List of largest local police departments in the United States explained

This is a list of the largest local police departments in the United States as defined by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, by numbers of full-time sworn personnel.[1]

Rank Department State/Territory Number of full-time
sworn officers
As of
(with reference)
1 New York City Police Department (NYPD) 33,695April 2024[2]
2 Chicago Police Department (CPD) 11,780 February 2024[3]
3 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) 8,959 April 2024[4]
4 Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) 5,544 March 2024[5]
5 Houston Police Department (HPD) 5,164 February 2024[6]
6 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) 3,363 2022[7]
7 Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) 3,328 March 2024[8]
8 Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) 3,120 September 2022[9]
9 Dallas Police Department (DPD) 3,031 January 2024[10]
10 Phoenix Police Department (PPD) 2,563 April 2024[11]
11 Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) 2,508 September 2023[12]
12 Detroit Police Department (DPD) 2,496 January 2024[13]
13 San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) 2,403 March 2023[14]
14 Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) 2,246 September 2023[15]
15 Baltimore Police Department (BPD) 2,008 March 2024[16]
16 San Diego Police Department (SDPD) 1,870 January 2024[17]
17 Columbus Division of Police (CPD) 1,859 July 2023[18]
18 San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) 1,857 March 2024[19]
19 Memphis Police Department (MPD) 1,850 March 2024[20]
20 Baltimore County Police Department (BCoPD) 1,747 April 2023[21]
21 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) 1,746 April 2024[22] [23]
22 Honolulu Police Department (HPD) 1,740 March 2024[24]
23 Boston Police Department (BPD) 1,711 March 2024[25]
24 Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) 1,664 November 2023[26]
25 Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) 1,595 December 2023[27]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Local Police Departments 2016: Personnel. Hyland . Shelley S. . Davis . Elizabeth . October 2019 . Bureau of Justice Statistics . Bureau of Justice Statistics . July 22, 2022.
  2. Web site: Demographics. New York City Police Department . Police Department, City of New York.
  3. News: Sheridan . Jake . February 5, 2024 . Aldermen call for report on Chicago police deployment . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, IL . April 6, 2024.
  4. Web site: Office of the Chief of Police . April 6, 2024 . Los Angeles Police Department . LAPD.
  5. News: Schultz . Brooke . March 22, 2024 . Philly police face a hiring crisis: Some policies are being loosened to find more cadets . WHYY PBS . April 6, 2024.
  6. Web site: Monthly Operational Summary . February 2024 . Houston Police Department . City of Houston . April 6, 2024.
  7. Web site: LVMPD 2022 Annual Report . 2024-04-04 . online.fliphtml5.com.
  8. Metropolitan Police District of Columbia . March 5, 2024 . Council Staffing Report . April 11, 2024.
  9. Web site: Miami-Dade Police Department Business Plan . February 2023 . Miami-Dade County Government. April 21, 2024.
  10. News: Barrera . Alicia . January 4, 2024. Dallas Police Chief discusses 2023 Dallas year-end crime numbers . NBC 5 DFW . April 6, 2024.
  11. News: Hayes . Patrick . April 2, 2024 . Phoenix still looking to hire hundreds of first responders . ABC 15 Arizona . April 21, 2024.
  12. Web site: Review of the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget and Multi-Year Plan: Departmental Analysis . October 2022 . Nassau County Government. April 21, 2024.
  13. News: Herberg . Laura . February 16, 2024 . Most Detroit police officers don’t live here, and most new recruits aren’t Black . Outlier Media . April 21, 2024.
  14. Web site: San Antonio Police Department Sworn Officer Demographics . March 24, 2023 . City of San Antonio. May 27, 2023.
  15. Web site: Review of the 2024 Recommended Operating Budget . October 2023 . Suffolk County Legislature. April 21, 2024.
  16. News: Frost . Mikenzie . March 11, 2024 . Vacancy rates continue to impact BPD, union warns agency is 'at a breaking point' . Fox Baltimore . April 21, 2024.
  17. Web site: San Diego Police . San Diego Police Department. April 1, 2023.
  18. News: Crisp . Lacey . July 27, 2023 . After 9 months, nearly half of lateral transfers into Columbus police have left . 10 WBNS . April 28, 2024.
  19. Web site: San Francisco Police Department Sworn Demographics. San Francisco Police Department.
  20. News: Cook . Kelli . March 8, 2024 . Technology and crime: Could drones solve the police officer shortage? . WMC Action News 5 . April 21, 2024.
  21. News: Blackwell . Penelope . April 18, 2023 . Robert McCullough sworn in as Baltimore County’s first Black police chief . The Baltimore Banner . May 26, 2023.
  22. Web site: FY 2024 Adopted Budget . June 12, 2023 . City of Charlotte. April 28, 2024.
  23. Web site: April 22, 2024 . CMPD Graduates 58 Officers, Largest Recruit Class Since 2010 . Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department . April 28, 2024.
  24. News: Tsai . Michael. April 24, 2024 . HPD applications up 54% since incentives announced. Spectrum News . April 28, 2024.
  25. Web site: POST Commission List of Officer Status As Of 3/29/2024 . March 29, 2024 . Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. April 28, 2024.
  26. News: Wolf . Emily . November 8, 2023 . Fort Worth rolls out new strategies to reduce police vacancies. KERA News. April 28, 2024.
  27. News: Pofahl . Emily . February 1, 2024 . 41 new Milwaukee police officers graduate training, department still short staffed. WISN 12 ABC. April 28, 2024.