Category: Law Enforcement

On-duty Injuries Among Ohio Law Enforcement Officers

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) face many workplace hazards. Current research does not include a complete picture of nonfatal injuries that officers sustain while on-duty. Workers’ compensation (WC) data are an underutilized source for occupational injury surveillance in the law enforcement field. A recently published research article explored patterns and characteristics of workers’ compensation injury claims over Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman PhD, Srinivas Konda MPH, Steven J. Wurzelbacher PhD, Steven J. Naber PhD, Wesley R. Attwood Dr.CJLeave a comment

National Correctional Workers Appreciation Week 2023

  May 7-13, 2023, is National Correctional Officers Week also referred to as Correctional Workers Week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 393,000 correctional officers and jailers worked inside correctional facilities in the United States in 2021.[1] The total number of correctional workers is likely much higher as facilities may also employ chaplains, Read More >

Posted on by Sarah Hughes, MPH, and Grace Vixama, MPH, CHESLeave a comment

Working Hours and Fatigue: Meeting the Needs of American Workers and Employers

In November 2022, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM) published a special issue focusing on work-related fatigue. The issue explores factors that may increase work-related fatigue and actions to reduce work-related injuries and illnesses. [1] This issue is a result of discussions and collaborations from the 2019 NIOSH Working Hours, Sleep and Fatigue Forum Read More >

Posted on by Grace Vixama, MPH; Imelda Wong, PhD; and Naomi Swanson, PhD1 Comment

Critical Steps Your Workplace Can Take Today to Prevent Suicide

  Employers can play a vital role in suicide prevention. Historically, suicide, mental health, and well-being have been underrepresented in workplace health and safety efforts, but this is changing. In some European countries, there are workplace standards for workplace psychosocial hazards that put workers at risk for suicide. Additionally, in France, employers have been made Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD; Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP; and Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyDLeave a comment

The State of Health Surveillance Across the Public Safety Sector

Surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice, including in occupational safety and health (OSH). OSH surveillance systems have the ability to generate data that drives decision making and action.1, 2 There are multiple steps in a surveillance system including timely and accurate data collection; data quality monitoring; data management; data analysis; interpretation of results; Read More >

Posted on by Carol Brown, PhD; Suzanne M. Marsh, MPA; Susan M. Moore, PhD; and Meghan Kiederer, BA2 Comments

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

  January 9th is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Law enforcement officers (LEO) place their lives and their health and safety at risk while protecting the public. While some of the risks may be obvious, there are many hazards officers face in the line of duty including: motor vehicle incidents, needlestick injuries, noise and lead Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD; Melanie Lee Fowler, MS, CSP; Luenda Charles, PhD, MPH; John M. Violanti, PhD; Desta Fekedulegn PhD, MPH; Christa L. Themann, MA, CCC-A; Sarah Hughes, MPH.Leave a comment

Shiftwork May Lead to Health Problems among Police Officers: What Can be Done? Using Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study Data to Examine First Responder Health

  Ensuring the safety of our community is a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year kind of job. Weekends and holidays included. Working at night (outside the normal daylight hours of 7am – 6pm) is known as “shiftwork” and it has been linked to certain health issues. Police officers and detectives frequently work 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shift, Read More >

Posted on by Taylor M. Shockey, PhD, MPH; Luenda E. Charles, PhD, MPH; Michael E. Andrew, PhD; John M. Violanti, PhD; and Amy E. Mobley, MEn5 Comments

Law Enforcement Officers’ Health Effects from Exposure to Opioids: Two Case Investigations

There is uncertainty surrounding law enforcement officers’ exposure to and health effects from opioids encountered while at work protecting the public. Over the past several years, the media have reported instances of opioid exposures and health effects among first responders and other public service workers across the U.S.[i],[ii],[iii],[iv] These reports provide incomplete or uncorroborated information Read More >

Posted on by Sophia K. Chiu, MD, MPH3 Comments

Fentanyl Exposure Risks for Law Enforcement and Emergency Response Workers

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that is similar to morphine and heroin, but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Fentanyl and its analogs, such as carfentanil, can pose a potential hazard to law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, and firefighters who could come into contact with these drugs through the course of their work Read More >

Posted on by Jennifer Hornsby-Myers, MS, CIH; G. Scott Dotson, PhD, CIH; and Deborah Hornback, MS 21 Comments

National Police Week and NIOSH’s Work in Officer Safety

Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week are observances that pay tribute to local, state, and Federal officers who have died or been disabled in the line of duty.  The Peace Officers Memorial Day occurs annually on May 15 which was designated by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.  National Police Week is the Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD; Jeff Rojek, PhD; Hongwei Hsiao, PhD; Claire Caruso, PhD3 Comments

