Car crashes kill more Canadian police officers than guns, research shows

New data from University of Ottawa researchers, shared exclusively with CBC News before its publication, shows there are fewer officers dying on-duty now than there have been in past decades.

New data from University of Ottawa researchers, shared exclusively with CBC News before its publication, shows there are fewer officers dying on-duty now than there have been in past decades.

The data also shows car crashes are the leading cause of death among officers on the job.

"It doesn't mean we shouldn't take it seriously … Nonetheless it doesn't mean [police] get to make any claims that they want," said Justin Piché, a University of Ottawa associate professor and supervisor of the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project. Piché casts doubt on claims that policing is more dangerous now than in past years.

The research was led by Lyne "Léo" Ral and Elisabeth Touwaide, both of whom are completing double master's degrees in criminology University of Ottawa and the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium respectively.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) doesn't dispute the numbers but says they don't tell the whole story.