A recent FBI report reveals a 17.2% decrease in law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2025 compared to the previous year. However, it also highlights a rise in non-fatal assaults against police since 2021.
In 2025, a total of 53 officers were killed in felony incidents, with gunshot wounds being the cause of death for all but 10. This marks a decrease from 2024 when 64 officers were killed under similar circumstances.
The report indicates that most of the officers killed in 2025 were White males. These fatal incidents predominantly occurred in the Southern United States, a region that employs the most police officers and is the most populous in the FBI’s study.
Even with the reduction in 2025, the long-term trend shows an increase in officer fatalities since 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, 258 officers were feloniously killed, making it the deadliest four-year span on record.
The year 2021 was notably the most lethal, with 71 officer deaths recorded, according to FBI data.
The report also highlights that in 2025, the assault rate on officers reached 13.8 per 100 officers—the highest in a decade. Moreover, 445 officers were injured by firearms during assaults that year.
