"Law Enforcement Facts"
1) There are approximately 675,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the
United States. About 10 percent of them are female.
2) Each year there are approximately 33 million crimes committed in the United States,
an average of one crime every two seconds.
3) Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1794, there
have been more than 14,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
4) A total of 1,659 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the last 10
years, an average of one death every 52 hours or 166 per year. There were 161 police
deaths in 1995.
5) On average, more than 65,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year and
some 23,000 are injured annually.
6) The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1974 when 268 officers were killed.
The deadliest decade was the 1970's when a total of 2,182 officers died, or 218 each year.
That figure has dropped dramatically in the 1990's to 152 per year.
7) The deadliest day in law enforcement history was November 24, 1917, when nine
Milwaukee (WI) police officers were killed in a bomb blast at headquarters, and a 10th
officer from the Columbus (OH) Police Department was shot and killed.
8) New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department,
with 526 deaths. California has lost 1,176 officers, more than any other state. The state
with the fewest deaths is Vermont, with 15.
9) There are 805 federal officers on the Memorial, 232 correctional officers and 18
military law enforcement officers.
10) There are 102 female officers listed on the Memorial, only seven of whom were killed
prior to 1970.
11) More officers have been killed in January (1,318) and December (1,309) than during
any other months of the year.
12) During the last 10 years, more officers were killed on Fridays than any other day of
the week. The fewest number of fatalities occurred on Sundays.
13) More officers were killed between 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. than during any other two-hour
period over the past decade.
Above taken from the pages of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
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Page created by:Alan L. Gunter
Changes last made on: Sat. Nov. 6th. 9:37am 1999