NCJ Number
230174
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 1-7
Date Published
March 2010
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Results are presented on law enforcement officers' perceptions of police pursuits revealing several interesting issues.
Abstract
The results indicate that fleeing suspects would slow after two blocks in an urban area, while officers thought the suspects would do so in just under two blocks. On freeways, the majority of the suspects reported that they would slow after 2.5 miles, whereas most of the officers felt they would after just less than 4 miles. The findings suggest that in the aggregate, fleeing suspects will behave within specified parameters. Additional research is needed to test these findings. Research findings support the principle that fleeing suspects will slow down at some point after a pursuit is terminated. Research on police pursuits provides policymakers and trainers with another tool to assist in formulating evidence-based decisions. This study examined the question on when will the suspect slow and return to reasonable and safe driving. This was the first systematic study to quantify the perceptions of suspects involved in pursuits. In addition, members of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association were surveyed to determine their experiences with pursuits. 1 table and 15 endnotes