"The decline comes after 2016, a year which 'saw more deaths than in the five previous years'," according to A.W.R. Hawkins at Breitbart. "Breitbart News reported that the number of officers 'feloniously killed' in 2016 jumped 61 percent over the number killed in that fashion in 2015," Hawkins reports.

According to Hawkins:

USA Today reports that preliminary numbers for 2017 show 128 deaths in line of duty, which represents nearly a 50-year low. The only year with fewer officer deaths during the last five decades was 2013. There were 116 officer deaths that year . . . .

The 128 overall line of duty deaths for 2017 is down from the 143 line of duty deaths for 2016.

Blue Lives Matter's Randy Sutton believes the overall decline in officer deaths is the result of a greater awareness for officer safety. He indicated that this focus on safety "[includes] a change in how officers approach arrests because of the controversial high-profile shootings over the years." Officers are seemingly more cognizant of potential dangers and approach (or avoid) dangerous situations accordingly.

"On December 26, Breitbart News reported that President Trump personally paid for hundreds of dinners for law enforcement officers and agents who had to work over the Christmas holiday," Hawkins reports

"CNN's Noah Gray indicated members of the Secret Service, the White House Military Office, and the Palm Beach Sheriff Department were among those fed with the meals," Hawkins concludes at Breitbart.