For 13 years, traffic-related incidents have been the leading cause of fatalities for law enforcement offices. However, firearms have now outpaced crashes as the primary cause, with 68 officers shot and killed.

Following an increase in 2010, the number of officer fatalities in the United States continued to rise for a second straight year. According to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), 173 officers were killed in the line of duty during 2011, a 13 percent increase from the previous year.

“Drastic budget cuts affecting law enforcement agencies across the country have put our officers at grave risk,” declared NLEOMF Chairman Craig W. Floyd.

Floyd cited a recent survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police that found 60 percent of responding law enforcement agencies had cut back on training, 64 percent had cut back on buying or upgrading major equipment, and 58 percent had cut back on buying or upgrading technology.

However, the number of officers killed on the roadway dropped by 10 percent in 2011. There were 64 traffic-related deaths in 2011, which ties 2005 for the second-lowest total in the past 15 years.

This year, preliminary numbers show that 44 officers were killed in automobile crashes, 11 were struck and killed, 7 were killed in motorcycle crashes, and 2 were struck and killed by a train while in an automobile. The preliminary findings also revealed that more officers were killed in Florida, 14, than in any other state; followed by Texas with 13; New York with 11; and California and Georgia with 10 each.

The statistics released by the NLEOMF and C.O.P.S. are based on preliminary data compiled and do not represent a final or complete list of individual officers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2011.

The report, “Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: Preliminary 2011 Report,” is available at www.LawMemorial.org/ResearchBulletin.