It's a statistic no police officer wants to hear, but it's happening nationwide.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports fatalities in the line of duty are up 37 percent from this time last year. Of the 63 reported deaths, 23 involved guns.

It's a danger police officers face, and while gun violence has always been a concern among officers, what's perhaps most concerning now is what's become a common ambush style of attack.

Officers interviewed say 'its things that you don't see coming, those are the ones that really concern us."
So, is it more dangerous now to be a police officer?

It's hard to say. Being an officer, they said, has always been and will be a dangerous job.

"To say that it's more dangerous, I don't know that I would necessarily say that, but there definitely is a lot more specialized training. Police officers are definitely more prepared for those dangerous situations. But you don't let your guard down.

The increase in fatalities to date comes after two years of declines. The year 2013 saw the lowest number of deaths on duty since back in 1959.

94.1 WGFA