Then & now: trends in fatal law enforcement traffic collisions

The purpose of this paper is to analyze trends in fatal law enforcement officer (LEO) traffic collisions and describes prior research approaches and industry responses. It reviews the issue from historical and contemporary perspectives and details its problems for public policy.

Descriptive statistics are applied to data primarily covering the period 1995 to 2010 contained in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime in the USA and LEO Killed and Assaulted reports and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System database. Trends are established and comparisons are offered between groups.

Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for LEOs. Traffic fatalities in the general public have steadily decreased in past decades. This has not been the trend among LEOs. This issue has been studied from several disciplinary perspectives in the social, cognitive, biological, engineering, and natural sciences. While the law enforcement industry has documented the trend, concerted efforts to mitigate the issue have been limited until recently.

Law enforcement practitioners and policymakers should take note of research findings and pursue training, policy, and practice changes to limit LEO traffic fatalities and effect an improvement trend consistent with the national reduction in highway deaths.

This paper brings together previously uncoupled data sources and prior research to identify problematic trends and contextualize LEO traffic fatalities as a subset of all traffic fatalities. It provides law enforcement policymakers a stark and revealing assessment of the most dangerous aspect of their field.