LEO Near Miss 1.1.39

The Police Foundation, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and various law enforcement organizations, has implemented a voluntary, non-disciplinary reporting system specifically designed for law enforcement personnel. This system facilitates the sharing of “close calls” or “near misses” anonymously, thus providing invaluable lessons that can mitigate the risk of similar incidents in the future.

A near miss is characterized as an event or occurrence that narrowly averts serious injury or fatality due to a fortunate break in the sequence of events. Contributing factors for these incidents may include hazardous conditions, concealed weapons, equipment failures, or lapses in situational awareness. Reporting these near misses enables law enforcement personnel to learn from each other's experiences, ultimately ensuring that officers return safely to their families at the end of each shift.

Statistically, near misses far outnumber serious injuries or fatalities. Various industries that document near-miss incidents—such as aviation, fire and emergency services, healthcare, mining, nuclear operations, and the military—demonstrate that for every significant event leading to injury or death, there exist hundreds of near misses ripe for analysis. These insights are crucial for enhancing training protocols and risk management strategies aimed at preventing future tragedies.

The LEO Near Miss program is dedicated to fostering learning and improving the safety and well-being of officers. Users can access the platform to review lessons learned from other officers' near misses and to share their own experiences anonymously. Reports submitted undergo a rigorous two-stage review process conducted by law enforcement specialists, ensuring that all identifying information is meticulously removed before publication while highlighting essential takeaways to promote officer safety. The submission process is straightforward and efficient, allowing reports to be completed in under ten minutes via smartphones or in-car computers. Importantly, the Police Foundation safeguards all personally identifiable information, ensuring confidentiality throughout the process—no email addresses, phone numbers, or IP addresses are collected or retained.

Beyond disseminating lessons learned, the LEO Near Miss system aims to identify and analyze underlying risk factors associated with near-miss incidents. This anonymized data will be made available to the broader law enforcement community with the intention of enhancing training protocols, equipment procurement, policy formation, procedural adaptations, and tactical approaches—all geared toward reducing risks and saving lives.

Contributions to this database of near misses are encouraged; the time invested in reporting an incident could prove critical in safeguarding a fellow officer's life.