U.S. Marshals Service: Protect, Defend, Enforce

U.S. Marshal briefing for Operation Falcon (Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally), on June 16, 2008. The U.S. Marshals teamed with its partners from federal, state, and local law enforcement to engage in the record-breaking initiative. It was the fifth effort in a continuing series of historically successful national fugitive apprehension missions, which have resulted in the collective capture of more than 55,800 dangerous fugitive felons. Courtesy U.S. Marshal Service

According to a report titled “National Sources of Law Enforcement Employment Data” by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the FBI estimates approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies exist in America.

This information is gleaned from the number of agencies that report annual data to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.