Cops in America: Safer Than They Have Ever Been

[Binkie The Clown]

The notion that there is a “war on cops” being conducted in America — beloved of headline writers, politicians, and cops — is a complete myth. Policing, it turns out, is not an especially dangerous job, nor is it getting more so. If you want to honor someone who goes out there every day and puts his life on the line for you, hold a parade for the person who catches your fish. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, commercial fishing is the most dangerous job in America. On the Bureau’s list of the ten most dangerous occupations, police officer does not appear. Nor is the trend going the wrong way; fewer cops were murdered in 2013 than in any year in the past generation, and it looks like 2015 will be about the same.

More reality checking at the link.

[yeoman6987]

1. Americans are safer across the board including cops. Just facts.

[Igel]

6. "Across the board."

Publicity to the contrary notwithstanding.

(Except in a few cases that must not be named. Stats matter. Or not. Depending. Same for intent. It's either all important. Or irrelevant.)

[msongs]

11. except for the americans murdered by cops nt

[Enthusiast]

13. +100%!

[meow2u3]

2. This so-called war on cops is nothing but a excuse

...by whiny, juiced-up, crooked cops to justify their police brutality, especially against vulnerable people who can't effectively fight back or against minorities the police culture despises.

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. Obvious article is obvious. It's the new "shark attack."

Done in retaliation of the BLM movement.

[Rex]

4. Well it gives cop apologists something to whine about, even if it is a lie.

A lie never stopped them before.

[Go Vols]

5. My old profession came in at 7

back when I was still working it was usually rated 4-5.

[Tsiyu]

7. I'm going to make some people think I've really lost it now

but I have to put in a word of defense for cops right now.

Because my "office" is at home, I need background noise that isn't grating, and listening to the local emergency scanner fits the bill for me. It's a familiar sound from another time, it keeps reminding me that the world moves on, it lets me send good thoughts in real time to anyone in trouble.

You should spend a few hours listening to your local law enforcement and emergency crews. You don't need a scanner; you can find local broadcasts online if you're interested.

On recent broadcasts, some data and calls:

3/4 are traffic stops on weekends, about 1/3 to 1/4 on weekdays and nights.

Helping a deathly sick toddler by clearing heavy traffic for the ambulance to get through.

Escorting someone home who was being stalked.

Catching loose livestock.

Volunteering to go to the nursing home to pick up a fallen patient so the fire department didn't have to get all geared up for the call.

Checking out possible prowlers for nervous old ladies.

Traffic control for the homecoming parade.

Tracking down a guy who shot one person and was headed for the next victim.

Domestic calls, welfare check calls, setting traps for crazy drivers who think nobody cares how they put lives at risk on lonely rural roads. Cellphones have screwed up their world and made ours safer.

Every time they have to check out a place, I hope with all my might they are not met with weapons. Shootings happen up here for the same reason they happen in any impoverished community, whether it's Chicago or Appalachia we're discussing: easy peasy access to firearms, no opportunities, dysfunctional, violent families with grudges against other dysfunctional, violent families. I understand the fear a cop must feel now that everyone and their dog has a gun.

This does not excuse the brutal cops one bit. But in some communities--hopefully yours--cops also provide vital services that improve the quality of life. I refuse to believe that more than a small percentage of thugs in most places are abusing the badge and the community, but I acknowledge that there are exceptions in some areas, and I acknowledge that the good cops are cowed into silence, because the retaliation for them is often brutal if they speak out. No excuse, if you really want to protect your community, but the legislators are the people to harass.

Laws suck, and laws are the instruments that allow evil cops to get away with evil things. Force your legislators to change the laws, and we will see more peace between the public and the police.

[Snobblevitch]

12. I agree with your post.

I personally know a cop who went into a burning house and carried out a 75 year old woman who was unconscious. He then went back in and got her 77 year old husband. They both recovered fully. There was not enough time to wait for the fire fighters. The house was in flames.

[Logical]

14. They get paid and are hired to provide these services. That is their job. They should only be....

noticed when they are assholes.

[sarisataka]

15. Will this be applied

To every profession

They should only be....
noticed when they are assholes.

[Logical]

17. Should be. Once firemen start beating the shit out of a homeowner I will notice them. nt

[sarisataka]

19. 4-year-old girl dies in St. Paul house fire

A father who was able to rescue six of his family members Sunday night from a blaze that gutted his house was turned back from finding his 4-year-old daughter when the smoke became too powerful, officials say.

The 4-year-old girl, who was later rescued by firefighters, died Sunday night, officials said.

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_27488686/three-year-old-seriously-injured-st-paul-house

My neighbor is the paramedic who went into the burning house and searched through the smoke until he felt her hiding under a bed. He and his team tried to resuscitate her while rushing her to the hospital. He took two weeks off after she died to process it.

He was hired to perform a service and gets paid for it. He is not an asshole. He is very worthy of being noticed.

[Logical]

20. So is the coal miner who has a more dangerous job. But you don;t notice them. nt

[sarisataka]

23. Says you

And you are wrong.

[Logical]

25. LOL. OK. nt

[sarisataka]

28. Is it logical to

Jump to a conclusion without any evidence to support the conclusion?