Hit the Mark: Firearms training without damaging your hearing

Today on World Hearing Day we would like to highlight the pioneering efforts of Florida’s Alachua County Deputy Sheriff, Ryan Lee Scott, who is the winner of the 2017 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award™ . Background According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1.2 million Federal, State, and local law enforcement Read More >

Posted on by Thais Morata, Chucri A. Kardous, and Ryan Lee Scott

Health Effects from 9/11: Lessons Learned

  Today, as the world remembers the terrorist attacks of 9/11 we must also remember that tens of thousands of responders and survivors of the disaster continue to suffer adverse health effects every day. Multiple types of toxic exposures were encountered by the responders, clean-up personnel and residents of the surrounding community. A new Continuing Read More >

Posted on by Max Lum, Ed.D., MPA15 Comments

Workplace Suicide

  The research literature on occupation and suicide has consistently identified several occupations at high risk for suicide: farmers, medical doctors, law enforcement officers, and soldiers. However, there are few studies examining suicides that occur in U.S. workplaces. Recently published research from NIOSH, examined suicides occurring in U.S. workplaces between 2003 and 2010 and compared workplace Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD 11 Comments

Motor Vehicle Safety and Law Enforcement Officers

In 2010, motor-vehicle-related events accounted for approximately two out of every five fatal work injuries in the United States [BLS 2011a]. Non-fatal motor-vehicle crashes can result in serious long-term injuries, permanent disabilities, and costly medical care. Notably absent from motor-vehicle research has been research addressing the safety of law enforcement officers who not only spend Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD7 Comments

Powerful New Videos Encourage Those Who Qualify to Seek Care through the World Trade Center Health Program

Though the September 11th attacks were over a decade ago, thousands of people who were in the affected areas continue to experience physical and mental health symptoms as a result of their experience in the days, months, and even years following 9/11. They may not recognize that some cancers, a chronic cough, difficulty sleeping, or Read More >

Posted on by Melissa Van Orman, MA25 Comments

Stress and Health in Law Enforcement

Earlier this month the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health released a special issue highlighting research from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study and from related studies of morbidity and mortality among police officers. The BCOPS study is an investigation of the early or subclinical health consequences of stress in police officers and Read More >

Posted on by Penelope J. Baughman, PhD; Tara A. Hartley, PhD, MPA, MPH; Cecil M. Burchfiel, PhD, MPH; and John M. Violanti, PhD 10 Comments

NIOSH Research on Work Schedules and Work-related Sleep Loss

Yesterday, in honor of National Sleep Awareness Week, we blogged about sleep and work and the risks to workers, employers, and the public when workers’ hours and shifts do not allow for adequate sleep.   This blog provides a brief overview of some of the work that NIOSH intramural scientists are carrying out to better understand Read More >

Posted on by Claire Caruso, PhD, RN; Luenda Charles, PhD; Tina Lawson, PhD; Akinori Nakata, PhD; Karl Sieber, PhD; Sudha Pandalai, MD, PhD; and Ted Hitchcock, PhD28 Comments

Sleep and Work

Sleep is a vital biological function and many Americans don’t get enough. To coincide with National Sleep Awareness Week, the new NIOSH blog post: Sleep and Work summarizes the risks to workers, employers and the public when long hours and irregular shifts required by many jobs do not allow workers to get adequate sleep. Read More >

Posted on by Claire Caruso, PhD, RN, and Roger R Rosa, PhD78 Comments

Cops and Cars

Police officer line-of-duty deaths have increased 40% from 2009 to 2010. Traffic-related incidents are the leading cause of death among our nation's law enforcement officers. Help NIOSH better understand police officer attitudes and beliefs about motor-vehicle safety practices by providing input.  Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD, and Rebecca Heick, PhD43 Comments

Using No-nose (Noseless) Bicycle Saddles to Prevent Genital Numbness and Sexual Dysfunction

Over 40,000 workers including police officers, emergency medical technicians, and security staff ride bicycles as part of their job. Research has shown that riding with a traditional bicycle saddle can create pressure in the groin and may lead to a loss of sensation and a decrease in blood supply to the genitals. No-nose bicycle saddles can significantly reduce this pressure and alleviate the resulting negative health consequences. Read More >

Posted on by Steven M. Schrader, PhD, Brian D. Lowe, PhD, Michael J. Breitenstein, BS63 CommentsTags ,