Police killed by gunfire reached a 50-year low.

[Missourian]

This deserves it's own thread.




Fewer Police Officers Killed in Line of Duty in 2008

• Dec 31, 2008

This year is ending as one of the safest years for U.S. law enforcement in decades. The number of officers killed in the line of duty fell sharply this year when compared with 2007, and officers killed by gunfire reached a 50-year low.

Based on their analysis of preliminary data, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) reported on Dec. 29 they found that 140 officers have died in the line of duty this year, a 23 percent reduction from the 2007 figure of 181. Other than 1996, when 139 officers were killed, 2008 represents the lowest year for officer fatalities since 1965, when 136 officers died in the line of duty.

This year's reduction includes a steep, 40 percent drop in the number of officers who were shot and killed, from 68 in 2007 to 41 in 2008. The last time firearms-related fatalities were this low was 1956, when there were 35 such deaths. The 2008 figure is 74 percent lower than the total for 1973, when a near-record high 156 law enforcement officers were shot and killed.


Fewer Police Officers Killed in Line of Duty in 2008 -- Occupational Health & Safety

 

[Againsheila]

So the question is why? What's different?

 

[Missourian]

So the question is why? What's different?

I don't know what the answer is, but I know that it's not gun control.

 

[Missourian]

And according to the DOJ violent crime is also at an all time low:​

Violent crime rates have declined, reaching the lowest level ever in 2005.​

Bureau of Justice Statistics Violent Crime Rate Trends​

 

[KittenKoder]

So the question is why? What's different?

I don't know what the answer is, but I know that it's not gun control.

Quite the contrary, it is that more people are demonstrating a willingness to fight back against the criminals. Recently with the popularity of "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted" as well as the new wave of good samaritans, the criminals see that decent people are now more willing to fight back, then add in the growing popularity guns have had since the debate and many are just scare shitless now. Why do you think so many criminals want stricter gun control?

 

[strollingbones]

devils advocate: how many people have been shot and killed by the police, by mistake?

 

[KittenKoder]

devils advocate: how many people have been shot and killed by the police, by mistake?

Depends on how you define mistake ...