ROSS AND BURBANK

How dangerous is it to be a police officer?

Feb 17, 2011, 9:04 PM | Updated: Mar 28, 2011, 3:48 pm

Policing can obviously be dangerous, but I was surprised to hear a Seattle Police recruiter tell an audience last year that it’s actually one of the safer occupations. That appears to be true: the stats vary, but no list of dangerous professions puts policing at the top.

Here’s the libertarian (not liberal, libertarian) point of view from a 2007 article in Reason Magazine:

Generally, police are about three times as likely to be killed on the job as the average American. It isn’t among the top ten most dangerous professions, falling well behind logging, fishing, driving a cab, trash collecting, farming, and truck driving. Moreover, about half of police killed on the job are killed in traffic accidents, and most of those are not while in pursuit of a criminal or rushing to the scene of a crime… the number of annual on-the-job police fatalities doesn’t justify giving cops bigger guns, military equipment, and allowing them to use more aggressive and increasingly militaristic tactics.

And if we take out traffic accidents, etc:

…take out traffic accidents and other non-violent deaths, and you’re left with 69 officers killed on the job by criminals last year [2006]…That breaks down to about 8 deaths per 100,000 officers, or less than twice the national average of on-the-job fatalities… Twice the national average means police work certainly carries added risk… if policymakers were really serious about protecting police officers, there’s one thing they could do that would have a dramatic, immediate impact on officer safety: They could end the drug war.

These are excerpts; full article here. -DR

Ross and Burbank

...

No Author

Luke got married!

Congratulations to Luke and his beautiful bride, Carey!

11 years ago

Jamie Skorheim

Mayor Mike McGinn shares a handy trick

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn really impressed KIRO Radio host Luke Burbank with a technique he uses to keep his suit jacket looking sharp even when he's got to pack it away for his bike ride to work.

11 years ago

KIRO Radio’s Luke Burbank is magnanimously offering to take the $50,000 that was raised for S...

Josh Kerns

Luke offers semi-legal Seattle fireworks show

While the organizers of Seattle's Family Fourth say they're cancelling the fireworks show this year because of a funding shortfall, KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank is magnanimously offering to take the $50,000 that was raised put on a pretty impressive show of his own.

11 years ago

Find Dave and Luke on their new blog pages. (KIRO Radio/file)...

No Author

Dave and Luke now have their own blogs

Dave Ross and Luke Burbank now each have their own shows. Find updates from Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News and from The Luke Burbank Shows on their new blogs.

11 years ago

With Canada phasing out the penny, KIRO Radio’s Luke Burbank argues it’s time the U.S. ...

Josh Kerns

Canada kills the penny; should we follow?

Canada is saying "so long" to the penny, ending distribution of the one cent coin after Feb 4. And KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank says it's time for the U.S. to follow.

11 years ago

Oprah trivia is the subject of this week’s knowledge-off quiz. (AP Photo/OWN, George Burns)...

MyNorthwest.com

Weekly Burbank Knowledge-off Quiz: Oprah Trivia

Oprah is the topic of this first ever only Burbank Knowledge-off Quiz.

11 years ago

How dangerous is it to be a police officer?