NCJ Number
94635
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1984) Pages: 68-76
Date Published
1984
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the nature of cop-killing. Characteristics of officers killed in the line of duty are presented, as well as traits of the murder suspects and common themes appearing among the murder incidents.
Abstract
The data comes from information collected nationally by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Analysis of the data exposes certain myths concerning cop-killing. First, rookie officers are not the most likely of police to get killed; those most frequently killed have 1-5 years of service. Second, officers ar not most often killed in the 'domestic disturbance' type of call; they are killed more often while pursuing burglary suspects and while attempting other arrests. It was also found that the probability of getting killed in the line of duty is associated with whether an officer patrols alone or with another officer; a significantly higher percentage of cops were killed while on patrol alone. This finding contradicts the police administration belief that officer safety is not enhanced by pair assignments. It was also found that police murder is most often committed by a white male, 18-30 years of age, who kills with a hand-gun from extremely close range. Eighty-three percent of the murder suspects are arrested; sixty-four percent of those arrested are found guilty of murder. (Publisher abstract)