http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2002/july2002/july02leb.htm#page_15Police pursuit records provide some frightening statistics. First, the majority of police pursuits involve a stop for a traffic violation.8 Second, one person dies every day as a result of a police pursuit.9 On average, from 1994 through 1998, one law enforcement officer was killed every 11 weeks in a pursuit,10 and 1 percent of all U.S. law enforcement officers who died in the line-of-duty lost their lives in vehicle pursuits.11 Innocent third parties who just happened to be in the way constitute 42 percent of persons killed or injured in police pursuits.12 Further, 1 out of every 100 high-speed pursuits results in a fatality.13
Research indicates that pursuits become dangerous quite quickly. For example, 50 percent of all pursuit collisions occur in the first 2 minutes of the pursuit, and more than 70 percent of all collisions occur before the sixth minute of the pursuit.14 Although the public sympathizes with the law enforcement community’s position on pursuits, they do not want to be placed in harm’s way. Public support for pursuits decreases as the severity of the offense that led to the chase decreases.15 One study found that 58 percent of people interviewed reported that police act correctly when they pursue a motorist who does not stop.16 When asked if the police act correctly when the pursuit endangers public safety, support decreased by one-half to 29 percent. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents said that they felt police overreact sometimes or very often when pursuing motorists who do not stop.17 To decrease the dangers associated with pursuit, agencies must increase training and ensure that they have clear pursuit policies.
Training and Policy
A lack of training can increase risks of pursuit-related injuries. Only recently has classroom instruction included training on vehicle pursuit tactics, policy, and liability. Previously, agencies taught pursuit-driving techniques behind the wheel without accompanying classroom training. Officers learned how to pursue but not when to pursue. Inadequate or inapplicable training often resulted, and officers rarely followed training in actual practice. Law enforcement must approach pursuit training similar to firearms training. For example, for every hour agencies spend on training officers how to shoot, they also spend several hours teaching when to shoot.18
The training deficiency trend has changed in the past few years. Although many agencies have increased or added pursuit training, most have done so only for new officers at the police academy. Therefore, most veteran officers, with their academy days far behind them, lack contemporary pursuit training.
Training should teach officers the phenomena present while they pursue. Tunnel vision makes them oblivious to what is going on around them. Some 96 percent of officers involved in a pursuit focus on catching the violator “if it’s the last thing (they’ll) ever do.”19 Research shows that this holds true for many officers.20
While effective pursuit training can curtail certain dangerous situations, policy constitutes another important aspect in police pursuits.21 An overwhelming majority of police agencies implemented their pursuit policy in the 1970s.22 Although most of these same agencies modified their policies in the past 2 years by adding restrictions due to liability, problems remain. Insufficiencies still exist in data collection, reporting procedures, and accompanying accountability.23
One comprehensive study shows that officers can use termination as an effective option to reduce the risks of pursuits.24 This study involved interviews of 146 jailed suspects who had been involved as drivers in high-speed chases. More than 70 percent of the suspects said that they would have slowed down if police had terminated the pursuit or even backed off a short distance.25 Fifty-three percent of the suspects responded that they were willing to run at all costs from the police in a pursuit, and 64 percent believed they would not be caught.26 While 71 percent said that they were concerned for their own safety, only 62 percent said that they were concerned for the safety of others.27 Clearly, the police must be concerned with public safety during pursuits because the suspects are not.
An integral part of pursuit training involves giving officers a clear understanding about the decision to terminate a pursuit. The Arkansas State Police recently created new pursuit training for state and local officers that stresses keeping pursuits under control and advises that termination is an option.28
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