Officer Down: Characteristics of Cop Killings (Commentary) (Report‪)‬

According to the most recent research data available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an average of 1.7 million non-fatal, violent victimizations occurred in the United States workplace every year between 1993 and 1999 (Duhart, 2001). This figure represents 18% of all violent crime during that period. Along with non-fatal violence, approximately 900 work-related homicides took place each year, with more than 80% being committed with firearms. White workers had a rate of victimization by workplace violence that was 25% higher than black workers and 59% higher than that suffered by all other races included in the study. In terms of risk-by-profession, law enforcement officers had the highest rate of victimization at 260.8 per 1,000, followed by corrections officers at 155.7 per 1,000 (see Table 1) (Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS], 2001). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]