Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999 3

Fatalities to Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters

CINDY CLARKE

MARK J. ZAK

Fatalities to Law

Enforcement Officers

and Firefighters, 1992-97

Police and firefighters face unique job hazards. They

are more likely than other workers to die violently–from

gunshots, vehicle accidents, and fire related incidents.

Their risk of suffering a fatal incident is three times

greater than for all workers.

Cindy Clarke and Mark J. Zak are economists

in the Office of Safety, Health and Working

Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 606-6175

E-mail: cfoistaff@bls.gov

I

n every community in the United

States, law enforcement personnel

and firefighters regularly put their

lives in harm’s way to protect the public. The risk of a fatal incident for law

enforcement personnel and firefighters

is three times greater than for all workers.1

 During 1992-97, over 1,100 law

enforcement personnel and firefighters

were killed in the line of duty, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

(CFOI). Most of the 887 police fatalities occurred during the pursuit of

criminals—some were shot and others

were fatally injured in highway crashes.

Likewise, the 259 firefighters killed on

the job often died fighting fires and conducting rescue operations.

Law Enforcement Personnel

Law enforcement personnel, such as

police officers, detectives, and special

agents are responsible for enforcing

laws and regulations designed to protect life and property. They are an integral part of the criminal justice system, and daily life would be chaotic

without their services. In 1997, over

one million violent crimes were reported in the United States, and about

700,000 arrests were made by police

officers. 2

Police officers spend much of their

time patrolling designated areas to preserve the peace and prevent crime.

When the law is violated, they perform

a range of duties from apprehending

criminals to issuing traffic citations.

Detectives and special agents who

work as plainclothes investigators

gather facts, collect evidence for criminal cases, and participate in raids or

arrests. Other special agents employed

by Federal Government agencies conduct complex criminal investigations,

carry out surveillance of criminals, infiltrate illicit drug organizations using

undercover techniques, and apprehend

violators of Federal laws. Correctional

officers, who are employed in local jails

and Federal and State prisons, maintain internal security and observe inmate conduct to prevent disturbances

and escapes. They are often locked in

a cell-block with as many as 100 inmates.

Good training, teamwork, and special equipment such as bullet-resistant

vests and helmets minimize the number of injuries and fatalities to law en-
4 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999

forcement personnel. Nevertheless, the

risks associated with pursuing speeding or fleeing motorists, apprehending

criminals, and dealing with public disorders often are life threatening for the

officer. As a result, fatalities among

law enforcement personnel are high,

with homicide being the leading cause

followed by highway crashes.3

Fatal and nonfatal injuries by

event or exposure

As the following text table shows, over

the period 1992-97, homicides and

highway crashes were the two major

events contributing to 75 percent of the

fatalities for law enforcement personnel.4

 Nationally, homicides accounted

for one-half of the fatalities to law enforcement personnel, while highway

crashes accounted for about one-third.

Text table 1. Fatalities incurred by law

enforcement personnel by event or

exposure, 1992-97

Event or exposure Number Percent

 Total .................... 887 100

Assaults and violent

 acts ........................ 449 51

 Homicides ............ 403 45

Transportation

 incidents ................. 384 43

 Highway ................. 272 31

Falls .......................... 19 2

Exposure to harmful

 substances or

 environments .......... 15 2

Contact with objects

 and equipment ........ 12 1

Other ......................... 8 1

Law enforcement personnel must

always be on guard against the risk of

assault while conducting drug raids,

responding to calls reporting robberies or other felonies, serving arrest

warrants, issuing traffic summonses,

and answering domestic disputes. Nine

out of 10 homicides to law enforcement

personnel resulted from a shooting.

Stabbings, beatings, and other violent

acts, accounted for about 10 percent of

the homicides.

In addition to being on guard against

assaults, police officers must respond

to calls as quickly as possible. Quick

response often requires traveling at

high rates of speed in police cruisers

to get to the scene of the crime or emergency. Over half of the highway incidents involved collisions between two

vehicles, mostly moving in opposite

directions or through intersections.

One-third of the highway incidents involved vehicles that ran off the road or

overturned without colliding with another vehicle.

Directing traffic and issuing traffic

summonses exposes police officers to

the dangers of working near speeding

motor vehicles. About 18 percent of

the fatal transportation incidents were

due to officers being struck by vehicles

either in the road or on the side of the

roadway.

