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This study is a mortality assessment on police officers (68-years, 1950–2018) and includes all causes of death.

The authors investigated 1,853 police deaths (1950–2018) using sources of mortality that included the National Death Index, NY State, and available records from the Buffalo NY police department. Standardized Mortality Ratios were calculated. Death codes were obtained from 8th and 9th International Classification of Disease revisions in accordance with the year of death.

Compared to the US general population, white male police officers from 1950–2018 had elevated mortality rates for some causes of death, including diseases of the circulatory system, malignant neoplasms, cirrhosis of the liver, and mental disorders. Black and female officers had lower mortality rates for all causes of death compared to the general population.

The findings of elevated risk for chronic disease among police need to be studied in relation to stress, lifestyle, and exposure to chemical and physical agents. There is a special need to further study officers from minority populations as larger samples become available.

The results of this study will provide police and occupational health practitioners with objective evidence to determine the health impact of work on law enforcement officers.

This study is longest running mortality assessment on police officers ever conducted (1950–2018) and includes white, black, and female officers.

The system in England and Wales involves a joint agency response to the sudden and unexpected death of a child (SUDC) and, for various reasons, the police contribution to that investigation is sometimes inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the dilemmas which explain this inadequacy.

The arguments presented in the paper are made on the basis of empirically derived findings, drawing from original research based upon qualitative interviews with nine senior detectives working in the areas of child abuse or major crime, as well as focus groups of senior detectives, and a limited contribution from pathologists.

This paper explores whether there is an investigative deficit in respect of potential child homicide when compared to an adult domestic homicide, and it concludes that in some areas the most vulnerable people in society may be at risk because of issues such as inadequate training, inflexible force policies and under-resourced police investigation of child death.

It is possible to kill a child and leave few, if any, physical clues on the body. To determine if homicide is the cause of death, the overall police investigation therefore has to be of high quality to identify any clues that have been left by the perpetrator at the scene or in other ways. It is usual for Child Abuse Investigation Unit detectives to investigate SUDC but they are often trying to do so with little training and few resources. Cuts to police service budgets since 2010 have affected all elements of policing, including Major Crime Teams. As a result, these teams are more discerning about which cases they take on and there is evidence they are not taking on child death investigations even if there are suspicions of homicide. The findings reveal important implications for police investigative training and a clear and significant deficit in the investigative resources available to the lead investigator on a SUDC investigation which may or may not be a homicide, compared with the resources available to the senior investigating officer on a straightforward domestic homicide when the victim is an adult. If homicide is missed, then siblings or future siblings with that family may be left at risk of harm. The College of Policing suggested standards for SUDC investigation are sometimes not being adhered to in respect of training and resources.

The paper is informed by original qualitative research conducted in 2019. The findings are of value to police policy makers, the College of Policing, and police senior leadership teams.

Due to the high levels of crime in Rio de Janeiro, the purpose of this paper is twofold. The first one is to analyze the effects of deterrence variables (such as the adoption of Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) and incarcerations) on violence in the municipalities of the State of Rio de Janeiro, as well as to verify the existence of “revenge effect.” The second is to analyze the effects of socio-economic development on violence, using development indicators.

Besides usual OLS method for panel data analysis, the study makes use of dynamic panel data framework through D-GMM and S-GMM. The estimates are based on a sample of 82 municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, and the period runs from 2003 to 2013. As dependent variables, the estimates use violent deaths (i.e. aggregation of intentional homicides and armed robberies followed by death) and homicides resulting from opposition to police intervention (i.e. civilians killed as a result of police actions against criminals – “opposition deaths”).

The estimates indicate that incarceration presents marginal capacity to reduce violence. Regarding the findings for the adoption of UPPs, the evidence suggests that this project increased violence and, therefore, the possibility of displacement of violence to other regions of the State. With respect to the effect of police deaths over violence, the results are unprecedented and suggest the existence of a “revenge effect.” Besides, the study points to the importance of socio-economic development to reduce violence.

Once the study analyzes the effects of incarceration and UPPs, it contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the ability of anti-crime policies of reducing (or not) violence. In addition, when considering the death of policemen in the estimates, the study shows an unprecedented way, the effect that these deaths cause over violence (the so-called “revenge effect”). Moreover, the study considers the impacts of the development of employment and income, health and education on violence. When analyzing these development indicators, the study contributes with the literature that looks for non-police alternatives to control crime.

Law enforcement is a dangerous profession not only due to assaults, accidents and homicides but also due to health risks. This study examined trends in the national frequency and rate of law enforcement job-related illness deaths in the United States over a 22-year period (1997–2018).

Data were obtained from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) on death frequencies related to health issues at work. Death rates were based on the total number of police officers in the United States [rate = (frequency/population at risk) × 100,000]. Trends were examined using standardized regression.

