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

June 2012

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.

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NIJ FY 12 Evaluability Assessment of Law Enforcement Agencies Using the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS)

Closing Date
NIJ seeks proposals to conduct an evaluability assessment of the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) model, which integrates location-based crime and traffic crash data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying law enforcement and other resources. This research seeks to improve law enforcement operations implemented to reduce crime, traffic crashes, and traffic violations as well as improve public safety.

NIJ FY 10 Officer and Vehicle Safety for Law Enforcement Applications

Closing Date
NIJ seeks proposals for funding to research, develop and demonstrate technologies that will enhance the safety of law enforcement officers and other criminal justice practitioners. These technologies and studies may include equipment worn, carried or used by criminal justice officers. Some efforts also may include the environment that an officer works in on a day-to-day basis. A major focus area of this solicitation is issues...