Are you a law enforcement officer who has been injured on the job and visited the ER? Please respond if contacted by CDC/NIOSH following your visit to share your story and help protect fellow officers. Your participation is completely confidential. 

We don’t know how many officers sustain injuries on the job each year, the severity of those injuries, or how those injuries impact the officers and agencies. Initial evidence suggests that injuries and visits to emergency departments among law enforcement officers may be increasing. Sharing information about your injury can help prevent injuries among other officers as well as inform decision makers about the risks that officers face and how often they occur.

This study is funded by the National Institute of Justice.

About the Study

The National Police Foundation (NPF) has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to support a national study on nonfatal injuries among law enforcement officers. Police officers are encouraged to participate as this research will help law enforcement leaders better understand how on-duty injuries to officers occur and how these injuries can be prevented.

Previously, NIOSH conducted a study that was broader in scope—looking at the total number of emergency department visits for both intentional and unintentional on-duty injuries among law enforcement officers. This study showed that injuries among officers were prevalent, and that we likely underestimate how often they occur. Initial evidence suggests that assaults on officers may be increasing—a troubling trend that requires more research about the circumstances of these incidents so that more can be done to prevent future incidents.

“This new study is a critical national study. We don’t know how many officers sustain injuries on the job each year, the severity of those injuries, or how it impacts the officers, agencies, or communities,” said Jim Burch, President of the National Police Foundation. “Sharing information about your injury can help prevent injuries among other officers and help to inform decision makers about the risks that officers face and how often they occur.”

Data collection efforts are already underway. Officers who are injured to the extent that a hospital examination is required may be contacted by CDC/NIOSH researchers in follow-up to their visit. NPF encourages officers who are contacted to respond when contacted.

This research will address:

• Incident characteristics (e.g. What duty was the officer performing when he or she was injured?)

• Officer characteristics/demographics (e.g. What stage of an officer’s career do these injuries most often occur?)

• Injury characteristics (e.g. Type of injury; Was the officer able to return to duty?)

Data collected through this study will help the law enforcement community understand the risks that officers face and will position law enforcement leaders to make informed decisions to improve officer safety to prevent injuries.

“As law enforcement officers, we know the risks we face, but on a national level, we lack the data needed to prevent fatalities and injuries through improved policies and training,” said Chris Cosgriff, Officer Down Memorial Page Founder and Police Officer. “Your support and the provision of information to the CDC/NIOSH team can make a difference and protect a fellow officer. I urge you to be alert for outreach from NIOSH following any emergency room visit.”

Agency and officer information is kept strictly confidential and afforded federal research protections, and any results will be published without identifying information. Agencies do not need to release records—information is collected directly from injured officers through a brief telephone interview with a trained public health researcher.

“Below 100 works with law enforcement every day to prevent officer fatalities and injuries. While we know a fair amount about fatalities, we know very little about injuries and, consequently, we don’t know much about preventing them,” said Roy Bethge, Executive Director of Below 100. “This CDC/NIOSH study can close the knowledge gap on officer injuries, but only with our help. It is vital that officers who are contacted by CDC/NIOSH respond and provide information, which can be done confidentially. We can only do something about these events if we are willing to share our stories and take a long hard look at the data.”

For media inquiries, please contact the NIOSH Press Office at nioshmedia@cdc.gov.

About NIOSH:

NIOSH is the federal institute that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths. For more information about NIOSH visit www.cdc.gov/niosh.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this study different or special?

This study is unique for several reasons: The study is supported by two federal agencies – the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). NIOSH aims to develop new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and transfer it into practice. The NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. The research team is experienced and has a strong and diverse background that includes injury researchers, criminologists, former law enforcement officers, and emergency room data experts. A multi-disciplinary approach benefits this study of nonfatal injuries among police officers.

Why study nonfatal injuries? Is that even important?

We have a very good understanding of line-of-duty deaths and how to prevent them. What we don’t fully understand are nonfatal injuries that impact officers and their agencies in so many ways. For example, overexertion injuries are very expensive and can lead to significant time away from work. These injuries can also impact an officer’s home life and mental health if they involve long-term pain or disability. Worse yet, these injuries could lead to the end of a law enforcement career. We know so little about how officers get injured, how they recover, and what can the field as a whole can do to prevent these injuries.

Will my data or story get back to my agency or other officers?

Dr’s Tiesman, Rojek, and Grieco have worked with law enforcement agencies and officers for many years and understand officers’ concerns about keeping their personal data confidential. Any results will be published in an aggregate form without any personal identifiers. This study has no bearing on workers’ compensation cases. It is not possible to link a case with a particular agency or officer. We understand that trust is pivotal to the success of the project. We need officers to feel comfortable telling their stories so we have meaningful data to point us toward injury prevention and the safety of fellow officers. Feel free to reach out to any of the investigators for more information on our confidentiality assurances.

Materials

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Dr. Hope Tiesman is a Research Epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown, WV, and currently leads this study. Her research interests include law enforcement officer safety and wellness, prevention of workplace violence, and the current opioid overdose crisis.  Her current work includes funded research projects on nonfatal injuries among law enforcement officers, officer safety and wellness evaluations, various officer motor vehicle safety training initiatives, and examination of opioids in the workplace.