Each year, between 140 and 160 officers are killed in the line of duty, and their families and coworkers are left to cope with the tragic loss. Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (C.O.P.S.) provides resources to help them rebuild their shattered lives. There is no membership fee to join C.O.P.S., for the price paid is already too high.

C.O.P.S. was organized in 1984 with 110 individual members. Today, C.O.P.S. membership includes more than 37,000 survivors. Survivors include spouses, children, parents, siblings, significant others, and affected coworkers of officers killed in the line of duty according to federal government criteria. C.O.P.S. is governed by a national board comprised of law enforcement survivors. All programs and services are administered by the National Office in Camdenton, Missouri. C.O.P.S. has more than 50 chapters nationwide that work with survivors at the grassroots level.

C.O.P.S. programs for survivors include the National Police Survivors’ Conference, held each May during National Police Week; scholarships; peer support at the national, state, and local levels; the “C.O.P.S. Kids” counseling reimbursement program, “C.O.P.S. Kids” Summer Camp, and “C.O.P.S. Teens” Outward Bound experience for young adults; special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, extended family, and coworkers; trial and parole support; and other assistance programs.

C.O.P.S. knows that a survivor’s level of distress is directly affected by the agency’s response to the tragedy. C.O.P.S., therefore, offers training and assistance to law enforcement agencies nationwide on how to respond to the tragic loss of a member of the law enforcement profession. C.O.P.S. is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. C.O.P.S. programs and services are funded by grants and donations.