Beyond the Statistics: Law Enforcement Officer Fatality Rates in 2012

• NCJ Number: 241368
• Date Published: January 2013
• Length: 0 pages
• Agencies: OJP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Interview

Annotation

This Webcast of FEDtalk features an interview with an official from the Office of Justice Programs and the CEO of Memorial Fund who discuss the Memorial Fund's recently released report on 2012 officer fatality rates.

Abstract

This Webcast of FEDtalk features an interview with James Burch from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Craig Floyd, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund. The interview involves a discussion of efforts to improve officer safety following the release of the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund report on officer fatality rates for 2012. Craig Floyd provides a brief overview of the work of the Memorial Fund. James Burch provides an overview of the work of OJP and its efforts to promote officer safety at the Federal, State, and local level. He discusses in detail a national training program, VALOR (Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability). Also discussed are the National Officer Safety and Wellness Group, established by the U.S. Attorney General following the increase in officer deaths in 2010 and 2011; and efforts to reduce officer deaths resulting from firearms, automobile accidents, and job-related stress and officer health. There are four things that police officers can do to ensure their safety: 1) wear their body armor; 2) wear their seatbelts; 3) drive slower and more cautiously; and 4) never be complacent. To ensure officer safety, OJP provides funding to local and State agencies to purchase or upgrade officer body armor, and as of today over 92 percent of agencies have a requirement that officers use body armor when on the street. The discussion also focuses on efforts by OJP and the Department of Justice to improve the wearability of protective vests, research to reduce driver distraction and improve placement of equipment in police vehicles, and efforts to assist family and co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty.