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Paulette Figoski (L) the ex-wife of murdered NYPD officer Peter Figoski grieves with his mother on Dec. 19 in Babylon, N.Y. Figoski, the father of four daughters, was killed while responding to a robbery. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Law enforcement officer deaths in the line of duty increased 13 percent this year compared to last, according to a recent report from The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).
Using FBI data, the NLEOMF report contained preliminary 2011 figures, and was published Dec. 28. It showed that federal, state, and local officer fatalities were up compared to last year, with a noticeable increase in firearms-related deaths, up 15 percent.
Traffic related fatalities and gunshots were the most frequent causes of death for officers.
Across the country, 173 officers were killed on the job, compared to 153 killed last year. Overall casualties for the past decade averaged 163 deaths per year, 59,069 assaults per year, and 16,041 injuries per year, the report stated.
“This is a devastating and unacceptable trend. Each of these deaths is a tragic reminder of the threats that law enforcement officers face each day—and the fact that too many guns have fallen into the hands of those who are not legally permitted to possess them,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in an official statement.
Holder said he and his colleagues at the Justice Department were determined to reverse the deadly increase. “I want to assure the family members and loved ones who have mourned the loss of these heroes that we are responding to this year’s increased violence with renewed vigilance and will do everything within our power—and use every tool at our disposal–to keep our police officers safe.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) started an Officer Safety Initiative and an Officer Safety and Wellness Working Group, both being information sharing and training platforms. The Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) program is a DOJ training and technical assistance program meant to help local law enforcement prepare for, anticipate, and survive violence.
VALOR was developed to respond to an increase in ambush attacks on officers, according to the NLEOMF. According to the DOJ, 538 officers have been trained, and 5,000 officers have received VALOR officer safety toolkits.
The DOJ also reimburses local jurisdictions for safety vests. Since January 2011, the vests funded by the Justice Department are credited for saving 16 officers’ lives, according to a statement by Attorney General Eric Holder.
The DOJ has contributed $23 million to local agencies for 79,684 bullet and stab-resistant vests.
States in the South topped the list of states with the greatest number of fatalities. Florida suffered the worst loss of officers, with 14 killed. Texas, New York, California, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed.
According to the NLEOMF, the deadliest decade for law enforcement was the 1970s, when each year an average of 229 officers died in the line of duty. Since the 1990s, law enforcement deaths and violent crimes overall have declined.
The worst single year in American history was 1930, when 285 officers were killed. The deadliest day was Sept. 11, 2001, when 72 officers died in terrorist attacks.
On average, “one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 53 hours,” according to NLEOMF, which states on its website that “more than 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice” since the first recorded line-of-duty death occurred in 1791.
About 900,000 people in America are sworn law enforcement officers, and about 12 percent of those are women.