During search and rescue operations

and prisoner transport, law enforcement personnel may use aircraft, including helicopters. Thirty law enforcement personnel lost their lives in

aircraft crashes in the period 1992-97.

Half of these crashes involved helicopters.

Text table 2 lists the six States with

the highest number of fatalities for law

enforcement personnel during the period 1992-97. For comparison, nonfatal injuries resulting from acts of violence and involving days away from

work to recuperate are shown for California, New York, and North Carolina

for the years 1992-96.5

The leading event for nonfatal injuries involving days away from work to

law enforcement personnel in California, New York, and North Carolina

were injuries from assaults. In these

States, the fatal assaults were disproportionately higher than the nonfatal

assaults to law enforcement personnel.

Whereas homicides accounted for almost half of the fatalities in each State,

nonfatal assaults accounted for about

one-fifth of the nonfatal injuries in California and North Carolina, and onefourth in New York. In all States, fatalities to law enforcement personnel

were divided mainly between homicides and transportation incidents. In

California, New York, and North Carolina, nonfatal injuries with days away

from work were divided among several

types of injury events or exposures,

including contact with objects or equipment, transportation incidents, falls on

the same level, and overexertion.

The urban setting

In the United States, the majority of

fatalities to law enforcement personnel

occurred in urban areas.6

 Of the cases

that were reported, three-fourths occurred in urban areas and one-fourth

in rural areas. In urban areas, half of

the fatalities to law enforcement officers were due to homicides whereas

about one-third were due to highway

crashes. Two-thirds of the 66 fatalities due to being struck by vehicles occurred in urban areas. In rural areas,

fatalities to law enforcement personnel

were divided evenly between highway

crashes and homicides, with each accounting for about 40 percent of the

fatalities.

Text table 2. Fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries to law enforcement personnel

by selected State and leading event or exposure, 1992-97

 Total ................... 887

California .................. 100 Homicides (49) 44,255 Assaults (17)

Texas........................ 75 Highway crashes (38) — —

Florida ...................... 50 Highway crashes (36) — —

New York .................. 42 Homicides (48) 75,670 Assaults (26)

Georgia .................... 42 Highway crashes (40) — —

North Carolina ......... 33 Homicides (48) 5,258 Assaults (19)

1992-97 1992-96

Total

fatalities

(Number)

Leading fatal event

(Percent)

Total nonfatal

injuries

involving days

away from

work

(Number)

Leading event

(Percent)

State
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999 5

Fatalities to Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters

Fatality rates and index of

relative risk

Of the 1 million police officers employed, about 150 die from injuries on

the job each year, on average, accounting for about 3 percent of all fatal work

injuries. Because the number of workers in the group and the time spent on

the job affect fatality counts, fatality

rates are used to evaluate workers’ risk

of incurring a fatal work injury. Fatality rates are standardized. They usually are expressed as the number of fatalities per 100,000 workers so they can

be used to compare fatality risk among

various worker groups.7 Another statistic used to assess the risk of workplace fatalities that a particular occupation faces is the index of relative

risk.8 This index is calculated as the

ratio of the workplace fatality rate for

a particular group compared to the national workplace fatality rate for all

workers.

The average rate of fatal workplace

injuries to law enforcement personnel

was about 14 fatalities per 100,000

employed workers for the period 1992-

97, compared to the national rate of 5

fatalities per 100,000 employed workers in all industries. The rate remained

steady over the 6-year period, except

for 1995 and 1996. In 1995, 14 police

officers were killed in the Oklahoma

City bombing, which helped to increase

the rate to almost 17 fatalities per

100,000 employed. In 1996, the rate

dipped to a low of about 11 fatalities

per 100,000.

Text table 3 shows that the index of

relative risk for law enforcement personnel is, on average, about three times

higher than for the average worker.

Firefighters

Firefighters frequently are the first

emergency response team at the scene

of a vehicle crash, fire, flood, earthquake, or act of terrorism.9

 Every year,

fires and other emergencies take thousands of lives and destroy billions of

dollars worth of property. About 2

million fires are reported each year in

the United States, and fire departments

in the United States respond to a fire

every 18 seconds.10

Firefighters perform many duties to

protect lives and minimize property destruction, and each situation they respond to is unique. While battling blazing building fires, their duties may

include connecting hose lines to hydrants, operating pumps, or positioning ladders; but they must also rescue

victims, administer medical aid, and

salvage the contents of buildings. All

the while, they are subject to many of

the same dangers as the victims, which

can include being burned, asphyxiated

from noxious gasses, or struck by collapsing material. However, most wear

protective clothing and many carry

oxygen to mitigate some of these hazards.

