Detailed staffing data
obtained by TRAC from the Office of Personnel Management show
that the basic nature of the federal work force substantially
changed from 1975 to 2000. Overall, the number of civilian employees
declined by about one third in relation to population during the
last quarter of a century. At the same time, however, law enforcement
staff--criminal investigators, lawyers, prison guards--surged.
Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post and John O'Brien of the
Syracuse Herald American were among the reporters who talked with
sociologists, government officials and others to explore what
the changing patterns have been.