To Protect and To Serve

Despite being one of the largest cost-drivers for a municipality, most citizens support a local police force to protect and serve the public.  As such, the safety of law enforcement personnel also should be a priority, especially when it might involve an officer’s life.

I found it interesting, however, to discover the greatest danger to law enforcement.  Given the recent controversy over gun control, one would think gun-related deaths must rank as the highest threat. Not so, say statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the national organization that tracks data on fatalities among police and corrections officers (federal, state, and local).

Over the past decade (2003-2012) vehicle-related (automobile, motorcycle) deaths accounted for 672 (>40%) of the 1540 law enforcement deaths nationally.  Gun-related deaths totaled 564 (>36%).  A police officer was more likely to be struck by or killed in a car accident than shot by a gun.  The third- highest cause of law enforcement deaths during this period was job-related illness.

Many municipalities provide body armor for their police; the practice of using his vehicle to shield an officer during a traffic stop along a highway also helps.  These practices have helped decrease shooting deaths by 22% from 2011 to 2012 (59 deaths to 46 deaths), and traffic-related deaths by 32% (72 to 49).

Still, more can be done nationally to protect the backs of our local police.  Local governments should (1) track the data for their departments; (2) determine the risks to their officers and the sources of those risks; and (3) take whatever steps are appropriate to minimize or eliminate the risks (policies, practices, equipment, training).

It seems to be the least we can do for those who daily put their lives on the line for us.