Facts and Figures
"In valor, there is hope."
Line of Duty Facts & Figures:
Every 53.5 hours an officer is killed
153 officers were killed nationwide in 2004
There are 164 line-of-duty deaths per year
There are over 57,000 assaults per year
There are over 17,000 injuries per year
There are more than 870,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 11.7 percent of those are female.
In 2004, there were more than 1.4 million violent crimes committed in the United States (according to the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The annual number of violent crimes has declined by 35% since it peaked in 1993 at 4 million.
Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1792, there have been more than 17,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 17,081 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
A total of 1,649 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 53.5 hours or 164 per year. There were 153 law enforcement officers killed in 2004.
The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1974, when 273 officers were killed. The deadliest decade was the 1970's when a total of 2,240 officers died, or 224 each year. That figure dropped dramatically in the 1990's, to 157 per year.
The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 law enforcement officers were killed in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City.
In 2005, 4 officers were killed in the line of duty in New Jersey.
443 law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty in New Jersey since 1854.
New Jersey's first recorded line of duty death is Newark Police Officer Maxwell Badgley who died on October 23, 1854.
The top four New Jersey law enforcement agencies with the most line of duty deaths are:
New Jersey State Police has lost 63 troopers
NY/NJ Port Authority has lost 43 officers
Newark Police Department has lost 48 officers
Jersey City Police Department has lost 30 officers
In 2006, 3 officers were killed in the line of duty in New Jersey.
Source: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Washington D.C.