Is there really a ‘war on cops’? The data show that 2015 will likely be one of the safest years in history for police
...According to data available from the “Officer Down Memorial Page” on the annual number of non-accidental, firearm-related police fatalities, 2015 is on track to be the safest year for law enforcement in the US since 1887 (except for a slightly safer year in 2013), more than 125 years ago (see top chart above). And adjusted for the country’s growing population, the years 2013 and 2015 will be the two safest years for police in US history (see bottom chart above), measured by the annual number of firearm-related police fatalities per 1 million people....

How Dangerous Is It to Be a Cop? (Redux)
...And no matter how you slice it, police work has been getting a lot safer. Fatalities and murders of police have been falling for decades — per resident, per officer, and even in absolute terms....

...The Washington Post’s Wonkblog took a look at that using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data on fatal work injuries. Unfortunately, the BLS only collects data on “patrol officers,” not all police, but even so, policing isn’t even in the top ten most dangerous professions....

...Another way to look at it is to compare homicide rates from around country to the rate for police. Here the comparison is even more striking: it’s safer to be a cop than it is to simply live in many US cities.

It’s hard to estimate the current murder rate for police, but in 2008 (the last time we had good data on the total number of officers), there were 5.2 murders per 100,000 full-time equivalent sworn officers — below the then national average of 5.4 murders per 100,000....

...In 2008, you were 12 times more likely to be killed living in New Orleans than wearing a badge....