Candidate: Kasey A. Tucker

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Sociology

Title: A Structural Analysis of Law Enforcement Officer Deaths

Committee: Dr. Charles Crawford, Chair
Dr. David Hartmann
Dr. Barry Goetz
Dr. Rhonda DeLong

Date: Monday, January 10, 2004 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
2526 Sangren Hall

Abstract: Every year several officers die while serving the general public, protecting society from the chaos and disorder of crime. Much conjecture surrounds the discussion of why law enforcement agents die in the line of duty, ranging from bad timing, to bad people, to mistakes of procedure, policy, training practices, and to the characteristics of both officers and offenders. Several questions are linked to the causes of officer homicides, with no clear answer as to what factors contribute to these events. Several studies have been conducted looking at different aspects of officer deaths, from the macro-social level and the social psychological perspective, to the different characteristics of officers and the offenders who murder them. This study examines the structural factors that participate law enforcement officer's deaths between the years of 1995 and 1999, in 10 states with higher numbers of law enforcement officer deaths, looking at the variations in those states. The theoretical framework is based on social conflict theory, specifically the economic and racial threat hypotheses put forth by Chamlin (1989), who explored the linkages between structural characteristics and law enforcement officer deaths. The purpose of this study is to merge a theoretical approach with a study of law enforcement officer deaths in a five-year period. In the five years between 1995 and 1999, over 291 officers were murdered in the United States.

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