The FBI released updated Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) datasets on April 20, 2026, the Department of Justice catalog confirmed. The release brings officer safety statistics through the 2024 full-year reporting cycle and marks another step in the FBI's ongoing transition to the Crime Data Explorer as the central access point for national officer safety data.
What the 2024 Numbers Show
In 2024, 107 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty across the United States, according to the LEOKA data. That figure represents an increase of 13 fatalities over the 2023 reporting period. Of those 107 deaths, approximately 60% were classified as felonious killings. Firearms remained the primary weapon used in those incidents. The remaining 40% of deaths in 2024 were attributed to accidental causes that occurred during the performance of official duties.
The LEOKA program provides detailed narrative summaries for officers feloniously killed, offering direct context on the circumstances surrounding each incident. That level of detail allows command staff to examine not just aggregate numbers but the specific conditions under which officers were killed — information that feeds directly into evaluations of body armor standards and tactical training programs, the FBI said.
Where 2024 Sits in the Historical Record
The 107 deaths recorded in 2024 land in the middle of a long statistical range. Since the FBI began standardized data collection in 1996, annual officer deaths have run as low as 76 — recorded in 2013 — and as high as 146, which occurred in 2001. The 2026 dataset update extends the Crime Data Explorer's records from 2020 to the present. For agencies conducting longitudinal analysis, historical LEOKA data dating back to 1972 remains available through the FBI's archival services.
Assault data has been part of the LEOKA program since 1960, added to supplement existing death statistics. That portion of the dataset tracks assault-with-injury incidents and provides granular breakdowns of the types of weapons used against officers. Both the death and assault data are collected through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, which aggregates submissions from participating local, state, tribal, and federal agencies.
How the Data Is Collected and Who Submits It
The UCR Program sits at the center of LEOKA data collection. Participating agencies — at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels — submit reports that the FBI aggregates into the national dataset. The FBI has stated that participating agencies are encouraged to report assault data to the UCR program to ensure the accuracy of national safety metrics. Gaps in agency participation create gaps in the data. Completeness depends directly on voluntary submission.
The 2026 dataset update was verified by the Department of Justice catalog system as of August 21, 2026. That verification reflects the FBI's continued work to make LEOKA records accessible through the Crime Data Explorer platform, which the bureau has positioned as the primary public and agency interface for safety statistics going forward.
How Agencies Are Expected to Use the Data
The FBI has stated that LEOKA data is intended to help agencies identify hazards and develop safer operational protocols. Command staff use LEOKA reports to evaluate the effectiveness of current body armor standards and tactical training programs. The program's narrative summaries for feloniously killed officers add a layer of operational context that raw numbers alone cannot provide.
The FBI maintains that LEOKA is the primary national resource for understanding the risks officers face in the field. With the 2024 data now accessible through the Crime Data Explorer — alongside records from 2020 onward — agencies have a consolidated, searchable record to work from. Archival records back to 1972 remain available separately for departments building longer-term trend analyses.
The jump of 13 deaths between 2023 and 2024 will draw attention from safety planners. The LEOKA program does not prescribe operational responses, but the data it produces — particularly the weapon-type breakdowns in the assault records and the circumstantial narratives attached to felonious killings — gives agencies the raw material to ask specific questions about where their protocols may need to change.
