organization. Not only do agencies need to recruit good people but they also need to keep them.

Conclusion
The 205th session of the FBI National Academy took on the challenge of improving the recruitment process, a difficulty faced by most agencies. The session used the symposium structure so as not to feed the participants’ answers. Rather, such a format
enabled the participants to exchange, in a professional dialogue, their ideas about the issues that impact recruitment.

The symposium participants defined many aspects that contribute to a successful recruitment effort. Mainly, they agreed that individuals interested in a career in law enforcement must match their skills and desires with an agency’s needs and culture.
Agencies, in turn, must examine their requirements and recruit those individuals possessing specific abilities. Such a two-way effort can help close the recruitment gap and garner the law enforcement community valuable, goal-oriented employees who
will serve and protect the public for many years.

Endnotes

1 The FBI hosts four 10-week sessions each year during which law enforcement executives from around the world come together to attend classes in various criminal justice subjects and conduct academic research on a variety of related topics.

2 Some experts place the age range as those born during the years 1961 through 1981, while others say between the years 1966 and 1976. For additional information see, Kim Charrier, “Marketing Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Generation X Police Officers,” The Police Chief, December 2000, 45-51; and Elizabeth Foley and Adrienne LeFevre, “Understanding Generation X,” Trial, June 2000, 58-62, http://proquest.umi.com/pdqweb, accessed May 5, 2001.

3 For additional information on speeding the hiring process, see Floyd S. Hulsey and Maureen Goodwin, “Fast Track Application Process Speeds Hiring,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 2001, 5-8.

Crime Data

Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty, 2000

According to preliminary statistics released by the FBI, 51 law enforcement officers were killed feloniously in the line of duty in 2000. This represents an increase of 9 from the 1999 total of 42. Fifty separate incidents account for the 51 officer deaths in 2000. Law enforcement agencies have cleared 48 of these incidents by arrest or exceptional means. Two suspects remain at large.

During 2000, firearms were again the weapon most often used in the slaying of officers with 33 officers slain with handguns, 10 with rifles, and 4 with shotguns. Two officers were slain with their own weapons. Additionally, 3 officers were killed by vehicles, and 1 officer was killed with a knife. Thirty officers were wearing body armor at the time of their deaths.

Twelve officers lost their lives in arrest situations: 6 were serving arrest warrants; 3 were investigating drug-related situations; 2 were trying to prevent robberies or apprehend robbery suspects; and 1 was handling a burglary. Another 13 officers were murdered while enforcing traffic laws, 10 while encountering ambush situations, 8 while answering disturbance calls, 6 while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, and 2 while handling prisoners.

Additionally, preliminary statistics indicate that 83 officers were killed accidentally in the performance of their duties in 2000, an increase of 18 compared to the 65 accidental deaths in 1999.

For the complete preliminary annual Uniform Crime Report press release, access the FBI’s Web site at http://www.fbi.gov. Final statistics and complete details will be published in the forthcoming Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2000.