Despite the volume of research on the causes and correlates of police assaults and widespread recognition of the importance of national surveillance systems, there have been no prior attempts to assess the status of national police data systematically. Critiques of individual data sources are commonplace within prior research literature, but consideration of broader challenges stemming from the nature of national data sources is absent.
Using the USA as a case study, this study provides the first systematic review of quantitative research on police assaults from 1960 to 2024 to evaluate national data sources utilized in prior studies.
Findings from 84 studies show substantial variation in data sources, definitions, and measurement strategies, limiting comparability and generalizability. These studies drew data from eight distinct national data sources and featured 42 unique measures of assault. Research has heavily relied on fatal assault measures from Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA), despite longstanding reporting limitations and the rarity of fatal cases. Limited use of public health and multi-source approaches also persists.
The review concludes that national surveillance remains fragmented, and improving data quality, triangulation and attention to nonfatal assaults is critical for advancing officer-safety research.
This is the first systematic review to assess how national surveillance systems for police assaults in the United States have been used in national research on police assaults.
