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by delecti 2709 days ago
Only one TSA officer has ever been killed on-duty, and they have a total of 57,000 employees as of 2016 [1]. Not all of them are inspection agents (maybe 1/3? I'll use 20,000), but they've been an agency since 9/11 (I'll use 17 years). That makes 1 death per 340,000 agent-years. Admittedly I don't know how their total employee number has changed over time, and my 1/3 estimate could be wildly off.

Meanwhile the statistic for police in the US in 2013 was 11.1/100,000 [2], about 37 times as dangerous, or 18.3/100,000 for firefighters [3], or about 62 times as dangerous.

That's not the whole picture though, because it doesn't take into account hours worked, or injury (probably also higher for firefighters and police).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Security_Admini... [2] https://fee.org/articles/by-the-numbers-how-dangerous-is-it-... [3] https://www.firehouse.com/safety-health/news/10535644/firefi...
2 comments
HarryHirsch 2709 days ago
It's worth pondering that the overwhelming majority of police deaths are injuries when an inattentive driver runs over an officer during a traffic stop. Only a suicidal maniac would stand for an extended time on the drivers side of a stopped car on the highway. It would be a boon to public health if the police could just photograph a traffic offender and send him the ticket in the mail! The police unions would be disappointed, though, because then they can't use the statistics to argue for their members, because felony homicides of police officers are around 40/year in the US. That includes Greater Methville.
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Rebelgecko 2709 days ago
Maybe it's regional, but when I see police officers pulling someone over they almost always go to the passenger window.
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beatgammit 2709 days ago
That's the main difference between police officers and highway patrol in my area: police go to the driver side window, highway patrol go to the passenger side.

But yeah, it seems like an unnecessary risk for police to go to the driver's side. I always try to give them space, but quite a few drivers don't.

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a3n 2709 days ago
I read recently, maybe here, that standing by the side of the road deaths for law enforcement is no longer the greatest cause of death.

Also, I'm a truck driver, on the road all day every day, and cops are mostly on the passenger side these days. Anecdata.

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zik 2709 days ago
That's a whole lot less dangerous than being a mechanic or a farmer.
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beatgammit 2709 days ago
Statistics?
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