Home Statistics Main Page 2000 UCR Statistics Table of Contents News and Events

Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI
           
Section VII Section VIII Section IX Section X Section XI Section XII

           

SECTION X


LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

KILLED AND ASSAULTED

SUMMARY

 



POLICE OFFICERS KILLED AND ASSAULTED

 

The killing or assault of a police officer has a deleterious effect on society that reaches far beyond the overt act. Such occurrences constitute an immediate threat to the well-being of the community and serious breach of the internal security of the country. Today a young person who considers a career in law enforcement must also consider the very strong possibility of being killed or assaulted by a member of the very same society they are sworn to protect. This deplorable situation should be a subject of serious concern, for in truth, an attack on a police officer is an attack on society. The violence directed against law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty is clearly demonstrated by the following information.


back to top

POLICE FELONIOUSLY KILLED

 

VOLUME/TREND

  • In 2000, no police officers were feloniously killed while in the performance of their duties.

Year Police Officers Killed Year Police Officers Killed
1991 - 1996 -
1992 - 1997 3
1993 1 1998 -
1994 2 1999 2
1995 4 2000 -

back to top

ASSAULTS ON POLICE OFFICERS

 

Police assault statistics are important to the police administrator who attempts to identify the causative factors of this type of criminal activity. Many factors contribute to police assaults, and circumstances vary from place to place. Identifying specific reasons for these assaults is therefore extremely difficult. The following information illustrates the frequency of these events, and any attempt at analysis of these assaults should include consideration of the unique variable present in each jurisdiction. Due to the broad field of services performed by many state and county police agencies, no assault rates are computed for total police officers.

 

VOLUME/TREND

  • There were 3,158 police officers assaulted in 2000, a decrease of 1 percent when compared to the 3,191 in 1999.
 

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS

  • Thirty percent (963) of the officers assaulted sustained injury.
  • Personal weapons, such as hands, fists and feet were used in 83 percent (2,614) of all police assaults.
  • Twenty-eight percent of police assaults occurred when officers responded to disturbance calls.
  • Fifteen percent of the assaults on police officers occurred during the 2-hour period of 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.
 

CLEARANCES

  • The police of New Jersey were successful in clearing 96 percent of the assaults directed at them.
back to top

ASSAULTS ON MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS

 

VOLUME/TREND

  • A total of 2,879 municipal police officers were assaulted during 2000, a 5 percent increase compared to the 2,751 assaulted in 1999.
  • The assault rate, for every 100 municipal officers, was 13.8, a 4 percent increase compared to 1999.
 

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS

  • Thirty percent of the municipal officers assaulted sustained injury.
  • Personal weapons, such as hands, fists and feet were used in 83 percent of all municipal police assaults.
  • Thirty percent of municipal police assaults occurred when officers responded to disturbance calls.
  • Attempting Other Arrests accounted for 20 percent of municipal police assaults.
back to top

OTHER POLICE OFFICERS ASSAULTED

 

The following law enforcement agencies are dealt with separately and are not included when computing municipal assault rates; the services performed by these agencies vary greatly from the functions of municipal police agencies.

 

VOLUME/TREND

  • County law enforcement agencies reported 73 officers assaulted with 26 sustaining injury.
  • The New Jersey State Police reported 18 officers assaulted with 9 sustaining injury.
  • Other state agencies, with police powers, reported 175 officers assaulted with 49 sustaining injury.
  • University and college police agencies reported 13 officers assaulted with 5 sustaining injury.
back to top

WEAPONS USED IN ASSAULTS ON POLICE OFFICERS

 
 
back to top

ASSAULTS ON POLICE OFFICERS BY HOUR OF DAY

 
 
back to top

NUMBER - PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

ASSAULTS ON POLICE OFFICERS BY TYPE OF ACTIVITY

NUMBER - PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

 

Municipal Police County Agencies State Police Other State Agencies Universities and Colleges TOTAL
TYPE OF ACTIVITY Number Percent Distribution Number Percent Distribution Number Percent Distribution Number Percent Distribution Number Percent Distribution Number Percent Distribution
Responding to "Disturbance" Calls 866 30 - 0 5 28 7 4 1 8 879 28
Burglaries in Progress 39 1 1 1 - 0 - 0 1 8 41 1
Robberies in Progress 45 2 1 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 46 1
Attempting Other Arrests 584 20 21 29 7 39 5 3 1 8 618 20
Civil Disorder 40 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 40 1
Handling or Transporting Prisoners 254 9 32 44 3 17 154 88 3 23 446 14
Investigating Suspicious Persons or Circumstances 369 13 4 5 - 0 4 2 1 8 378 12
Ambush 6 0 1 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 7 *
Mentally Deranged Persons 53 2 1 1 - 0 - 0 1 8 55 2
Traffic Stops 311 11 5 7 2 11 3 2 3 23 324 10
All Other 312 11 7 10 1 6 2 1 2 15 324 10
TOTAL 2,879 100 73 100 18 100 175 100 13 100 3,158 100

*  Percent is less than one-half of one percent.

    Percent distribution may not total 100 due to rounding.


back to top
 

ASSAULTS ON MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS

NUMBER - RATE PER 100 OFFICERS

BY COUNTY - 2000


COUNTY NUMBER OF OFFICERS NUMBER OF
ASSAULTS
PERCENT
DISTRIBUTION
ASSAULT RATE
PER 100 POLICE OFFICERS
ATLANTIC 912 95 3.3 10.4
BERGEN 2,093 175 6.1 8.4
BURLINGTON 757 94 3.3 12.4
CAMDEN 1,324 167 5.8 12.6
CAPE MAY 340 23 0.8 6.8
CUMBERLAND 274 59 2.0 21.5
ESSEX 2,911 538 18.7 18.5
GLOUCESTER 535 64 2.2 12.0
HUDSON 2,012 459 15.9 22.8
HUNTERDON 167 11 0.4 6.6
MERCER 922 105 3.6 11.4
MIDDLESEX 1,556 182 6.3 11.7
MONMOUTH 1,386 136 4.7 9.8
MORRIS 1,039 71 2.5 6.8
OCEAN 979 149 5.2 15.2
PASSAIC 1,131 188 6.5 16.6
SALEM 104 19 0.7 18.3
SOMERSET 571 27 0.9 4.7
SUSSEX 189 24 0.8 12.7
UNION 1,447 285 9.9 19.7
WARREN 145 8 0.3 5.5
TOTAL 20,794 2,879 100.0 13.8

Percent distribution may not total 100 due to rounding.


back to top