Names Officially Added During the 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil Ceremony

The names of 362 fallen officers were officially added to the Memorial Thursday, May 13, 2004 during the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil Ceremony. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Approximately 20,000 people attended the event to pay tribute to these officers and those who have gone before them.

In the year 2003, 145 law enforcement officers across the nation were killed in the line of duty. The number of officers killed last year is the second year in a row that the number has been well below the decade-long average of 166 annual police deaths. The 139 male and six female officers who died worked in 38 of our nation's 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and one federal agency.

The NLEOMF would like to extend our gratitude to these officers and their families as well as all supporters of law enforcement who took the time during this National Police Week 2004 to honor our country's law enforcement officers.

To view the names of the officers who were officially added to the Memorial, please click on "List of 362 Names to be Added to Memorial in May 2004 " in the Memorial News box on our home page.

Eleven Things You Should Know!

There are approximately 957,500 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 11.3 percent of those officers are female.

In 2002, there were more than 1.4 million violent crimes committed in the United States (according to the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The annual number of violent crimes has declined by 35% since it peaked in 1993 at 4 million.

Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1792, there have been more than 16,500 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

A total of 1,972 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 57 hours or 167 per year. There were 145 law enforcement officers killed in 2003.

On average, more than 58,066 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year, resulting in some 16,494 injuries.

The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1974 when 271 officers were killed. The deadliest decade was the 1970s when a total of 2,240 officers died, or 224 each year. That figure dropped dramatically in the 1990s, to 157 per year.

The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.

New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 579 deaths. California has lost 1,357 officers, more than any other state. The state with the fewest deaths in Vermont, with 17.

There are 873 federal officers listed on the Memorial, as well as 445 correctional officers and 44 military law enforcement officers.

There are 194 female officers listed on the Memorial, only nine of whom were killed prior to 1970.

During the past 10 years, more officers were killed feloniously on Wednesday than any other day of the week. The fewest number of felonious fatalities occurred on Sundays. Over the past decade, more officers were killed between 10:01 p.m. and midnight than during any other two-hour period.