no gifts or incentives will be given.
BJS,
its employees, and its data collection agents will only use the
information gathered in this data collection for statistical or
research purposes pursuant to 34 U.S.C. §§ 10231 and
10134.10
The
data collected through the LEMAS PATOW represent institutional
characteristics of publicly administered LEAs. Information collected
from these organizations is considered within the public domain. The
fact that participation in this survey is voluntary is included on
the first page of the survey instrument. While the final data are
archived publicly, BJS will not release the names, phone numbers, or
email addresses of the actual persons responsible for completing the
2023 LEMAS PATOW
survey.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
No questions of a sensitive nature are proposed for the 2023 LEMAS PATOW. While the instrument mentions topics related to violent crime and health data (e.g., mental health, suicide), the questions relate to programs or training in place within a law enforcement agency and not specific events or outcomes. These topics are necessary to understand the institutional resources available to law enforcement.
Approximately
3,500 agencies will be invited to participate in the 2023 LEMAS
PATOW.
BJS anticipates that one or more persons per surveyed agency will spend time reviewing, gathering, and completing the collection of information. Whether the response is provided by one or by more than one person, the average total burden for each agency is estimated to be 1.75 hours based on cognitive interview responses. The total burden for the 2023 LEMAS PATOW is 6,125 hours (Table 4). Estimates of annual burden on respondents are based on the number of hours required to review the instructions associated with the instruments, search existing data sources, obtain information necessary to complete data collection instruments, and respond to verification calls. Average reporting time is based cognitive interview respondents.
Using the mean hourly wage for police officers and sheriff’s deputies, the estimated agency cost of employee time would be approximately $34.32 hourly.11 Based on the estimated time burden per response and employee pay rate, the total respondent employee time cost burden is estimated at $210,210.
There are no anticipated costs to respondents beyond the employee time expended during completion of the survey instrument and addressed above.
Table
4. Summary of annual burden hours associated with the 2023 LEMAS
PATOW supplement
Activity |
Number of Respondents |
Frequency |
Total Annual Responses |
Time Per Response |
Total Annual Burden (Hours) |
Hourly Rate12 |
Monetized Value of Respondent Time |
2023 LEMAS PATOW Supplemental Survey |
3,500 |
1 |
3,500 |
1.75 hours |
6,125 |
$34.32 |
$210,210 |
Unduplicated Totals |
3,500 |
|
3,500 |
|
6,125 |
|
$210,210 |
There are no anticipated costs to respondents beyond the employee time expended in gathering advance information or completing the instrument. Respondents are not being asked to purchase anything or maintain any services as part of this data collection. Furthermore, purchase of outside accounting or information collection services, if performed by the respondent, is part of usual and customary business practices, not specifically required for providing information to BJS.
14. Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.
The estimated total burden cost to the federal government for all aspects of the 2023 LEMAS PATOW supplement (average) is $442,270. BJS personnel costs are calculated based on the Office of Personnel Management’s salary table effective January 2023.
Based upon contractual costs, the estimated costs to the government associated with the collection, processing, and publication of reports, and preparation of data files are projected for 2023-2024. The Department estimates $385,275 of contractual costs for 2023 and $300,864 for 2024. The estimated (average) total annual cost burden for this collection is $343,070.
Currently, the division of labor for data collection is as follows: The data collection agent via cooperative agreement maintains and updates the respondent contact information database, conducts the survey through web-based collection, conducts follow-up, collects the data, and prepares a dataset for BJS use. BJS staff analyze the data, prepare statistical tables, and write reports based on these data. See Table 5 for a detailed breakdown of costs to the Federal government.
Table 5. Estimated Federal burden costs for the LEMAS PATOW, 2023-2024
BJS costs |
2023 |
2024 |
||
|
Staff salaries |
|
|
|
|
|
GS-14 Statistician (30%) |
$47,400 |
$49,800 |
|
|
GS-13 Statistician (5%) |
$5,750 |
$6,000 |
|
|
GS-15 Supervisory Statistician (1%) |
$1,600 |
$1,700 |
|
|
GS-15 Chief Editor (1%) |
$1,600 |
$1,700 |
|
|
Other Editorial Staff (3%) |
$3,300 |
$3,500 |
|
|
Front-Office Staff (GS-15 & Directors) |
$1,000 |
$1,100 |
|
|
Subtotal salaries |
$60,650 |
$63,800 |
|
Fringe benefits (33% of salaries) |
$20,000 |
$21,000 |
|
|
Subtotal: Salary & fringe |
$80,650 |
$84,800 |
|
|
Other administrative costs of salary & fringe (20%) |
$16,100 |
$16,900 |
|
|
Subtotal: BJS costs |
$96,700 |
$101,700 |
|
Data collection agent cost |
|
|
||
Data collection agent costs (salaries, fringe benefits, web survey, email and telephone follow-up, programming, and overhead) |
$385,275 |
$300,864 |
||
Total estimated Federal burden costs |
$481,975 |
$402,564 |
||
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
Not applicable as this survey is a new collection.
