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FEATURE The Necessary Truths About Police Safety ing both suspect and bystanders (Rix, Walker, and Brown, 1997). The second presentation was a case study from the Las Vegas Metropolitan (Nev.) Police Department (LVMPD). In a six-month period, May to November 2009, LVMPD experienced the tragic loss of 2011 2010 2009 % Change three offcers in vehicle crashes. Two of the offcers were not wearing safety belts, 2009-2011 and one was thrown from the car. In two cases, Total Fatalities 173 152 122 +42 emergency equipment was not in operation despite Gunfre 68 59 49 +39 the vehicles travelling well above the speed limit. Traffc Incidents 64 70 52 +23 LVMPD sought to develop a better understandOther Causes 41 23 21 +95 ing of the problem. The department partnered with Source: National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund an advertising agency, participated in ride-a-longs, and surveyed offcers to gain insight into their habits and concerns. any lessons learned. It also looked to the private sector with a visit to United • Departments should consider alternatives to the way traffc Parcel Service, where employees receive a safe driving messtops are conducted. Maryland State Police troopers often sage every day. LVMPD's reviews led to several policy approach a vehicle they have stopped on the passenger changes launched during a meeting of all of the department's side. The driver does not expect it, the trooper is taken out command-level personnel. of the stream of traffc, and the view of the driver is better. Changes included emergency vehicle operations course • A communications strategy should be developed. Effec(EVOC) training every year for the frst three years and every tive communications is even more diffcult in high-stress other year after that, with online training annually. Offcers and high-profle events. Roles, responsibilities, and tactics who fail to pass the training are not permitted to drive. should be defned in advance. An emphasis has also been placed on wearing seat belts; a • Departments should develop a process for objective aftercap of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit has been action review of these incidents and take steps to correct any established when driving under emergency conditions other problems that are identifed. than pursuits; and the Accident Review Board was given more authority and expected to apply progressive discipline Vehicle Operation in cases where the offcer is at fault. Deaths and injuries from traffc crashes have been a problem The fnal presentation reported on research at Mississippi for the police for some years. Offcers must drive in all kinds State University funded by the National Institute of Justice of conditions and are expected to be able to perform various that used driving simulators to show the impact of distractasks at the time their vehicle is in motion. tions created by equipment in the patrol car that offcers have While on patrol, they must be mindful of the radio, comto use while driving. puters, telephones, license plate readers, and radar at the OSW Group members heard from Teena Garrison, professame time they are observing their surroundings. Under the sor, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi conditions in which they drive, one can expect crashes will State University, who, along with colleagues, is studying the occur. Yet, some offcers are rarely involved in crashes while impact of in-car communications devices on patrol offcer others seem to have great diffculty avoiding them. performance. Preliminary results indicate that when the use OSW heard from a panel of experts on three different asof coded language is paired with the use of a display-echoing pects of vehicle operations. The frst presentation focused communication with dispatch, or when natural language is on a comprehensive research initiative of the California used without such a display, accuracy on a test of situation Commission on Peace Offcers Standards and Training (Calawareness was similar to a control condition without distracPOST). Although there has not been much research on oftion. This provides evidence that police departments should fcer-involved crashes, a general profle of the problem has be made more aware of how certain technologies and pracemerged: tices interact. • Primary victim: male, age mid-20s to mid-30s (Young Noh, The National Institute of Justice supports several projects 2011). aimed at understanding the circumstances under which of• Contributing behaviors: unsafe speed, red light/stop sign fcers drive and become involved in vehicle crashes, includviolations, improper turning (Young Noh, 2011). ing one being conducted by the RAND Corporation on the • Offcers with in-service driving simulator and/or behindcauses of injuries and deaths. Others include University of the-wheel training had lower crash rates than offcers withSouth Carolina researchers, who are working on evidenceout (CalPOST, 2009). based solutions to offcer-involved crashes; and a project by • Majority of injuries and fatalities suffered in offcer-inthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is looking volved collisions were members of the public: 50 percent at mitigating and warning of traffc threats to police stopped of serious injuries and 83 percent of fatalities, includalong the roadside. FIGURE 1: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FATALITIES 84 LAW and ORDER I October 2013