The number of law enforcement officers in the United States who lost their lives while on duty saw a significant decline in 2025, reaching figures not observed since the era of World War II, as revealed by recent data.

A report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, published on Tuesday, indicates that the total number of line-of-duty deaths decreased from 148 in 2024 to 111 in the past year, with reductions noted across all categories of fatalities.

Such a low annual fatality count for officers has not been recorded since 1943, when 94 officers were killed in the line of duty.

Fatalities due to firearms dropped by 15%, declining from 52 in 2024 to 44 in 2025, marking the lowest level in at least a decade, as per the Fund’s records.

Officers gathered for the funeral procession of fallen West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, on February 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

“I always like to see that firearms deaths are down. They are the tip of the spear for egregious acts,” Bill Alexander, the Fund’s chief executive officer, told The Associated Press. “Even one officer fatality is too many, and our ultimate goal is to have none. But we’re heartened by any decrease in those numbers.”

Traffic-related deaths fell nearly 23% year over year, according to the data.

An unidentified man participates in a Blue Lives Matter rally Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Alexander attributed the decline in fatalities from crashes and officers getting struck by vehicles during traffic stops to the growing attention to roadside safety. He said that the spread of “move-over” laws, and changes in policing tactics, such as encouraging officers to approach vehicles from the passenger side, have helped.

Fewer fatalities do not necessarily mean fewer officer shootings, he said.

The National Fraternal Order of Police tracks on-duty officer shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, though the data does not include incidents in which officers were fired upon but not hit.

Its 2025 report, released this week, showed a slight increase in officers shot on duty last year, rising from 342 in 2024 to 347 in 2025.

Police officers salute as other officers ride past on motorcycles in procession for a slain officer on Feb. 5, 2025. (KVVU)

Deaths in the report’s “other” category, which includes medical emergencies, stabbings, drownings, and aviation accidents, fell 37%, from 52 to 33. That total includes 14 officers who died from illnesses linked to their response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The report also excludes suicides, though Alexander said the organization is continuing discussions about how to recognize and honor those officers.