The success from the 1st Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was more than we could've expected last Friday, January 9.

C.O.P.S. must thank all organizations who partnered to help promote, support, and plan events to show our nation's Law Enforcement Officers that we stand by you and will continue to THANK YOU for serving to protect all citizens.

Supporters of this day showed that we can truly "Take the L.E.A.D."

Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)

Each year, between 140 and 160 officers are killed in the line of duty and their families and co-workers are left to cope with the tragic loss. 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 is over 30,000 families. Members include spouses, children, parents, siblings, significant others, and affected co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty according to Federal government criteria. C.O.P.S. is governed by a National Board of law enforcement survivors. All programs and services are administered by the National Office in Camdenton, Missouri. C.O.P.S. has over 50 Chapters nationwide that work with survivors at the grass-roots 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, "C.O.P.S. Kids" counseling reimbursement program, the "C.O.P.S. Kids" Summer Camp, "C.O.P.S. Teens" Outward Bound experience for young adults, special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, in-laws, and co-workers, 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) non-profit organization. C.O.P.S. programs and services are funded by grants and donations. Law Enforcement agencies and organizations who support C.O.P.S. at the $250 level or above will be identified as “Partners in Law Enforcement” with C.O.P.S. and will be included on a “Partners” banner that will be displayed at National Police Week.