In addition to fighting building

fires, firefighters are called on to control and extinguish forest fires. These

firefighters pilot aircraft to locate forest fires or use chain saws and axes to

create fire trails, among other duties.

Forest fires are especially dangerous

because they may grow to enormous

size and can surround firefighters who

are trying to put them out.

Fires are not the only calls

firefighters are responsible for answering; often they are summoned to administer emergency medical aid to victims of minor accidents in the

household or in their vehicles.

Firefighters may also be called on for

rescue operations during natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. In 1997, there were over 10

million emergency medical calls made

to fire departments in the United

States.11 Because lives may be at stake,

firefighters often travel at high rates of

speed in their vehicles, exposing them

to the chance of collision.

Fatal and nonfatal injuries by

event or exposure

During 1992-97, the two most frequent

events leading to firefighter fatalities

were fires and explosions, and highway

crashes.12 Text table 4 shows that fires

and explosions accounted for over 40

percent of all fatalities to firefighters,

and highway crashes accounted for

about 20 percent. About two-thirds of

the fatalities due to fires and explosions

occurred while firefighters fought

building or structure fires. Forest or

brush fires accounted for about onequarter of the fatalities due to fires.

Despite sirens, flashing lights, and

brightly colored vehicles, many

firefighters lost their lives in fatal motor vehicle crashes. About half of the

fatal vehicle crashes were due to collisions between vehicles; most of the

Text table 3. Number, rate, and index of relative risk of fatal occupational injuries to

law enforcement personnel, 1992-97

Year Number Rate

 1992-97 ...................................... 887 14.2 2.8

1992 .................................................. 141 15.0 2.9

1993 .................................................. 151 14.8 2.8

1994 .................................................. 149 13.8 2.6

1995 .................................................. 176 16.8 3.4

1996 .................................................. 114 10.8 2.2

1997 .................................................. 156 14.0 2.9

NOTE: The rate is expressed as the number of fatalities per 100,000 employed

workers.

Index of

relative risk

Text table 4. Fatal occupational injuries

by event or exposure, 1992-97

Event or exposure Number Percent

 Total .................. 259 100

Fires and

 explosions ............. 108 42

Transportation

 incidents ............... 90 35

 Highway .............. 57 22

Exposure to harmful

 substances or

 environments ........ 24 9

Contact with objects

 and equipment ...... 13 5

Falls ........................ 9 4

Homicides ............... 9 4

Other ....................... 6 2
6 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999

other fatalities occurred because the

vehicles either overturned or ran off the

roadway striking an object. Sixteen

firefighters were killed after being

struck by vehicles while either directing traffic or performing roadside emergency rescues.

For comparison to fatalities, text

table 5 shows nonfatal injuries to

firefighters in California and New York

for 1992-96.13 In these two States, contact with objects (or equipment) and

overexertion, respectively, were the

leading events causing nonfatal injuries

involving days away from work for

1992-96. Although highway crashes

were either the leading or second leading cause of fatalities, nonfatal transportation incidents accounted for 2

percent or less of the injuries in New

York and California. In New York,

other events that led to nonfatal injuries included fires or explosions (19

percent), falls on the same level (14

percent), exposure to harmful substances (12 percent), and overexertion

(11 percent). In California, 11 percent

of the nonfatal injuries were due to

contact with objects or equipment, and

only 6 percent were due to fires and

explosions.

Fatality rates,

 and index of

relative risk

Each year, on average, about 50

firefighters die from injuries on the job,

accounting for about 1 percent of all

fatal work injuries. Although the total

number of fatalities to firefighters is

relatively small, the average workplace

fatality rate for 1992-97 was about 17

firefighters per 100,000 employed.

This compares to 5 fatalities per

100,000 employed for all workers.14

The index of relative risk shows that

firefighters were about three times as

likely to be fatally injured on the job

as the average worker.15 (See text table

6.) In 1994, the fatality rate was significantly higher than in other years,

mainly because of a single forest fire

in Colorado that claimed the lives of

14 firefighters. Firefighters usually

work in teams and, consequently, there

is a high propensity for multiple fatalities from a single fire event. For the

period 1992-97, there were over 20 fire

events that involved multiple fatalities.

