Law enforcement operations

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism and the National Institute of Justice have partnered with the Kenya Wildlife Service to provide low cost aircraft to assist in the protection of Kenya wildlife. NIJ will take the lessons learned in Kenya to apply to state, local and tribal law enforcement in the United States. The project is funded through the U.S. Department of State counter-terrorism fund.

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.