Many assume that working as a police officer is one of the most dangerous professions. But safety efforts to protect officers throughout the United States have apparently paid off, according to numbers of police fatalities that occurred this year.

Certainly there are still risks that officers face when they are on the job every day. Based on the numbers of police officer deaths, the most common things that lead to fatal injuries are gun shots and traffic accidents. Overall, even those types of accidents have decreased in recent years.

With 2012 quickly nearing its end, it is possible to compare the number of police fatalities between the last two years. So far, 2012 had seen a reported 23 percent drop in officer deaths. The safety improvement is attributed to police safety initiatives supported by the Obama administration.

More money has gone toward protecting officers in bullet-proof gear. Also, money has been spent on providing better training for the men and women on the force. An area that leaves room for safety improvement is traffic safety among officers. Workers get killed when they are unseen on the roads during traffic stops and also when they fail to wear their seat belts. Both of those dangers are reasonably preventable. Officers could wear more visible gear on the roads and be more vigilant about buckling their seat belts.

Of course certain jobs come with inherent dangers. Police work is one of those jobs. While some dangers can be prevented by individual choice and responsibility, workers on the police force or within any other field should feel that their employer is living up to their duty to create a safe work environment.

Our law firm works with people who feel that they are victims of a dangerous workplace or negligent employer and who are fighting to support themselves with the benefits that they are owed. Visit our Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation page to learn more about this sensitive area of law and how we can help.

Source: NBC News, “Police deaths down 23 percent this year across US,” M. Alex Johnson, Dec. 27, 2012

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