A total of 646 deaths were attributed to job-related illness. There was a significant upward trend in overall job-related illness deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.82, p ≤ 0.0001) mainly driven by a significant increase in 911 cancer deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.88, p ≤ 0.0001). Nearly 82 percent of circulatory deaths were from a heart attack, with an average death age of 46.5 years.

Deaths were not included if they failed to meet medical requirements of the NLEOMF. The data are descriptive, do not estimate risk and should be interpreted cautiously.

Police wellness programs may help to reduce the danger of deaths associated with job-related illness.

This is among the first studies to examine frequency and rate of police health–related deaths due to job exposures.

Uses statistics from FBI annual reports (1985‐1992) to compare felonious killings, analyzing and comparing with data for deaths of non‐state police officers. Finds that state police officers are feloniously killed in proportional numbers to non‐state officers, with both classes showing a recent downward trend. Calls for further research, by region or state, into the higher percentage of killings in Southern USA. Finds similar patterns in state and non‐state police officer killings but identifies some elements of divergence. Recommends that this data be used in police training to emphasize high‐risk factors such as routine traffic stops. Notes that domestic disputes do not cause a large number of police killings. Suggests that the wearing of body armor be made mandatory.

The article examines the apparent absence of accountability in the aftermath of police related deaths (PRDs) in the US and England and Wales. It considers regulatory mechanisms such as investigations by independent regulators and internal affairs departments; and legal mechanisms such as cases heard in criminal, civil and coroners' courts. The processes used by these approaches, and outcomes produced are examined in terms of their perceived effectiveness in holding police to account.

The article considers qualitative research based on interviews undertaken with the relatives of 59 people who died as a result of police contact in both countries. The research examined how families attempted to pursue justice and accountability in the aftermath of the death of a relative.

Whilst the mechanisms of legal and regulatory accountability employed in each country are somewhat different, the outcomes they produce are remarkably similar: few officers are sanctioned in the aftermath of such deaths in either country. The article argues these mechanisms can provide a façade of accountability in terms of process, but not in terms of outcome. They enable systemic issues that produce police related deaths to go more or less unchanged.

As the research project is highly original, there are necessarily limitations in terms of the generalisability of its findings because it represents the subjective views of participants affected by PRDs. The article suggests that further research be conducted to extend our understanding of issues related to PRDs.

The article argues that the investigation and regulation of PRDs in both countries is essentially flawed. Consequently, there needs to be a fundamental rethink of how such deaths are investigated, and how police could be better held to account for PRDs.

Without significant change to the processes and outcomes that occur in the aftermath of PRDs, it is argued that the legitimacy of police and the criminal justice system will continue to be questioned.

There is no known empirical academic research into PRDs that considers the views of family members in both the US and England and Wales. As such, the article produces unique insights from the perspectives of relatives of those who have died following contact with the police.

This article describes three studies on several aspects of police custody in The Netherlands. The first study shows that the quality of accommodation, facilities, interaction and differential treatment are substandard in Dutch police stations, but dependent of the organisational size, degree of specialisation of the custodial task and extensiveness of duty‐prescriptions and registration. Detention circumstances in police stations are worse than in remand centres. The second study reveals high prevalence rates of symptoms of depression and somatisation (SCL‐90) among police custody detainees. Police custody detainees' symptom levels are higher than those in a jail population and a male general population. The third study addresses the prevalence rates of suicides and other deaths in Dutch police custody in the period 1983‐1993 and shows that the mortality rate, suicide rate and deadly poisoning rate are higher than those in remand centres and the general population. The findings of the three studies demonstrate that police custody is an area of concern.

The objectives of this paper are to examine national police suicide rates, to compare police suicides with fire‐fighters and military personnel, and to examine suicide in women and minority officers.

The National Occupational Mortality Surveillance (NOMS) (1984‐1998) was used as a data source. Descriptive statistics and proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) were calculated.

Overall, the police suicide rate was four times that of fire‐fighters. Minority officers had 4.5 times and policewomen 12 times the number of suicides than did fire‐fighters. Police suicides outnumbered homicides by 2.36 times. Police had significantly higher than expected PMRs for suicide.

NOMS data are presently available up to 1998, and data in the study are descriptive only. Although suggestive of risk, statistically significantly elevated PMRs cannot be interpreted directly as indicating a causal relationship between police work and suicide. Confounders are not recorded in NOMS and may lend considerable weight to suicide.

The paper reflects the need to look deeper into police suicides and their root causes. Police organizations are advised to initiate suicide awareness training and psychological assistance to officers.

The paper is among the first nationally to compare suicide among similar hazardous occupations, suggesting the need for prevention.