Justice Department awards $54 million to support wellness and safety of law enforcement officers
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs announced it has awarded funding totaling over $54 million to provide services that protect officers and improve overall public safety. OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded grants to law enforcement departments, local jurisdictions, and training and technical assistance organizations throughout the United States.
The FBI’s official crime data for 2019, the most recent available, reflects a decrease in the number of law enforcement officers killed feloniously between 2018 and 2019, from 43 to 32 killed as of September 30, 2019. The number of law enforcement officers reported accidentally killed in 2019 decreased slightly from 33 to 29 in the same reporting period. Additionally, officers experienced nearly 59,000 assaults in 2018.