SECTION I: RISKS TO OFFICERS
Law enforcement executives were asked to assess 1) the current safety risks to their officers relative to neighboring jurisdictions and 2) the change in risks to officers within their own agency over the past three years (1=Much lower, 3=About the same, 5=Much higher).
The safety risks to officers in your agency relative to neighboring jurisdictions
The officer safety risks in your jurisdiction compared to 3 years ago
Analysis:Overall, executives view the risks to their officers as relatively the same as the risks facing officers in neighboring jurisdictions. However, executives were more likely to report the risks to officer safety have increased in their jurisdiction over the past three years.
Focusing on these specific officer safety risks, the survey asked the executives to rate the risk (1=low, 2=moderate, 3=high) of their officers being killed or seriously injured from a variety of listed events.
Analysis:Officers being killed or seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision received the highest perceived risk assessment – 2.42 out of 3 – followed by being struck on the roadway and exposure to illicit drugs or precursor chemicals. Officers being killed or seriously injured from being shot or assaulted with an edged weapon had the lowest perceived risk of 1.88, slightly less than moderate risk.
| 1-24 Officers | 25-49 Officers | 50-99 Officers | 100-499 Officers | 500 or more officers | Being assaulted (excluding gunshot wounds) | 1.95 | 2.07 | 2.08 | 2.20 | 2.36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Being shot | 1.75 | 1.85 | 1.87 | 1.94 | 2.18 |
| Being assaulted with an edged weapon | 1.76 | 1.87 | 1.85 | 1.99 | 2.12 |
| Being in a motor vehicle collision | 2.25 | 2.47 | 2.41 | 2.46 | 2.66 |
| Being struck on the roadway while outside the vehicle | 2.28 | 2.28 | 2.20 | 2.15 | 2.43 |
| Exposure to illicit drugs or precursor chemicals | 2.06 | 2.32 | 2.25 | 2.32 | 2.36 |
1 = Low Risk 2 = Moderate Risk 3 = High Risk
Analysis:
An analysis of perceived risks by agency size shows executive perception that officers will be seriously injured or killed increases with agency size for each type of risk.
Executives from state agencies reported much higher perceived risks for each type of risk than municipal and county agencies. This finding supports the aforementioned finding that agencies of larger sizes typically report higher risk perceptions.
| Northeast | Midwest | South | West | Being assaulted (excluding gunshot wounds) | 2.12 | 2.04 | 2.14 | 2.09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Being shot | 1.79 | 1.90 | 2.01 | 1.80 |
| Being assaulted with an edged weapon | 1.86 | 1.87 | 1.95 | 1.86 |
| Being in a motor vehicle collision | 2.38 | 2.45 | 2.46 | 2.37 |
| Being struck on the roadway while outside the vehicle | 2.21 | 2.36 | 2.27 | 2.11 |
| Exposure to illicit drugs or precursor chemicals | 2.33 | 2.29 | 2.23 | 2.13 |
1 = Low Risk 2 = Moderate Risk 3 = High Risk
Analysis:
An examination of perceived risks by region of the country shows agencies in the South typically report higher perceived risks to officer safety than agencies elsewhere in the country with a few exceptions.
Law enforcement executives were next asked if any of their officers had been killed or seriously injured in the past three years from any of the identified risks, with the inclusion of gunshot through friendly fire and other causes as additional risk categories.
Analysis:
Slightly more than half of the agencies reported no officers had been killed or seriously injured in their agency within the past three years. For agencies that did report a serious injury or fatality in the last three years, the most commonly reported events in which serious injury or death to an officer occurred were assaults (excluding gunshot wound or edged weapon) and motor vehicle collisions.
| Northeast | Midwest | South | West | A motor vehicle crash (officer/deputy in the vehicle at the time of collision) | 21% | 23% | 34% | 23% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Being struck by a vehicle while on the roadway or shoulder (outside the vehicle) | 10% | 9% | 12% | 11% |
| Gunshot wound (as a result of an assailant) | 3% | 9% | 13% | 15% |
| Gunshot wound (friendly fire) | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% |
| Edged weapon wound | 3% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Assault (excluding gunshot wound or edged weapon) | 20% | 26% | 29% | 32% |
| Other cause | 9% | 4% | 1% | 4% |
| No serious injuries or deaths have occurred in my agency in the last three years | 60% | 51% | 50% | 46% |
Section I Takeaway:
While assault (excluding gunshot wound or edged weapon) was the most commonly reported event in which an officer was seriously injured or killed, executives ranked assaults fourth on the scale of perceived risks, labeling it only a moderate risk. For motor vehicle collisions, however, perceived risk (ranked first) was more closely aligned with actual risk (ranked second).