IACP Officer Injury Tracking Tool
Training
Center for Officer Safety and Wellness
Introduction: Why Track Injuries?
Track Officer
Injuries
Better Understand
Causes and
Influences of
Injuries
Inform Prevention,
Effectively Allocate
Resources, Keep
Officers Safe and
Well
Getting Started and Troubleshooting
Getting Started
• Save the file into a folder on your computer.
TROUBLE SHOOTING:
• If you do not save the file to a folder on your computer, you
will see the “Read Only” error message as seen in the figure
below.
• Just click “Save As” and save the file to the folder in which you
would like to store the injury information.
Getting Started
TROUBLE SHOOTING:
• If you see the message “Security Warning Certain
content in the database has been disabled”, you will
need to adjust the settings.
• First, click “Options”, as shown here.
Getting Started
TROUBLE SHOOTING:
• Microsoft Security Options window will open. Click on
the link in the bottom left had corner that says “Open
the Trust Center.”
• On the left side of the Trust Center task bar click on the
“Trusted Locations” option.
• At the bottom click on “add new locations”. Choose the
folder where you saved the file using the browse
function. (Note: the form must be saved in a file.)
• Click “OK”.
• Click on the box to allow trusted locations on network.
• Click “OK” to save and exit.
Entering an Incident Using the Form
Form Instructions
• Enter all of the injury incident data in the
predefined categories.
• After entering the incident information scroll back
to the top and click on “Save and New”. This will
clear the form for the next injury case you need to
enter.
• If you want a summary of the information you just
entered, click “Report” at the top of the form.
Choose the date range from which you want the
report and select report from the drop down menu
and click “Print”.
Edit Information
• To scroll through the previously entered cases and make
edits when needed, click “Previous” and “Next”.
• This is the only way to edit the information after it has
been entered.
Summary Tab
• In order to view all of the injury cases
that have been entered, click on the
summary tab at the top of the form.
Exporting Injury Cases
• To export these cases from the database, click on the
select all tab in the upper left corner of the data entered
(arrow in figure below). Then right click within the data
and copy the selected information.
• After copying the information, it is suggested that you
paste the information into excel or other similar
program in order to examine the trends within your
agency.
Incident Measure Descriptions and
Purpose
The following slides will provide a definition for each piece
of information you will enter into the database. These
slides will also provide some background as to the
purpose and use of specific measures.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• ID- Use this numerical ID to refer back to an entry.
• Date of Incident- Provides the historical context and
allows incidents to be tracked as they occur.
• Time of Incident- May provide insight into the most
dangerous times and shifts that will allow a better
examination of resource allocation.
• Officer Age- Research has shown that injuries vary by
officer age and by understanding these trends, agencies
can target those that are at high risk.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Years of Law Enforcement Experience- Similar to officer
age, by examining the years of service and injury
connection, agencies can better focus their resources
where they are most needed. Officers may need retraining
if a pattern is found, or there may be certain types of
training that would best serve different levels of
experience.
• Duty Status- Injuries that occur on and off duty may be
very different. In fact, off duty injuries may provide
evidence of the need for policy revision, as well as training
for officers in preventing injury while working off duty.
Working off duty assignments is an important part of the
job for many officers, and a better understanding of these
incidents will allow officers to continue pursuing these
opportunities, while mitigating the associated risk.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Officer Assignment-Research shows that the type of
assignment has a significant impact on the type of
injuries and the severity of those injuries.
• Officer Unit- The number of officers present has been
found to be an important indicator of officer injury
severity. By understanding how injuries take place
among one, two or more officer units, officers will be
able to better understand whether they would benefit
from riding with a different number of officers.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Uniform Type- Officer presence and the display of a
badge is an important part of citizen interaction.
• By better understanding the role uniforms play in
dealing with injuries, officers will be able to identify
ways to approach citizen encounters.
• For example, if injuries are largely occurring out of
uniform, there is likely a connection between the
duty uniform and injuries. This may be a starting
point in reducing injuries.
• Furthermore, this information may be useful when
agencies consider changing their uniforms, as certain
types of uniforms may be found to contribute to or
reduce injuries.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Type of Injury- The type of injury is an important part of
understanding both the root cause and severity of
injuries.
• While the severity of the injury may be clear from
the type (e.g., broken bone) often the severity is less
clear (e.g., knee sprain) and the subsequent time
away from work can vary greatly.
• Classifying injuries by type helps in understanding
how the officer’s activities impacted the injury.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Ballistic Vest Use- The use of a ballistic vest was found to
be the best way to reduce injures, not only during
ballistic protection, but with other types of injuries as
well.