LOL indeed

[Tsiyu]

31. I didn't say you had to shower them with rose petals

what I am saying is that most cops are just people doing their job, not out to beat up anybody or kill people.

Cops shouldn't have to put up with this crap either:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/driver-to-deputy-no-wonder-you-people-get-shot/ar-AAe9dj9

It's a link to a story about a driver doing 50 in a school zone, putting kids' lives in danger, telling a cop they understand why "you people get shot" because they didn't want a JUSTIFIED ticket.

Violent threats and attitudes go both ways.

[Logical]

32. I agree, that citizen is an idiot. But do you see how that cop handled it? That is their fucking...

job to be polite and not get pissed off.

Cops should be held at a higher standard. They have weapons and total control of you and can arrest you and kill you legally.

So don't compare citizens to cops. Cops should be fucking better, but many are not.

[Tsiyu]

33. Some are not, and they do a vast and tragic amount of damage

But like you said, that cop was polite just like most cops are civil, at least where I live. He is the norm and not the exception.

But cops are human. We have focused billions asking them to arrest people for pot and pills, but if we had put all that drug war money into mental health response teams and treatment centers, cops wouldn't have to be the first and only point of contact in most towns for dealing with people having severe mental episodes.

They aren't trained psychiatric doctors or nurses so how can we expect them to behave as if they are? Why can't we do more to help our people with mental disorders than the "cop out" of asking police to throw them in jail when that's the only option the government allows?

If we had spent more on analyzing rape kits, thousands of which are decades old, collecting dust while rapists roam free, instead of having a justice department budget focused on substance abuse and sales, we could get rapists off the streets.

It is CRIMINAL that DAs all over this nation are letting rapists just run the streets so they can collect that easy drug war money for their counties. It is SICKENING and WRONG, but it's not the cops' fault that DAs are in a nationwide conspiracy to protect rapists.

It is criminal, as Bernie said, that we destroy young people's lives over cannabis but prosecutors let the people who destroyed our economy run free as birds. Also not cops' fault.

Yes, cops must be held to a higher standard, and the cop at that link acted professionally as he should, which shows that cops ARE taking the higher ground every day. I have personally yelled at and presented STRONG opinions to several cops here, and they listened to me respectfully even though I was preaching like a Pentecostal.

I think people need to step back and see reality on both sides of the fence.

[Go Vols]

16. I listen to the scanner 24/7

even have a 50ft antenna for it and pick up diff agencies from Knoxville to Jackson.

It gets crazy on there when it snows.

[Tsiyu]

30. It's amazing what people get up to

in this sleepy little state

[Ka hrnt]

27. I agree.

Fox & Conservatives are trying to create another (Obama-caused, of course) crisis, but this article is...wrong.

Policing, it turns out, is not an especially dangerous job ...

Anyone that believes that is a fool; policing is in the top twenty most dangerous jobs.

[840high]

29. ...^ that

[Ron Green]

8. I think the most important thing now about cops is this meme:

"Police officers (and other first responders, including firefighters, EMTs and military) are putting their lives on the line every day for your freedom and your way of life. We need to always defer to them, thank them for their service, and conduct huge sentimental ceremonies when one of them dies at work. The US flag should be prominently featured, and as much military showmanship as possible included in any event involving these workers."

This narrative is growing, especially in small towns all over the country, as a nostalgic component to how we regard law enforcement. The "fear" component is, of course, maintained in urban areas by paramilitary forces. The media walk a fine line mixing fear and nostalgia, but it seems to work.

[Ed Suspicious]

10. Haven't we seen this horror film play out before in places like Germany, Spain, and Italy?

[Initech]

9. War on cops? The cops and prisons have declared war on us!

They have Skynet and it has become self aware.

[Lee-Lee]

18. Of course by only using deaths to measure it they get a very skewed result

A study that wanted to actually check the danger, not the death rate, would look at overall injuries and death rates.

Modern medical technology has made gunshot wounds more survivable than ever before, and and science has made body armor more effective.

Therefore you could very well have more cops shot than before, or the same number, but resulting in fewer deaths.

Same goes for stabbing and any other assault. Better medical science, better EMS response and better first aid training for cops makes them all less lethal.

Therefore using death rates as the only measure of "danger" is a deeply flawed metric, especially when not adjusted for advances in medical science, equipment and training that make injuries survivable now that would be fatal 5-10-20 years ago.

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. Do you have any data on cop injuries?

And how they rank among professions?

It seems like better medical care would result in fewer deaths across professions.

[Lee-Lee]

24. I plan to look when I'm not on a phone

I imagine it does affect all professions, but maybe not the same.

Cops can generally get help quicker because they are in radio contact with the same people who send the ambulance- better radios and systems also improve survival I bet. Contrast that with loggers who often will be way out away from medical help and often away from even cell service so medical attention can be delayed much more, resulting in less benefit from better medical science.

Body armor is something unique to the LE field so its impact would only affect the survival rate of LE.

It would be an interesting study to look at survival rates of gunshots, standings and other assaults over time as all this technology and training has changed.

[valerief]

22. Too many cops are suffering from gunorrhea. nt

[HassleCat]

26. Oh YEAH? What about THIS? What other occupation faces this deadly danger?

Doughnuts.