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Police Vehicle Pursuits, 2012-2013

NCJ Number
250545
Date Published
May 2017
Length
18 pages
Publication Series
Annotation
Based on the 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, this report presents data on pursuits conducted by State and local law enforcement agencies in 2012.
Abstract

Presents data on police vehicle pursuits and pursuit-related policies, including the number of police vehicle pursuits conducted by general purpose state and local law enforcement agencies in 2012. Data also include the types of written pursuit-related policies maintained by these agencies as of January 2013, the prevalence of police vehicle pursuits by type of pursuit policy, the number of pursuit-related fatalities that occurred nationwide over the previous decade, and the characteristics of vehicle pursuits in selected agencies. Findings on the number of pursuits and pursuit-related policies are based on data from BJS's 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. Data on pursuit-related fatalities are from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

  • General purpose state and local law enforcement agencies conducted an estimated 68,000 vehicle pursuits in 2012.
  • From 1996 to 2015, an average of 355 persons (about 1 per day) were killed annually in pursuit-related crashes.
  • In 2012, local police conducted 8 vehicle pursuits per 100 officers employed and sheriffs' offices conducted 9 per 100 officers.
  • As of January 2013, all state police and highway patrol agencies and nearly all local police departments (97%) and sheriffs' offices (96%) had a written vehicle pursuit policy.
  • In jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents, 4% of the local police departments and 10% of the sheriffs' offices did not have a written pursuit policy.

Date Published: May 1, 2017