Conclusion

This chapter contains the author’s concluding thoughts on undertaking this research into the lethal risks faced by police and traffic officers in Aotearoa New Zealand. The discussion includes the need for consistent “near-miss” data and to remember those who almost gave their lives in service of others, not just those who did. With firearms remaining the most persistent and dangerous lethal risk to police officers, the author poses the question of what more can be done to ensure that risk is minimised, and offers a comment on the perception that armed officers are safer than their counterparts who do not wear a firearm on their person as part of the duty uniform.