• The vest provides protection for many different
types of injuries.
• Location of Injury- Injury location is important because it
might provide insight into prevention methods.
Importantly, there may be implications for a review of
the tactics and force techniques used during the
incident.
• These trends may inform new training or retraining
of officers in order to improve defensive tactics, as
well as officers approach to offenders.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Medical Treatment– The type of medical treatment can
provide insight into the cost of the injuries as well as
their severity.
• Aid at Scene by Another Officer- Recent officer involved
shootings have shown the value of officer aide in
preventing line of duty deaths.
• The aid of other officers also provides insight into
the value of having additional officers present at
calls for service, or whether a two officer response
may contribute to reducing injuries.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Estimated Number of Work Days Lost- The days missed
by an officer provides the following insight into the
injury picture:
• The number of days missed provides an estimate of the total
cost of lost resources and the necessary replacement of
those hours with over time.
• The number of days lost, when considered by type of injury,
can provide insight into the severity of different injuries.
• In comparing the number of days lost with the other major
categories (age, gender, assignment, years of service, etc.),
agencies can begin to understand not only how, but also why
these injuries are taking place.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Does the Officer Participate in a Wellness Program?There is a clear connection between the fitness of the
officer and the presence, severity, and rehabilitation
time of an injury.
• Findings show the value in each of these measures: Fitness
Program Type, Frequency of Exercise, Officer Height, Officer
Weight, in understanding the cause of an officer injury, as well
as ways that injuries may be reduced.
• For example, if there is a trend in those officers participating in a
fitness program, being more fit as indicated by weight and
obesity measures, then that may provide evidence of the value
and cost saving in implementing a fitness program within an
agency.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Weather- While the weather is not something that can
be controlled; it is a factor that agencies can prepare for.
Connections between certain types of weather
conditions and injuries may provide additional insight
into how agencies may respond differently and prevent
injuries.
• Lighting Conditions- Unlike weather, lighting conditions
may be controlled at times by the officer during self
initiated stops. If a pattern of poor light conditions is
present in several injuries within an agency, that may be
an indicator that different tactics or illumination devices
need to be deployed or used more effectively.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Incident Location- The location of injury incidents may
reveal trends and allow agencies to better manage
resources by location. This information may also provide
an opportunity to review tactics associated with these
locations (e.g., building searches) to find ways they can
be improved to reduce risk and prevent injuries.
• Was The Suspect Identified- The identification of the
suspect may be an important indictor as it relates to the
nature of the call. When an officer is injured and the
suspect is not identified, this may indicate an ambush or
other unprovoked attack, which poses a significant risk
to other officers on the street.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Suspect Impairments- The connection
between suspect drug and alcohol use may
provide information regarding the role of
impairment in officer injury during contact.
• This is a known officer safety risk and an
important factor to note when present in an
officer injury situation.
Incident Measure Descriptions and Purpose
• Suspect Weapon Information- The presence of a weapon by
the suspect is a key indicator of the threat that the officer
faced. In addition, the type of weapon is also an important
factor.
• Suspect Criminal History- The connection between suspects
having had previous contact with law enforcement and an
increase in officer injury has been clear in The IACP’s
research. Agencies should consider this factor in examining
officer injuries and take steps to identify suspects in advance,
when making contact with the suspect, in order to increase
awareness of threats and inform prevention on the street.
Traffic Crashes
• The measures from the traffic crash section of the collection
form represent a few key measures that will help in
understanding how and why crashes occur.
• These categories are not meant to serve as an in-depth crash
review, as those investigations are typically a separate effort.
• Rather, the connection between the crash and the injury is
the main goal of the information collection.
• By connecting the crash characteristics to the injury details
already reviewed, new information may be developed that
will add to the injury picture and inform prevention.
Traffic Crash Measures
• Below are the crash measures that should be combined
with the previously covered injury incident information.
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Safety Belt Use
Estimated Speed before Impact (Officer)
Estimated Speed before Impact (Other Driver)
Engagement at Time of Crash
Emergency Equipment Use
Primary Cause of Accident (Officer)
Primary Cause of Accident (Other Driver)
Was Emergency Equipment Functioning Properly
Condition of Driver of Other Vehicle
For More Information
For more information on injury tracking or for any
questions you may have, please contact us at
officersafety@theiacp.org.
This project is supported by Grant No. 2009-DG-BX-0027 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The BJA is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
the SMART Office, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are
those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Justice.