When the final minute of 2025 ended, the number of police officer line-of-duty deaths posted on the Officer Down Memorial Page stood at 97 — lower than any total recorded since ODMP began honoring the fallen in 1996. It represents a level of loss not seen in several decades. No one wearing a badge today was even alive the last time losses were this low.
This is a moment worth recognizing. It reflects real progress in officer safety. At the same time, it must be said plainly: no loss is ever acceptable.
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It is likely the 2025 total will be adjusted upward as additional 9/11 cancer-related deaths are documented. That reality does not diminish the significance of this moment, nor does it change what matters most. The focus must be on building upon what has been achieved without self-congratulation, without complacency and without losing sight of the responsibility shared across the profession.
Progress is real — and fragile
For decades, line-of-duty deaths were often treated as an unavoidable cost of policing. They were tracked, memorialized and mourned, but rarely confronted as something that could be meaningfully reduced. We now know that assumption was wrong.
Progress in officer safety does not come from a single program or policy. It emerges from daily decisions: how fast we drive, whether we wear our seatbelts, how we manage risk and whether we speak up when something feels wrong. These choices are not abstract. They are practical, measurable and within our control. That is why this moment must be treated not as a milestone, but as a responsibility.
No one wearing a badge today was even alive the last time losses were this low.
Individual and collective responsibility
Officer safety is often framed as a leadership issue and leadership does matter deeply. But responsibility for officer safety does not rest exclusively with chiefs, sheriffs, or command staff. It belongs to everyone who wears a badge.
Every officer owns their individual decisions. Every officer also shares responsibility for the culture they help shape, especially field training officers. What we tolerate becomes normal. What goes unchallenged can cost someone their life.
That is why courageous conversations matter. Speaking up about unsafe speed. Calling out inconsistent seatbelt use. Questioning shortcuts that increase risk. These conversations are rarely comfortable, but they are often decisive. This is how culture changes — not through slogans, but through action.
Common sense still saves lives
Some of the most effective safety measures in policing are also the simplest. Practical policies addressing speed and seatbelt use save lives. These are not administrative details or “soft” issues — they shape life-and-death decisions made countless times each day.
But policy alone is not enough. A rule that exists on paper but is ignored in practice does not improve safety. Policy backed by expectation, accountability, and leadership does. Common sense, applied consistently, remains one of the most powerful tools we have.
The enduring power of the five tenets
For more than 15 years, Below 100 has emphasized five core tenets that are deliberately simple and too often overlooked:
- Wear your belt
- Wear your vest
- Watch your speed
- Win — What’s Important Now?
- Remember: complacency kills!
These tenets are not revolutionary. They are foundational. Their strength lies in clarity and consistency, giving officers and leaders a shared language for risk, responsibility and decision-making. Agencies that embrace these principles through training, reinforcement and accountability see meaningful change. Not perfection. But progress.
Few voices carry greater credibility on officer safety than John Marshall. A former Virginia State Trooper, former Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, and most recently the retired Director of the Office of Safety Programs at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Marshall has spent his career focused on prevention and accountability. Reflecting on Below 100, he observed: “The five tenets seemed so simple — yet when I really thought about them, they were so often overlooked. After attending a Below 100 training session, I was convinced this program works. During that training, and in every session that followed, I watched skepticism give way to commitment and action. While we can’t point to a study showing Below 100 is solely responsible for line-of-duty deaths dropping below 100 in 2025, we can say — backed by one powerful anecdote after another — that Below 100 has saved the lives of countless law enforcement officers. Perhaps more importantly, it has permanently changed how we think about officer safety. It’s no longer just about those who seek to do us harm.”
Positional authority changes the equation
As officers gain experience, seniority and rank, their influence grows. Positional authority — formal or informal — amplifies responsibility. FTOs, supervisors and command staff shape behavior whether they intend to or not. New officers watch what leaders do far more closely than what policy says. Silence from someone with authority is rarely neutral — it is often interpreted as approval.
That is why positional authority carries obligation. Leaders must be willing to intervene, correct and reinforce even when it is uncomfortable. This is not about heavy-handed discipline. It is about officer safety. Leaders must also model the behavior they expect. If you don’t use your safety equipment, you undermine both your credibility and your effectiveness.
A call to action for everyone wearing a badge
This moment belongs to the entire profession. It is not owned by any one organization, program, or rank. It is shaped by daily decisions made in patrol cars, briefing rooms, training environments and hallways.
As we move forward, the challenge is straightforward and demanding: Look honestly at yourself and your coworkers. Ask where the next serious injury or line-of-duty death is most likely to occur. Then act, before that prediction becomes reality.
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