International Day of Remembrance for Fallen Police Officers Date in the current year: March 7, 2025

Every year, thousands of law enforcement officers around the world die in the line of duty. The most common causes of line-of-duty deaths for police officers include firearm-related incidents, vehicle crashes, being struck by vehicles, physical assaults, and accidents during training or tactical operations. To honor police officers who have lost their lives while serving their country and community, INTERPOL established International Day of Remembrance for Fallen Police Officers.

The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, commonly known as Interpol, is an international organization established to facilitate worldwide police cooperation and crime control. It is the largest international police organization in the world with 196 member states. INTERPOL has its headquarters in France, six regional bureaus (in Argentina, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Kenya and Zimbabwe) and three special representative offices (in Belgium, Ethiopia and the United States).

The history of INTERPOL can be traced back to the International Criminal Police Congress in Monaco in 1914, which established twelve principles of international police cooperation and laid the foundation for Interpol.

In 1923, Vienna’s Chief of Police, Johannes Schrober, organized another International Criminal Police Congress, where delegates from 22 European countries, as well as Egypt and Japan, established the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC), the forerunner of Interpol’s. Initially based in Vienna, the ICPC moved its headquarters to Berlin following the Anschluss.

During World War II, Nazi control led most member states to withdraw from the ICPC. After the war, the organization was reconstituted as the International Criminal Police Organization, adopting a new constitution and the name Interpol in 1956. Its headquarters were moved to Saint-Cloud, France in 1967 and later to Lyon in 1989.

INTERPOL inaugurated International Day of Remembrance for Fallen Police Officers in 2018, with the first observance taking place in 2019. Its main purpose is to recognize the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty around the world.

In honor of the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives while protecting others and serving their communities, flags are flown at half-staff at INTERPOL duty stations around the world. The observance also includes a social media campaign using the hashtag #FallenOfficers to pay tribute to fallen police officers worldwide.

International Day of Remembrance for Fallen Police Officers is observed not only by INTERPOL, but also by Europol and a number of national law enforcement agencies around the world, although some countries have their own days of remembrance for fallen police officers. For example, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands observe National Police Remembrance Day on September 29. In the United States, Peace Officers Memorial Day is observed on May 15, while in the UK, National Peace Officers Memorial Day falls on the Sunday closest to September 29.