Protecting our Protectors: Using Science to Improve Officer Safety and Wellness

Each year, 100-200 law enforcement officers die in the line of duty. Last year, 177 lost their lives — a 16-percent increase from 2010. As Attorney General Eric Holder noted, this is a devastating and unacceptable trend. NIJ has developed a robust research portfolio to improve officer safety and wellness and, ultimately, save lives. This panel discussed some of NIJ’s most promising work to reduce shooting and traffic-related fatalities — consistently the leading causes of officer line-of-duty deaths — and improve officer wellness, which is inextricably linked with officer safety.

 

Moderator: John H. Laub, Director, National Institute of Justice

Panelists:
Chief Walter McNeil, President, International Association of Chiefs of Police
Karen Amendola, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer, Police Foundation
John Violanti, Ph.D., Research Professor, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Carrick Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mississippi State University
Bryan Vila, Ph.D., Professor, Washington State University