Reducing Officer Injuries: Developing Policy Responses

This program is funded under both the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8), the Byrne Competitive Program helps local communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. The JAG Program (42 U.S.C. 3751) is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, and JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system. The JAG Program authorization also states that 'the Attorney General may reserve not more than 5 percent, to be granted to 1 or more States or units of local government, for 1 or more of the purposes specified in section 3751 of this title, pursuant to his determination that the same is necessary'(1) to combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime' (42 U.S.C. 3756).

The National Initiative: Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Programs is designed to strengthen the criminal justice system by challenging those in the field to identify and define emerging or chronic systemic issues faced by one or more components of the criminal justice continuum (includes but not limited to law enforcement, corrections, courts, and community collaborations) and to propose innovative solutions to address these issues.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) will thoroughly examine and quantify officer injuries and deaths, and develop a comprehensive policy response. The goal is to better equip law enforcement agencies with the information and tools necessary to address areas of vulnerability, thereby reducing injuries suffered by police officers. IACP will identify and document the cause and magnitude of officer injuries; develop practical resources to assist law enforcement agencies to identify and respond to officer injury vulnerabilities; and disseminate resources widely to the law enforcement community. To identify and document the cause and magnitude of officer injuries, an advisory group will be established to direct the program design and the data collection tool for an 18 agency pilot study. Operational and policy challenges will be identified from the data analysis. Through the development of an assessment paper, training, policy recommendations, and best practices will be created and widely disseminated throughout the law enforcement community.

CA/NCF