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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRadley Balko: Why We Need To Stop Exaggerating The Threat To Cops
The recent killings of two prosecutors in Texas, a Colorado Department of Corrections official and a sheriff in West Virginia have law enforcement groups and the media once again buzzing about an alleged "war on cops" or, in some instances, a broader trend toward violent anti-government sentiment. Over at The Atlantic, Philip Bump does a good job debunking that idea. (He also quotes me.)
Unfortunately, thorough and skeptical analyses of police fatality statistics like Bump's are rare. The "war on cops" talk heats up every time that one or more high-profile police killings hit the news. But there's just no evidence that it's true.
I've pointed out a number of times that the job of police officer has been getting progressively safer for a generation. Last year was the safest year for cops since the early 1960s. And it isn't just because the police are carrying bigger guns or have better armor. Assaults on police officers have been dropping over the same period. Which means that not only are fewer cops getting killed on the job, people in general are less inclined to try to hurt them. Yes, working as a police officer is still more dangerous than, say, working as a journalist. (Or at least a journalist here in the U.S.) But a cop today is about as likely to be murdered on the job as someone who merely resides in about half of the country's 75 largest cities.
More at....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/police-shootings_n_3038938.html
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Radley Balko: Why We Need To Stop Exaggerating The Threat To Cops (Original Post)
Logical
Apr 2013
OP
Cops have NEVER had as much of a safety problem as a lot of other jobs..........
socialist_n_TN
Apr 2013
#5
coldmountain
(802 posts)1. Yeah, cops have it so safe and easy
Logical
(22,457 posts)2. LOL, didn't read it did you. n-t
Th1onein
(8,514 posts)7. Trolls don't know how to read. eom
frylock
(34,825 posts)4. yeah, apparently they do
socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)5. Cops have NEVER had as much of a safety problem as a lot of other jobs..........
Even back in the 60s and 70s, cops ranked somewhere like tenth on the scale of most dangerous jobs. Mining and construction were first and second as I recall as far as people killed on the job. Even firefighters have a more dangerous job. As the article excerpt said, it's more dangerous than being a journalist, but the danger is overblown and always has been.
They get the press for danger because it suits the ruling class to turn them into heroes because the cops are the ones that PROTECT the bosses.
Logical
(22,457 posts)6. +1000! n-t
Donald Ian Rankin
(13,598 posts)8. ..."Even" firefighters?
I don't think that "safer than deliberately running into burning buildings" merits an "even"...
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)3. Good article. And good point.