NCJ Number
165217
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1997) Pages: 16-21
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article presents the International Association of Chiefs of Police's (IACP's) pronouncements on a policy for police vehicular pursuit and provides a sample vehicular pursuit policy statement.
Abstract
Given the dangers of police pursuits to the general public, police officers, and suspects, police agencies have adopted a variety of approaches to vehicular pursuits, ranging from banning them altogether to allowing wide officer discretion, depending on local laws, geographic and traffic conditions, availability of backup, field supervision, pursuit termination devices, and departmental philosophies. The IACP has concluded that it would be impractical to ask law enforcement worldwide, or even in the United States, to adopt a single, standardized policy on vehicular pursuit; nevertheless, the IACP's Highway Safety Committee concluded that there are a number of issues that should be addressed by any pursuit policy adopted. The IACP recommends that police agencies develop, adopt, and enforce formal written directives tailored to the needs of the jurisdiction, with an emphasis on public safety concerns. Such directives should specify the procedures and tactics to be used for initiating, continuing, and ending vehicular pursuits. These directives should also address the training of the agency's officers, supervisors, and communications personnel on pursuit-related issues. Each agency should also establish a method for critiquing officer, supervisor, communications, and equipment involvement in a pursuit to identify areas of policy training or equipment deficiencies, and/or policy violations. Regarding technology development, the Federal Government must monitor efforts to develop electronic devices that police officers can use to interrupt the electronic ignition systems in today's vehicles so as to terminate a pursuit.