Fatality risk by occupation

Although occupations such as timber

cutter, fisher, seaman, and aircraft pilot have the highest fatality rates, they

are found in relatively few parts of the

United States. (See table 1.) Firefighters

and law enforcement personnel, on the

other hand, are found in every community in the United States. Although

the dangers are quite different, both

groups experience high fatality rates

and risks.

Fatality counts are important in

evaluating hazardous jobs because the

number of workers killed indicates the

magnitude of a safety problem for a

group of workers. The 15 occupations

with the highest number of fatalities for

1997 are listed in table 1. Combined,

these 15 occupations accounted for almost half of the job-related fatalities

in 1997. But fatality counts by themselves do not indicate the relative risks

of any particular job. Fatality rates depict a worker’s risk of incurring a fatal

work injury within the employment

group, and rates can be used for comparing risk among varying groups of

workers.

Conclusion

Law enforcement and fire fighting are

inherently dangerous occupations.

Workers in both occupations must be

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

to protect the public from criminals,

fires, and natural disasters. While the

two occupations include very different

duties, they both must respond to their

respective emergency situations as

quickly as possible. For this reason,

highway crashes are prominent in the

workplace fatality record of both occupations.

Text table 5. Fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries to firefighters by selected

State and leading event or exposure, 1992-97

 Total ................. 259

New York ................. 29 Fires and explosions (59) 36,467 Contact with object

................................ or equipment (19)

Pennsylvania .......... 19 Fires and explosions (58) — —

Colorado ................. 16 Fires and explosions (94) — —

Texas....................... 14 Highway crashes (35) — —

California ................. 13 Fires and explosions (46) 22,282 Overexertion (23)

Georgia ................... 11 Fires and explosions (45) — —

1992-97 1992-96

State Total

fatalities

(Number)

Leading fatal event

(Percent)

Leading nonfatal

event

(Percent)

Total

nonfatal

injuries

(Number)

Text table 6. Number, rate, and index of relative risk of fatal occupational injuries to

firefighters by year, 1992-97

Year Number Rate

 1992-1997 ................................... 259 16.5 3.3

1992 ................................................... 36 14.9 2.9

1993 ................................................... 40 16.4 3.2

1994 ................................................... 56 21.5 4.1

1995 ................................................... 41 14.3 2.9

1996 ................................................... 37 13.7 2.9

1997 ................................................... 49 18.3 3.9

Index of

relative risk
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999 7

Fatalities to Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters

1 Data on fatal work injuries are from the

Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). CFOI data cover

all fatal work injuries. This program, which

has collected occupational fatality data nationwide since 1992, uses diverse data sources to

identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries.

Information about each workplace fatality (industry and other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and circumstances of the event)

is obtained by cross-referencing source documents such as death certificates, workers’ compensation records, and reports to Federal and

State agencies. This method assures counts are

as complete and accurate as possible. 2 Criminal Victimization 1997: Changes

1996-97 with Trends 1993-97 NCJ 173385

(U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, December 1998). 3 Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-

99 edition, Bulletin 2500 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 1996), pp. 339-347. 4 The event or exposure describes the manner in which the injury was produced or inflicted

by the source of the injury. 5 Data on nonfatal injuries are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational

Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). This program collects information from a random sample of about

200,000 establishments representing most private industry wage and salary workers, excluding workers on small farms. Worker and case

characteristics are collected only for those workers sustaining injuries and illnesses that require

days away from work to recuperate. Data are

available for employees in the public sector only

for those States that have OSHA-approved safety

programs. For this reason, data are available

only for California, New York, and North Carolina and are included in the discussion to offer

insight into nonfatal injuries to law enforcement

personnel and firefighters. Because the scope

and methodology of CFOI and SOII are slightly

different, comparisons of fatal and nonfatal data

are problematic. Additional information can be

obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’

Internet site at http://stats.bls.gov/oshhome.htm

or via E-mail at cfoistaff@bls.gov or

oshstaff@bls.gov. 6

 Urban areas are defined as counties which

are included in metropolitan areas as defined

by the Office of Management and Budget. Rural areas include all counties not included in the

metropolitan area definition. 7 Fatality rates are used to compare the risk

of incurring a fatal work injury among worker

groups with varying employment or exposure

levels. There is more than one method to calculate a fatality rate. An hours-based rate measures

the risk of fatality per standardized length of

exposure; an employment-based rate measures

the risk for those employed during a given period of time, regardless of exposure hours.

