In 2002, the State Associations of Chiefs of Police (SACOP) created an initiative dedicated to protecting our nation’s law enforcement officers. The SafeShield committee was designed to focus on officer safety. There has been a long standing belief that in the line of duty deaths are unacceptable and law enforcement professionals have done everything they can to help reduce them. However it is the conviction of this committee that this philosophy should also extend to officer injuries. Law enforcement leaders can not accept the proposition that accidents or injuries are a reality of the law enforcement profession. The only acceptable belief is zero officers killed or injured.

In 2003, the SACOP SafeShield committee commissioned a survey to gather information about what types of on-duty injuries officers sustain. During a one year period, 2,800 officers reported being injured, causing more than 24,000 lost workdays. The survey results made clear that the law enforcement community has a financial incentive to identify the causes of on-duty injuries and institute changes to eliminate them.

SafeShield Goals:

• Track how officers are getting hurt and identify those that cause the greatest number of injuries or deaths.
• Address each area of vulnerability by determining where existing solutions can be adapted for officer safety and where other solutions are lacking.
• Work to develop specifications for equipment solutions and identify training and policy remedies as applicable.
• Provide best practices, updates, recommendations, product warnings and guidelines for keeping officers safe.
• Support a culture of zero tolerance for injuries

In order for this program to be successful, there has to be a cultural shift towards the opinion that injuries are preventable. Safety must become a priority and agencies must become familiar with the importance of supervising for safety and the eight safety and health principles. It is the belief of SafeShield that although we have limited control over dangerous situations an officer may face in the line of duty, we can control the outcomes through comprehensive planning.