PPB January 2017

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f i r s t r esponde r s
44 | JANUARY 2017 |
GROW
Police
In 2015, police departments that served
cities with 50,000 or more residents
employed roughly 16 officers for every
10,000 residents, according to data gathered
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Though their staffing totals were lower
than some other major cities, Washington,
D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, and Wilmington,
Delaware, had the highest number of officers
per capita among cities reporting their data
to the FBI—56.9, 43.4 and 42.6 respectively.
In contrast, Sammamish, Washington,
employed just 27 officers.
While New York City
reported employing
nearly 35,400 police
officers—it is the
nation’s largest police
force—the ratio was 41.4
officers per capita, slightly
lower than D.C., Baltimore
and Wilmington.
Source:
Paramedics and EMTs
Just over 240,000 people were employed as emergency medical
technicians or paramedics in 2014, and the 10-year outlook for
job growth through 2024 was estimated at 24 percent—more than
three times as fast as the average growth rate for all jobs.
Average hourly pay for employees in 2015 was just under
$32,000 a year; hospital-affiliated workers earned nearly $35,000,
local government employees earned an average of $34,770, and
employees of ambulance services earned $29,710 annually.
The states illustrated below boast the most employees in the
EMT and paramedic fields.
Emergency response encompasses disaster and crisis management, mitigation and recovery, and groups can include government,
nongovernmental (NGO) and private agencies and organizations. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) empowers
participating states to lend emergency management and disaster response aid to one another. The EMAC program encourages states to
use NGO and private sector resources.
The National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) conducted a study among states that have used private sector and NGO
resources to assist other states in emergency situations. The survey found that 40 of the 43 participating states have provided assistance
in more than 58 events since 2006, including blizzards, floods, ice storms and special events such as the 2008 Presidential Inauguration.
While more than 86 percent of participating states rendered assistance to other states, 62 percent of states reported receiving
assistance between 2006 and 2016. Massachusetts reported the greatest number of events for which it received assistance (five).
84%
provided
assistance after
hurricanes
73%
assisted after
flooding
36%
assisted after
tornadoes
31%
assisted after
severe weather
24%
assisted
after tropical
systems
7%
assisted
after an
environmental
emergency
2%
assisted in
HAZMAT/
Transportation
2%
assisted after
a pandemic
flu outbreak
Percentage Of State Assistance
Source: National Emergency Management Association
Emergency Response
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Statistics
CALIFORNIA
TEXAS
ILLINOIS
NEW YORK
PENNSYLVANIA