16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.
Table 6. LEMAS PATOW project schedule
Task |
Start Date |
End Date |
Data collection |
September 2023 |
May 2024 |
Notification of impending due dates, nonresponse follow-up, thank you letters |
September 2023 |
May 2024 |
Data editing, verification, final callbacks |
September 2023 |
May 2024 |
Delivery of final analytic file and documentation |
June 2024 |
September 2024 |
Analysis |
September 2024 |
October 2024 |
Report writing, editing, and release |
October 2024 |
December 2024 |
For details on the project schedule, see Supporting Statement B.
Dissemination products include press releases, annual bulletins, and the availability of the data online. In addition, BJS makes products available through the BJS website to disseminate key statistics. BJS plans at least one public report based on the 2023 LEMAS PATOW, scheduled for December 2024, as part of the LEMAS report series
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
We are requesting no exemption.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
This collection of information does not include any exceptions to the certificate statement.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATON EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.
This collection contains statistical data.
List of Attachments
Attachment 1: Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132
Attachment 2: LEMAS PATOW Survey
Attachment 3: Cognitive Interview Report
Attachment 4: 60-Day Notice
Attachment 5: 30-Day Notice
Attachment 6: Prenotification Letter
Attachment 7: Prenotification Email
Attachment 8. Letter of Support
Attachment 9: Invitation Letter
Attachment 10: Survey Flyer (text only)
Attachment 11: Experimental Pre-Survey Worksheet (text only)
Attachment 12: First Reminder Email
Attachment 13: Second Reminder Postcard
Attachment 14: Third Reminder Email
Attachment 15: Fourth Reminder Letter
Attachment 16: Sample Phone Follow-Up Script
Attachment 17: Fifth Reminder Letter
Attachment 18: Sixth Reminder Email
Attachment 19: End of Study Letter
Attachment 20: Thank You Letter
1 General-purpose LEAs include municipal, county, and regional police departments; most sheriffs’ offices; and primary state and highway patrol agencies. They are distinct from special-purpose agencies, sheriffs’ offices with jail and court duties only, and federal LEAs.
2 National Research Council. (2009). Ensuring the quality, credibility, and relevance of US justice statistics. National Academies Press.
3 Huey, L. (2018). What do we know about in-service police training? Results of a failed systematic review. Western SocialScience Sociology Publications.
4 In-service training is a smaller subset of the larger post-academy training. Typically, in-service training is required by state law. Post-academy training includes in-service training, but also includes additional trainings such as elective training options, promotional trainings, or other opportunities for active police officers. The 2023 LEMAS supplement scope originally started asking about in-service training only, but expanded to the larger post-academy scope following a BJS-sponsored expert panel meeting in September 2021. As such, any required hours for in-service training represent a minimum count for post-academy training overall.
5 Hedegaard, H., Curtin, S. & Warner, M. (2021). Suicide mortality in the United States, 1999-2019. NCHS Data Brief, No. 398.
6 Violanti, J. M., & Steege, A. (2021). Law enforcement worker suicide: an updated national assessment. Policing, 44(1), 18–31.
7 See https://pcms.icpsr.umich.edu/pcms/reports/studies/37302/utilization, as of December 22, 2022.
8 BJS’s cooperative agreement with RTI for the 2023 LEMAS supplement survey was the result of a competition for development work (FY 2019 Law Enforcement Core Statistics (LECS) Program, Solicitation, BJS-2019-15728; see https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/lecs_sol.pdf) and a noncompetitive solicitation for implementation (FY 2022 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey (LEMAS), Solicitation, O-BJS-2022-171369; see https://bjs.ojp.gov/funding/awards/15pbjs-22-gk-00267-mumu).
9 Institution-level surveys of LEAs are typically directed to the chief executive, who will then assign data gathering to other units and employees. Once gathered, the data are typically reviewed by the chief executive and submitted either by the executive directly or by a point of contact assigned by the chief executive. This is a common experience across our LECS-related work and other LEA surveys.
10 For more information see: https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/bjs_data_protection_guidelines.pdf.
11 Hourly rate for police and sheriff’s patrol officers, see https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333051.htm
12 Ibid.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | Zhen.Zeng@ojp.usdoj.gov |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-08-18 |