A half-century investigation of police officer line-of-duty deaths: putting the recent spike in long-term context

• DOI

Abstract

Research has documented long-term large declines in police line-of-duty deaths over the last 5 decades. The persistence of this decline has been challenged recently by an unprecedented dual threat to officer safety: increased violent attacks on police and the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine all local, county, state, and federal officer line-of-duty deaths from 1970–2021 using data from the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). We examine long-term trends and conduct a decade-by-decade analysis of those deaths. More officers died in 2021 than in any year in the last half-century. Violent killings of police reached the highest level in 20 years, and 523 officers died from COVID-19 in a two-year span. At the state level, there is a significant association between the prevalence of police officer deaths resulting from COVID-19 and general population vaccination rates. We explore the implications of these findings for agency policy and practice with regard to officer safety.

Citation

White, M. D., Monk, K., & Watts, S. (2024). A half-century investigation of police officer line-of-duty deaths: putting the recent spike in long-term context. Police Practice and Research, 25(4), 419-436.

@article{white2024half,
  title={A half-century investigation of police officer line-of-duty deaths: putting the recent spike in long-term context},
  author={White, Michael D and Monk, Khadija and Watts, Seth},
  journal={Police Practice and Research},
  volume={25},
  number={4},
  pages={419--436},
  year={2024},
  publisher={Taylor \& Francis}
}