The Top 10 Most Dangerous American Job

I agree that officer safety is tremendously important, unfortunately in today's society it has become more of an issue. Due to the overwhelming media coverage on the use of deadly physical force by police officers, officer safety has decreased. Law enforcement is constantly scrutinized by the media anytime an incident occurs, no mater how severe. Overall the public has to demonstrate more respect towards law enforcement, and law enforcement officers have to do the same toward the public.

Each year citizens die in encounters with law enforcement officers. It is reported that “Americans are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist” (Rucke, 2013). Although there is no official data base tracking these occurrences it is estimated that between 500 and a 1,000 people are killed by police officers each year. To put this in greater perspective this number equals approximately 5,000 since the 9/11 terror attack which is roughly the same number as U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq (Rucke, 2013). This statistic is justifiably concerning. The cause of police related killings are multifold and cannot be attributed to only one factor. Many deaths may be unavoidable and perhaps, dependent on the situation, necessary. I contend, however, that many of these deaths may very well be preventable.

Choosing the job occupation of being a police officer inherently has its own risks and dangers that come with the title. A routine traffic is one of the many dangers that can lead to tragedy by sometimes not taking the correct precautions for the officer when dealing with a dangerous situation. One of the many options that an officer can take to be proactive in reducing these situations from going south, is actually, keeping more space between a suspect and the officer. “In​ ​the​ ​30​ ​years​ ​between​ ​1985​ ​and​ ​2014,​ ​the​ ​trend​ ​rose​ ​slightly​ ​higher. During​ ​this​ ​period​ ​69.7​ ​percent​ ​of​ ​officers​ ​killed​ ​with​ ​firearms​ ​in​ ​the​ ​line of​

Police officers are in a very dangerous environment each and everyday. Think about the dangers that you could stumble upon working with criminals, armed angry people, drunk, high

Police shootings tore apart many communities this year. But law enforcement officers were also victims of violence. 124 officers were killed in the line of duty so far in 2016 (“Majority…” Par 1). Law enforcement officers have held together the fabric of America, serving our communities and protecting people from crimes, serving those in need, and setting standards of conduct (Buck, Par 4). All though most officers are shot and killed in the line of duty, in 2015, the number one killer of police officers is suicide, because of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from their job (“Police…” Par 3). The police use force, mainly to protect human life, the use of force against unarmed suspects is rare, and the use of force against black Americans

As the commander of the operations division of a police department, I would have a responsibility to the officers in my command, to take their concerns, regarding job related stress, very seriously. Law enforcement is one of the most stressful jobs in our country, and job related stress has detrimental effects on the officers (Bohm, 2010) We, as a society, and more specifically, as police supervisors, are asking these officers to go face dangers and traumatic, life threatening, life altering events on a daily basis. It would, and is imperative, that we equip them with the best safety equipment available, and an open line of communication with the command staff of the department. Although there may not be much we can do to address the other issues which are associated with the job, but we can do these things for the officers.

Police officers are constantly being faced with the unknown dangers all around them. Police face the danger of getting shot in almost any situation. Policemen could get shot during a building search, or even at a simple traffic stop. For example in San Antonio, Texas, a dash cam video was released showing that an officer was making a routine traffic stop because a man in a truck ran a stop sign. When the truck pulled over, the driver hopped out of his truck and began shooting at the officer. The officer began to return fire and in doing so he shot and killed the driver. Reports state that the Officer stopped Michael Bradley because he didn 't come to a complete stop at a stop sign. As the Officer conducted the stop, Michael Bradley fired four shots from his vehicle. The President of the San Antonio Municipal Officers

Interestingly, physical danger is ranked low on the list of stresses by police officers! A study of 2376 Buffalo NY police officers found that compared to the white male population police officers had higher mortality rates for cancer, suicide, and heart disease (Constant). Suicide is one of the worst effects that stress can have on police officers.

After many high-profile police killings, the city of Green Gate Police Department is interested in the perceptions of its citizens in regards to officer involved shootings. In particular, the police department is specifically interested in the problems related to the use of lethal force for future training of police officers.

A cop on the street endures continual contact with drunks, druggies, the mentally disturbed, and violent criminals. On a daily basis, they deal with life-and-death situations, and know quite well that any situation - without notice - can turn very bad where the only immediate option is to use deadly force necessary for their own personal safety and survival. Those who are family-members and close friends of a law enforcement officer are also fully aware of the public dangers and human risk that are actually involved with the job. On the other hand, a lot of the general public typically has an ill-conceived and unrealistic notion that a cop has full control in any situation in

Also, police work can be a very dangerous job because no other job in the nation requires a person to be in the middle of confrontation and crime in local communities than those held by law enforcement. Officers are often put in danger when confronting an aggressive suspect, responding to emergency situations, or when they catch someone in the middle of a crime. Danger is confronted when an officer pulls over the wrong person who is not against hurting, or even worse, killing over a minor traffic violation or running from police in a high-speed chase. This not only puts officers and the suspect in harm’s way, but it also puts innocent bystanders right in the

Friederich Nietzsche wrote, “Whoever fights monsters should seek to it that in the process he does not become a monster”. This aptly applies to police officers who face unexpected and potentially dangerous situations every day. Police officers are confronted with destructive and negative behavior on a regular basis. Law enforcement is one of the most stressful and demanding professions in the United States. Characteristics of police work are stressful because a situation can change at any time. An FBI report shows that approximately twelve out of every one hundred or 60,000 police officers are assaulted each year (Stevens, p. 587). Combined with many other factors,

“Research on police officers and the duties associated with being a law enforcement officer has demonstrated that high levels of stress, continually subjected to dangerous working conditions, and behavioral changes occur as a result of this occupation (Ellison & Genz, 1983 pg.60).”

Last year, 100 law-enforcement officers were killed. On average, over the past decade, there have been 58,261 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,658 injuries (Maklin). That is insane because this officers don’t make much money, they do it to protect and serve the people but the thing is “the people” are the ones that kill the officers.

In today’s world, security is important for many reasons. The security officers of today not only deal with property protection they also deal with protection of people. Most people do not see all the work they do. Safety measures are a huge part of the job; reporting lights out, contacting persons, and blocked fire doors are just a few things these professionals do. There are many dangers in the line of work too. Contacting people that are drunk, fighting, or vandalizing property can lead to the officer having to fight for his life or a life of a third party. For this protection, the security officers can be placed in dangerous situations. Some of these situations are dealing with drug dealers, thieves, and persons under the influence of drugs and alcohol. While this is just a short list of the problems faced, it is also the greatest risk for harm to anybody wearing a badge.