Above and Beyond the Call of Duty: Preventing Off-Duty Officer Deaths

• NCJ Number: 161107
• Journal: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 65 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1996) Pages: 1-5
• Author(s): E F Davis; A J Pinizzotto
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Statistics indicate that personal safety is more than a routine concern for police officers; in 1992, 70 city, county, and State police officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty and 66,975 police officers were assaulted while performing law enforcement functions both on and off duty.

Abstract

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 130 off duty police officers were feloniously killed between 1975 and 1985. During 1991-1993, 35 police officers were feloniously killed while off-duty, and the largest number of deaths in this period occurred when police officers intervened in robberies. The other 20 police officers died under the following circumstances: eight in ambush, four while investigating suspicious activities, three during other arrest situations, two while handling disturbance calls, two while initiating traffic stops, and one during a burglary in progress. In addition, the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division conducted a study of 51 cases in which 50 offenders killed 54 police officers, two of whom were off-duty but were involved in law enforcement actions that resulted in their death. This study included detailed interviews with perpetrators who killed the off-duty police officers. In response to police deaths, law enforcement agencies have developed safety training programs to help police officers survive potentially deadly encounters with armed offenders. Even so, the number of assaults and killings has not declined significantly and has actually increased in some areas. Law enforcement agencies need well- defined policies that clearly explain what functions off-duty police officers must perform. These policies must delineate whether off-duty police officers should carry weapons, what they should do if they witness a crime or become crime victims, and how to handle encounters with on-duty police officers. 5 endnotes and 2 photographs