Kolme poliisia ammuttiin ja yksi ..

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gunfire in '08
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY
The number of police officers killed by gunfire in 2008 dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years, says a report out Monday by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Forty-one officers were shot and killed in 2008, down 40% from 68 in 2007. That's the lowest number since 1956, when 35 officers died from gunfire. The U.S. population today is 305 million, compared with 169 million in 1956.

The total number of officers who died in the line of duty — 140 — dropped 23% from 181 in 2007, one of the highest totals in two decades. The overall figure includes police killed in traffic fatalities and other accidents plus shooting deaths.

The high number of police deaths in 2007 spurred a new emphasis on officer safety training and equipment, says Memorial Fund Chairman Craig Floyd. More officers are wearing body armor and using stun guns to protect themselves, he says.

"2007 really became a wake-up call for law enforcement in this country," Floyd says. "There were aggressive actions taken to improve officer safety."


Yet Ed Nowicki, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, says he fears a tight economy and shrinking police budgets will force departments to cut back training.

"You need cars, you need firearms, you need uniforms. Training is an abstract," Nowicki says. "The number of deaths in 2008 is nothing compared to the deaths in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was much higher then. Better training and equipment have made a difference."

The Philadelphia Police Department this year had four fatalities, including one female officer. That was the most police deaths of any agency in the USA and accounted for half the police deaths in Pennsylvania, the study says.

Philadelphia had no police deaths from 1996 to 2006, says Lt. Frank Vanore. This year "was the deadliest for our officers in recent memory," he says.

Philadelphia Sgt. Stephen Liczbinsky died in May trying to stop a car carrying three alleged bank robbers. One got out of the car and fired a high-powered weapon, killing the officer, Vanore says.

In September, Sgt. Patrick McDonald was shot by a man released early from prison, Vanore says.

"It's obvious there's too much violence and a lot of violence directed at police," Vanore says. "It's been a tough year."

Among the report's findings:

• Female officers for the first time accounted for more than 10% of officers killed in a single year. The number of female officers killed, 15, matched the high set in 2002.

• For the 11th consecutive year, more officers died from traffic-related incidents than any other cause of death.

•Other fatalities included two officers who died in a bombing, two who were stabbed and two who died in a helicopter crash.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-28-copdeaths_N.htm

Päätän Raporttini Täältä Tähän

Talouslama ja nopeasti nouseva työttömyys saattaa myös Yhdysvalloissa ajaa ihmisiä epätoivoisiin tekoihin.

Senpä takia on hyvin tärkeää uutisoida asioista, jotta pystyttäisiin ehkäisemään kriisejä ja rakentamaan vahvaa yhteisöllisyyttä ihmisten välillä.