Hours-based measurements are especially useful for comparing worker groups with varying

exposure hours, such as when a large proportion of workers in an industry work part-time.

Fatal work injury rates included in this article were calculated using annual average employment data that were collected in the Current Population Survey (CPS). These rates are

considered experimental measures. They provide the number of fatal work injuries per

100,000 workers for 1992-97 and were calculated as follows:

[(N 92 + N 93 + N 94 + N 95 + N 96 + N

97)/(W 92 + W 93 + W 94 + W 95 + W 96 + W

97)] x 100,000; where:

 N=number of civilian worker fatalities,

age 15 and older, 1992-97, and

W =annual average number of employed

civilians, age 15 and older, 1992-97

Because the CFOI program does not collect employment data, annual average estimates from the CPS for 1992-97 are used in

the denominator. The CPS employment data

used to calculate rates are estimates based

upon a sample of persons employed rather

than a complete count. Therefore, the CPS

estimates and fatality rates have sampling

errors; that is, they may differ from figures

that would have been obtained if it had been

possible to take a complete census of employed persons. See “Explanatory Notes and

Estimates of Error” in the January 1997 Employment and Earnings for an explanation

of CPS sampling and estimation methodology and standard error computations. The

relative standard errors of the CPS employment estimates can be used to approximate

confidence ranges for the fatality rates. 8 Index of relative risk = Fatality rate for

a given occupation/Fatality rate for all workers. For additional information on relative

risk of both fatal and nonfatal injuries, see

Report on the American Workforce (U.S. Department of Labor, 1994), pp. 95-138; and

Guy A. Toscano, “Dangerous Jobs,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer

1997, pp. 57-60. 9 Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-

99 edition, pp. 341-343. 10 National Fire Data Center, Fire Departments,

on the Internet at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/

nfdc.firedept.htm (visited May 19, 1999). 11 Ibid.

12 See footnote 4.

13 See footnote 5.

14 See footnote 7.

15 See footnote 8.

Table 1. Number, rate, and index of relative risk for fatal occupational injuries in 15 high-risk

occupations, 1997

Occupation1 Number of

fatalities

Employment2

(in thousands)

Rate per

100,000

employed3

Index of

Relative risk4

All occupations ............................................... 6,218 130,810 4.7 1.0

Timber cutting and logging occupations ..... 121 94 128.7 27.4

Fishers ........................................................ 58 47 123.4 26.3

Water transportation ................................... 49 52 94.2 20.0

Aircraft pilots ............................................... 100 120 83.3 17.7

Extractive occupations ................................ 75 145 51.7 11.0

Construction laborers ................................. 333 811 41.1 8.7

Taxicab drivers ........................................... 100 248 40.3 8.6

Truckdrivers ................................................ 857 3,075 27.9 5.9

Roofers ....................................................... 55 200 27.5 5.9

Farming occupations .................................. 615 2,177 27.5 5.9

Firefighters .................................................. 49 268 18.3 3.9

Laborers, except construction .................... 208 1,323 15.6 3.3

Material moving equipment operators ........ 169 1,125 15.0 3.2

Police and detectives .................................. 156 1,113 14.0 3.0

Electricians ................................................. 94 774 12.1 2.6

1 Based on the 1990 Occupational Classification

System developed by the Bureau of the Census. 2 The employment figures, except for military, are

annual average estimates of employed civilians 16

years of age and older, from the Current Population

Survey (CPS), 1997. The resident military figure,

derived from resident and civilian population data from

the Bureau of the Census, was added to the CPS

employment total. 3 The rate represents the number of fatal

occupational injuries per 100,000 employed workers

and was calculated as follows: (N/W) x 100,000, where

N = the number of fatally injured workers, age 16 and

older, and W = the number of employed workers, as

described in the previous footnote. There were 21

fatally injured workers under the age of 16 years who

were not included in the rate calculations to maintain

consistency with the CPS employment figures. 4 Index of relative risk = Fatality rate for a given

occupation/Fatality rate for all workers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries