SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following four points:

—Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, including whether the information will have practical utility;

—Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

—Evaluate whether and if so, how the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected can be enhanced; and

—Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Abstract: BJS has conducted the CSLLEA regularly since 1992. The 2026 CSLLEA will be the ninth administration. Historically, the CSLLEA generates an enumeration of all publicly funded state, county, and local law enforcement agencies operating in the United States. The 2026 CSLLEA will also include campus law enforcement agencies serving private institutions. The CSLLEA will provide complete personnel counts and an overview of the functions performed for approximately 22,000 law enforcement agencies operating nationally. The survey asks about the level of government that operates the agency; oversight of any agency sub-components; total operating budget; full-time and part-time personnel counts for sworn, limited sworn, and non-sworn employees; sex of full-time sworn, limited sworn, and non-sworn personnel; race and Hispanic origin of full-time sworn officers; and the functions the agency performs on a regular or primary basis. Upon completion, the 2026 CSLLEA will serve as the sampling frame for future law enforcement surveys administered by BJS.

Overview of This Information Collection

1. Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement, with changes, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired.

2. Title of the Form/Collection: 2026 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA).

3. Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: The form number is CJ-38. The applicable component within the Department of Justice is the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in the Office of Justice Programs.

4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as the obligation to respond: Respondents will include all state, county, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States that are (1) publicly funded general purpose law enforcement agencies employing at least the equivalent of one full-time sworn officer with general arrest powers or (2) publicly or privately funded campus law enforcement agencies employing at least the equivalent of one full-time sworn officer with general arrest powers. Both general purpose agencies ( i.e., any public agency with sworn officers whose patrol and enforcement responsibilities are primarily delimited by the boundaries of a municipal, county, or state government) and special purpose agencies ( e.g., campus law enforcement, transportation, natural resources, etc.) meeting the above description will be asked to respond. ( printed page 20706)

5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: Approximately 22,000 agencies will be invited to participate, spending an average of 32 minutes each to complete form CJ-38, including time to research or find information not readily available. In addition, an estimated 11,000 respondents will be contacted for data quality follow-up at 10 minutes per respondent.

6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The total burden hours for this collection is 13,566.

7. An estimate of the total annual cost burden associated with the collection, if applicable: $521,000.

If additional information is required, contact: Darwin Arceo, Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Enterprise Portfolio Management, Two Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W-218, Washington, DC.

91 FR 20705