WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Law Enforcement fatalities for 2011 are on track to be one of the highest in recent years, with the count hitting 71 this week as survivors and friends of the fallen prepared for an annual candlelight vigil.
Officer deaths in the line of duty are up 20 percent from 2010, with prolonged economic strain on American communities a likely factor, according to groups that track the data.
"There does seem to be a more brazen criminal out there who perhaps has less to live for if they are apprehended and would rather try and shoot their way out of a situation than surrender," Steve Groningen, spokesman for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, told Reuters.
"Many law enforcement agencies and governments are wrestling with budget impacts," Groningen added.
"When you have a smaller force that has to work longer hours and perhaps less training budget to either train officers or retrain officers, we worry that that can have a negative impact as well on the safety of our officers."
He said more than 20,000 people are expected to gather at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial for a candlelight vigil on Friday night in honor of officers who have died in the line of duty.
A year ago at this time there had been 59 deaths compared to the 71 this year.
Since 1982, the memorial vigil has been held every year to commemorate fallen officers and kick off National Police Week, a series of events meant to recognize American law enforcement for their service.
A total of 19,298 names are on the memorial, including the oldest known officer death, from 1791 in upstate New York.
(Reporting by Wendell Marsh; Editing by Jerry Norton)
