This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of sworn police officers by the total population. We multiply the result by 1,000. According to the FBI, sworn officers meet the following criteria: “they work in an official capacity, they have full arrest powers, they wear a badge (ordinarily), they carry a firearm (ordinarily), and they are paid from governmental funds set aside specifically for payment of sworn law enforcement representatives.” In counties with relatively few people, a small change in the number of officers may have a significant effect on rates from year to year.
In Idaho...
- There were 1.5 police officers per 1,000 people in 2021, compared to 2.4 in the U.S..