TY - JOUR
T1 - Pattern of law enforcement-related injuries in the United States
AU - Chang, David C.
AU - Williams, Mallory
AU - Sangji, Naveen F.
AU - Britt, L. D.
AU - Rogers, Selwyn O.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: The pattern of law enforcement-related injuries of police and civilians in the United States is unknown. METHODS: Data were aggregated from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2003 to 2011. Law enforcement-related injuries in the CDC Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System and the NIS were identified using E-codes 970-976, which are meant to identify "injuries inflicted by the police or other law-enforcing agents, including military on duty, in the course of arresting or attempting to arrest lawbreakers, suppressing disturbances, maintaining order, and other legal action." RESULTS: The CDC reported a total of 715,118 nonfatal injuries and 3,156 fatal injuries from 2003 to 2011. In contrast, for the same period, the NIS identified a total of 3,958 patients, ranging from 348 to 572 per year. Among the injured, 1,548 (48.0%) were white, 866 were black (26.8%), and 605 were Hispanic (18.8%); 1,011 patients (25.5%) were injured by firearms, while 2,304 (58.2%) experienced blows or manhandling. Firearm-injured hospitalized patients are more likely to be male, black or Hispanics, and in the age group of 18 years to 39 years. CONCLUSION: The majority of law enforcement-related injuries are among white or black young men. Hispanic patients are more likely to be injured by a firearm than struck. When injured by firearm, white and black patients are more likely to die compared with Hispanic patients. Unfortunately, data about these injuries are scattered across multiple data systems. A uniform national system to aggregate these data sources is needed to better understand the scope of the problem, for both law enforcement personnel and civilians.
AB - BACKGROUND: The pattern of law enforcement-related injuries of police and civilians in the United States is unknown. METHODS: Data were aggregated from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2003 to 2011. Law enforcement-related injuries in the CDC Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System and the NIS were identified using E-codes 970-976, which are meant to identify "injuries inflicted by the police or other law-enforcing agents, including military on duty, in the course of arresting or attempting to arrest lawbreakers, suppressing disturbances, maintaining order, and other legal action." RESULTS: The CDC reported a total of 715,118 nonfatal injuries and 3,156 fatal injuries from 2003 to 2011. In contrast, for the same period, the NIS identified a total of 3,958 patients, ranging from 348 to 572 per year. Among the injured, 1,548 (48.0%) were white, 866 were black (26.8%), and 605 were Hispanic (18.8%); 1,011 patients (25.5%) were injured by firearms, while 2,304 (58.2%) experienced blows or manhandling. Firearm-injured hospitalized patients are more likely to be male, black or Hispanics, and in the age group of 18 years to 39 years. CONCLUSION: The majority of law enforcement-related injuries are among white or black young men. Hispanic patients are more likely to be injured by a firearm than struck. When injured by firearm, white and black patients are more likely to die compared with Hispanic patients. Unfortunately, data about these injuries are scattered across multiple data systems. A uniform national system to aggregate these data sources is needed to better understand the scope of the problem, for both law enforcement personnel and civilians.
KW - Law enforcement
KW - civilian
KW - pattern of injuries
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U2 - 10.1097/TA.0000000000001000
DO - 10.1097/TA.0000000000001000
M3 - Article
C2 - 26886001
AN - SCOPUS:84958817194
SN - 2163-0755
VL - 80
SP - 870
EP - 876
JO - Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
JF - Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
IS - 6
ER -