The Human and Financial Costs of Police Officer-Involved Motor Vehicle Collisions

• In Event: Police Motor Vehicle Stops and Collisions

Abstract

Motor vehicle collisions have accounted for 27 to 45 percent of annual police officer deaths in the United States over the past 10 years. In comparison, the human and financial costs of other less serious but far more frequent crashes have received little attention. Four complete years of data (2009-2012) was collected from a large police department, which included details on officer injuries and vehicle repair costs in addition to private property damage estimates and citizen injuries. The results provided a comprehensive picture of the damages that have resulted from police officer-involved motor vehicle collisions in this jurisdiction—the focus of this presentation.

Author

• John Andrew Hansen, University of South Carolina