Police pursuits prompt policies

By: By Jack Nerad for Driving Today

Date: Tuesday, 26. May 2009

High-speed police pursuits are hot topics across the country and the subject of TV specials, so it comes as no surprise that law enforcement officials are taking a long, hard look at the phenomenon. One state eyeballing the problem is Pennsylvania, and law enforcement officers there reported that they were involved in 2,314 vehicle pursuits during 2001, an increase of 6.6 percent over the 2,171 reported pursuits the previous year.

Eleven individuals died in pursuit crashes last year, the same number that died in pursuits during 2000. The most recent statistics are contained in the 2001 Pennsylvania Police Pursuit Report compiled by State Police.

Of the 11 who died in pursuit crashes last year, eight were in the vehicles being pursued. In two cases, those killed were not involved in the pursuit, and one police officer was killed during a pursuit in 2001.

The statistics indicate very vividly that police pursuits can be dangerous for police officers, non-involved civilians, and those being pursued. Of the 2,314 pursuits recorded in 2001, 700 resulted in crashes and 450 caused injuries.

About two-thirds of the police pursuits in Pennsylvania were successful. Some 1,605 (69.4 percent) resulted in the apprehension of the fleeing motorists. Another 568 of the pursuits were eventually discontinued by the pursuing officer, usually for safety reasons.

The most common reasons for police to initiate pursuits were traffic violations, such as speeding (1,097) and stolen or suspected stolen vehicles (428). Under Pennsylvania state law, every police department must have a written emergency vehicle-response policy governing procedures under which an officer should initiate, continue and terminate a pursuit. By law, the policies are confidential, so don't ask us about them, okay?