Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group Meeting Summary, January 26, 2012: Officer Deaths and Injuries from Gunfire

• NCJ Number: 248708
• Date Published: May 2012
• Length: 26 pages
• Agencies: BJA
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis; Issue Overview; Conference Material

Annotation

This is a summary of the issues addressed by the Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group at its meeting on January 26, 2012, which addressed officer deaths and injuries from gunfire.

Abstract

At this meeting, the OSW Group focused on advancing research on, improving the response to, and preventing the occurrence of officer deaths from gunfire. Related issues addressed in the meeting were gaps in research on officer deaths from gunfire, areas for improvement in training, a review of policies and procedures, and practices that minimize officer deaths and injuries by gunfire. Case studies of officer deaths by gunfire in a number of law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation were reviewed. Based on case studies, the practice areas that require improvement include vehicle stops, incident command, communications, SWAT team response, and independent reviews of officer gunfire deaths in order to identify causes and the improvements needed in policies, training, and equipment the will improve officer safety. Recommendations derived from meeting discussions pertain to filling gaps in research on officer gunfire deaths and injuries; the policies that should guide law enforcement agencies in handling officer gunfire deaths and injuries; the types of training officers need, and the practices or programs agencies must adopt to counter officer gunfire deaths. 10 references and appended meeting agenda, meeting attendees, and remarks from the U.S. Attorney General at the meeting