July 2, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
How risky is police work?
Almost 150 police officers died from injuries on the job each
year, on average, from 1992 through 1997. Homicides and highway crashes contributed to
three-quarters of these fatalities. Other transportation incidents including helicopter
crashes and being struck by vehicles were the next most common events leading to a
fatality.
[Chart data—TXT]
The rate of fatal workplace injuries to police officers and other law enforcement
personnel averaged about 14 per 100,000 employed for the period 1992-97, compared to an
average rate of 5 per 100,000 employed for all occupations. The fatality rate for law
enforcement was fairly stable over the 6-year period. In 1995, however, the rate increased
to almost 17 fatalities per 100,000 employed, due in part to the deaths of 14 police
officers in the Oklahoma City bombing. Then, in 1996 the rate dropped to a low of just
under 11 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics
Program. Additional information is available in "Fatalities to Law Enforcement Officers and
Firefighters, 1992-97" (PDF
43K), Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1999.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
.
Read more »
