MVEs were the leading cause of LEO fatalities in 2013 and have been for some time ( National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), 2013). One study estimated that a single work-related motor-vehicle fatality cost employers approximately $500,000 in direct and liability costs and a non-fatal crash cost $74,000 ( National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2003). Work-related motor-vehicle crashes are also expensive for employers. LEOs are also routinely exposed to a much less commonly considered job hazard, high-speed and high-risk driving situations as well as work performed along busy roadways ( Tiesman et al., 2010).Īcross all occupations and industries, motor-vehicle-related events (MVEs) are consistently the leading cause of work-related death in the USA In 2012, MVEs accounted for 35 percent of all occupational injury fatalities in the USA ( n = 1,567) ( BLS, 2012a). LEOs are exposed to physical hazards including violence and injury, physical exertion, armed and unarmed combat psychological stressors such as exposure to crime scenes and exposure to death organizational stressors such as shift work mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder cardiovascular disease exposure to blood and bodily fluids and increased risk for suicide ( Hessl, 2003 Deschamps et al., 2003 Violanti et al., 2012 O’Hara and Violanti, 2009 Zimmerman, 2012 Gershon et al., 2009). These hazards significantly increase the risk of dying or being seriously injured on the job and can occur in a dynamic environment. Law enforcement work is a dangerous occupation due to the numerous hazards faced by LEOs. Different inclusion criteria may be one explanation for this difference ( Tiesman et al., 2013). The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report found 95 deaths during the same time period ( Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013). In 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 119 law enforcement officers (LEOs) died while on the job ( BLS, 2012b). However, substantial these numbers may appear, the true toll of work-related injury and illness is estimated to be two to three times greater due to inconsistent official data sources and likely underreporting of injuries by workers and employers ( Leigh et al., 2004 United States House of Representatives, 2008). This dollar amount exceeds that of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (2011). The costs of occupational injury and illness in the USA are an estimated $250 billion per year ( Leigh, 2011). In that same year, nearly three million US workers experienced non-fatal work-related illnesses and injuries for an overall incidence rate of 3.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers ( BLS, 2013). This equates to approximately 12 workers dying every day in the USA while at work (2012). In the USA in 2012, 4,383 workers died while on the job ( Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2012a).
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