WASHINGTON, D.C. — A report released today indicates that, as of December 23rd, 153 law enforcement officers across the nation died in the line of duty during 2005, marking a continued downward trend in the number of officers killed over the past 30 years.

California, which lost 17 officers over the past year, had the nation's most line-of-duty fatalities, followed by Texas, with 14, and Georgia, with 10. These preliminary figures for the year were released jointly by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), two nonprofit organizations that track officer deaths.

The top two causes of death in 2005 were shootings (60) and traffic related incidents (62), which included 41 officers who were killed in automobile accidents, 15 who were struck by vehicles and six who died in motorcycle accidents. Also during 2005, 21 officers died from job-related illnesses; three fell to their deaths; two drowned; two died in aircraft accidents; one died in a bomb-related incident; one was stabbed to death; and one was hit by a train.

Deaths decline, but further safety measures are needed

During the 1970s, more than 220 officers were killed on average each year, making it the deadliest decade in law enforcement history. But the officer fatality rate has declined to an average of 162 per year during the past decade.

"The increased use of body armor, better training and, more recently, the advent of less-lethal weaponry have all played a role in bringing these numbers down," said National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Chairman Craig W. Floyd. "But the fact remains that an officer dies nearly every other day, and we need to stay focused on the measures that will protect their lives."

The NLEOMF and its partner organization, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) noted that body armor is particularly important for officer safety, despite recent concerns about some brands of armor. According to the IACP Dupont Kevlar Survivors' Club®, which tracks incidents in which officers' lives have been saved by the armor, nearly 3,000 have been protected from injuries that likely would have been fatal since 1975. Based on its own research, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that the risk of fatal injuries for officers who do not routinely wear body armor is 14 times greater than for those who do.

"Body armor doesn't just help protect officers from bullets - it also deters death and serious injuries from stabbings, motor vehicle crashes and traffic scenes where officers assisting victims are struck by other motorists," said Ronald W. McBride, a former Chief of Police and a representative of the DuPont Kevlar Survivors Club. "We join NLEOMF and COPS in urging communities to do everything possible to ensure their officers take steps to save their lives."

The NLEOMF and COPS also noted that this is the second consecutive year in which traffic-related accidents either equaled or topped gunfire as the leading cause of death. In fact, over the past 30 years, the number of officers killed in automobile accidents has increased by 40 percent, according to the NLEOMF. As a result of this troubling trend, the NLEOMF and COPS are calling for better driver training for officers, safer automobiles, and a driving public that is more attentive to officer safety when approaching accident scenes and traffic stops.

Officers to receive permanent honor

Every officer who died in the line of duty during 2005 will be honored at a Candlelight Vigil on May 13, 2006, during National Police Week. The officers will also be honored in the Hall of Remembrance Gallery at the National Law Enforcement Museum, which will open in 2011.

"When law enforcement officers die in the line of duty, their families need strong support," said COPS National President Shirley Gibson. "Concerns of Police Survivors will be there for the families who lost an officer in 2005, encouraging them to find that support through other law enforcement survivors and COPS programs. COPS saved my life by reaching out to me and my family in 1997. COPS is ready to do the same for the survivors of 2005 and survivors of past years for as long as they need our support."

Shirley Gibson's son, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Master Patrol Officer Brian T. Gibson, was shot and killed in 1997 while he waited in his police cruiser for a traffic light to change. In her position as President of COPS, Mrs. Gibson represents over 14,500 surviving families of America's fallen law enforcement officers.