Police officers have a serious job to do—keep society safe by enforcing our laws. However, most states only have one to three police officers per 1,000 civilians. This got us thinking about which states have the least amount of police officers per capita, the most crimes per officer, and therefore, the busiest policemen and women.
Below, you’ll find the 10 busiest states for officers when it comes to handling a large load of both violent and property crimes. All findings are based off of 2014 FBI crime statistics, Census data, and analysis by the SafeWise team. While there are a lot factors that impact crime rates—police tactics, poverty levels, population density, demographics, etc.—this map is here to demonstrate the hefty workload American police officers have on their plates each year.