Methodology: Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted
Data published by the FBI concerning federal officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty are provided by the following seven federal departments:
- U.S. Capitol Police
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Within these departments are the agencies, bureaus, and services that employ most of the personnel who are responsible for protecting government officials and enforcing and investigating violations of federal law. Every year, the FBI contacts these agencies and requests information about the officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty.
The information concerning federal officers differs slightly from the data regarding assaults on city, college and university, county, state, and tribal (non-federal) law enforcement officers. First, the data regarding federal officers include all reports of assaults regardless of the extent (or the absence) of personal injury. Second, the circumstance categories are tailored to represent the unique duties of federal law enforcement personnel.