When you hear cops saying they've got a dangerous job ...

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... remember that they're lying:

I've pointed out a number of times that the job of police officer has been getting progressively safer for a generation. Last year was the safest year for cops since the early 1960s. And it isn't just because the police are carrying bigger guns or have better armor. Assaults on police officers have been dropping over the same period. Which means that not only are fewer cops getting killed on the job, people in general are less inclined to try to hurt them. Yes, working as a police officer is still more dangerous than, say, working as a journalist. (Or at least a journalist here in the U.S.) But a cop today is about as likely to be murdered on the job as someone who merely resides in about half of the country's 75 largest cities.

Like Radley, I'll note that this post doesn't intend to diminish the job that police officers have to do; rather to note that the danger facing cops is greatly overstated.

Add to that the fact that they're rarely if ever held to account for what they do on the job, well you've got the makings of a US storm trooper right there..

pm