National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety (NLERS) Program

The National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety (NLERS) Program provides training and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement with the goal of preventing officer injuries and fatalities on the nation’s roadways.

Project Overview

According to data collected from the Officer Down Memorial Page, 773 law enforcement officers were killed from 2009-2023 in collisions and struck-by incidents on the nation’s roadways. Simply put, more can be done to protect law enforcement officers on the roadways. The National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety (NLERS) Program seeks to address this critical safety need by 1) training officers in tactics and behaviors that will improve their safety while operating on the roadways and 2) guiding agencies to implement policies, procedures, training, and equipment that can reduce officer-involved collisions and struck-by incidents.

NLERS provides a suite of no-cost, evidence-based training courses for executives, patrol officers, and trainers. These courses educate participants about the risk factors for officer-involved collisions and struck-by incidents and identify a variety of interventions and technological innovations that can reduce the likelihood of their occurrence. Additionally, the NLERS provides customized technical assistance (TA) to help agencies make positive safety improvements. This assistance can include review and development of agency policies on roadway operations, review and assessment of an agency’s roadway safety training, assisting with the implementation of best practices, and/or providing research support to analyze an agency’s crash or injury data.

NLERS is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and managed by the National Policing Institute, in partnership with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.

Methodology

The training curricula for the NLERS Program were developed by a national working group of researchers and fire and police practitioners from local, state, and federal agencies. This working group collectively possesses tremendous expertise and insight in the areas of policing and occupational safety research, emergency vehicle operations, training development and delivery, traffic safety, program implementation, law enforcement agency operations, policy development, and personnel management.

The NLERS training courses consist of a 4-hour executive session, an 8-hour patrol officer course, and an 8-hour train-the-trainer course. Each course is instructed by current or former law enforcement executives, trainers, or officers with demonstrated expertise in training and roadway operations. Technical assistance is provided to agencies by a cadre of NLERS instructors and subject matter experts.

Project Resources

To learn more about the NLERS, view upcoming training opportunities, access resources, or request technical assistance, please visit www.LEOroadwaysafety.org.

More Information

Project Status: Active

Project Period:  October 2018 - September 2024

Location(s): National

Research Design: Review of research

Research Method(s): Literature review