Recently released data shows a sharp drop in line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) since President Trump returned to office in 2025. According to FBI reports, LODDs fell from 64 during President Joe Biden’s final year in office in 2024 to 53 in 2025, representing a 17 percent decrease. The figure also represents the lowest number of LODDs since the final year of President Trump’s first term in 2020.
There is evidence that the trend reflects President Trump’s policies. During his first term in office, LODDS similarly dropped compared to the numbers under his predecessor, President Barack Obama. Overall numbers were higher during Obama’s presidency, peaking at 72 LODDs in 2011.
Data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) shows a similar trend under President Trump. The year-end fatalities report collected by the NLEOMF includes line-of-duty deaths among federal, state, county, municipal, and U.S. Territories officers. According to NLEOMF, overall line-of-duty officer deaths fell to 111 in 2025, a 25% decrease from the 148 reported deaths in 2024. The number represents a historic drop and an 80-year low in officer fatalities. According to NLEOMF records, the 111 officer fatalities reported in 2025 are the lowest since 94 officers were killed in 1943.
According to the CEO of NLEOMF, Bill Alexander, heightened focus on mental health and safety training has improved conditions for law enforcement officers and helped decrease fatalities.
“We lament to document even a single such death, but this encouraging downward trend in fatalities likely reflects the continued adoption of proven best practices by police, sheriff, and corrections agencies, as well as a growing emphasis on the physical and psychological health of the men and women who work to keep our communities safe,” Alexander said.
FBI Director Kash Patel praised President Trump’s policies for improving officer safety across the country. “This is a change that reflects President Trump’s policies of letting good cops be cops across the country,” Director Patel said. “One officer killed in the line of duty is still too many, but we are trending in the right direction. This FBI will continue having the backs of our local partners each and every day as they do the great frontline work protecting Americans.”
