Getting Below 100
A Common-Sense Path Toward Reducing Officer Deaths
By: Kevin Howarth, LGRMS
Reprinted with permission from the ACCG County Line Emagazine.
Someone who doesn’t spend every day on the front lines of police work may think that
most line-of-duty deaths occur from gunfire and battling criminals. Of course, many tragic,
unexpected, and unpreventable deaths do occur each year. But the biggest tragedy is that
many police officer deaths are completely preventable.
Not since 1944 have police officer deaths in the United States dropped below 100. After a
high of 284 deaths in 1974, police officer deaths have lowered to an average of about 150
each year through advancements in training, technology, and best practices. But no
amount of awareness, creativity, or technological innovation can force a police officer to
buckle up or lessen speed.
For the non-profit organization Below 100, more than 100 deaths per year is not
acceptable. Volunteers throughout the nation, including current and former police officers,
have made it their mission to prevent these deaths.
The Origins and Tenets of Below 100
During a dinner conversation in 2010 among several police officers and contributors to Law
Officer Magazine , Major Travis Yates of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Department said, “If
we would just slow down, wear our seatbelts and clear intersections, we could get our line
of duty deaths to Below 100 a year.” This statement ended up forming the core vision and
mission of Below 100.
Built around five tenets, Below 100 focuses all its attention on a few simple reminders that
can lower many preventable law enforcement deaths:
Wear a seatbelt.
Wear body armor.
Watch your speed.
Focus on WIN.
WIN stands for “What’s important now?” Law enforcement officers must remain
mentally present and focused in the moment—even during routine traffic stops—
to stay situationally aware instead of letting their mind drift or lose attention.
Lessening overall complacency.
Because Below 100 is comprised of police officer volunteers, they empathize with the daily
grind. Like anyone at any job, officers can get caught up in day-to-day tasks and forget or
dismiss simple best practices. However, unlike a typical office job, forgetting the simple
things in law enforcement can mean the difference between life and death.
It’s one thing to state a worthy vision and mission. It’s another to put this vision and
mission into action. Below 100 strategically uses “Train-the-Trainer” presentations given to
a few volunteers who then go back to their police departments and local areas to help
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