Indiana Among Best States To Be A Police Officer: Study

ACROSS INDIANA — It's no secret that being a police officer can be a dangerous job, and in recent years, some officers and police departments nationwide have fallen under great scrutiny. According to a new report from consumer finance site WalletHub, Indiana ranks among the top 20 states to be a cop.

Indiana comes in at No. 13, ranking higher than these neighbors:

• Michigan (20)
• Iowa (31)
• Wisconsin (33)
• Missouri (42)
• Kentucky (46)

Illinois came in at number 7.

To determine the best states to pursue a law enforcement career, WalletHub says it compared the 50 states and District of Columbia based on 25 key indicators of "police-friendliness," such as opportunity and competition for jobs, job hazards and protections, and quality of life. Those three key metrics include factors such as average starting salary, median income for officers, assaults on police and police deaths per 1,000 officers, number of people killed by police per capita, road safety, violent crime rate and share of solved homicide cases.

Other factors under consideration include laws like police body camera legislation, presence of "red flag" laws that allow the seizure of guns before people can commit acts of violence and police-misconduct confidentiality laws. Read more about the methodology here.

The study ranked North Dakota as the best place to be a cop in the U.S., with Arkansas ranking last.

Indiana ranked 25th for opportunity and competition, 11th for job hazards and protection and 17th for quality of life.

Find the full rankings here.

According to the study, more than 900,000 Americans are employed in law enforcement. The WalletHub study notes the inherent dangers of the job, saying, "In the past 10 years ... more than 1,500 police officers, including 129 in 2017 alone, died in the line of duty. Tens of thousands more were assaulted and injured."

So far in 2018, two officers have been killed in the line of duty and state and national law enforcement officials are remembering both victims. Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Pickett was shot and killed during a police chase in March. The Terre Haute Police Department is mourning the death of their Patrolman Rob Pitts on Friday, May 4.

In 2017, Southport Police Department Lieutenant Aaron Allan was shot and killed while responding to the scene of an accident.

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