Mark Lynch

CJC 121 (I2) – Law Enforcement Operations

Spring 2014

“Hot Pursuit: The Cold Hard Facts”

            We all might as well admit it: high-speed police chases are exciting. They’ve been a television and movie staple for many decades, because they’re dramatic and action-packed; (and they help boost ratings/sell theater tickets). They're featured in the police “reality” shows such as COPS or America's Dumbest Criminals, where the voice-over announcer enhances them with a vivid “play by play” description, and it all seems like an exciting game. Even in the real world, one can understand the adrenaline-rush that both the perpetrators and the police obtain from such events; especially the latter, who despite what Hollywood would have us think, actually spend most of their time in much more mundane matters. Imagine you’ve just turned your blue lights on, and the car in question speeds off toward the horizon… it’s a natural reaction to want to pursue; it goes as deep as the hunter vs. prey mentality that was an important part of human history for many millennia. And all that aside, it's probably just plain old fun- like a scene from The Dukes of Hazzard...“There they go!"

            And so the “defense” rests- police chases are seriously high-drama. But there's another side to the phenomenon that doesn't play so well: lots of lives cut tragically short, or hampered by serious injuries, when in many cases these pursuits are not really necessary. A surprising number of the people killed or injured are innocent bystanders, hit either by the pursuer or the pursued. A better solution is needed to reduce this practice that endangers law enforcement personnel, the people they chase, and those unfortunate enough to get in their way.

            To understand the problem fully, the first matters to consider are the statistics. In a study that covered nine years (1994 through 2003), using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the following numbers were reported: at an average of about 260 police pursuit crashes annually, there were a total of 3695 fatalities as a result within that timeframe. That comes out to 350 deaths per year, or another way of looking at it: almost one every day. (FARS is a complete sample of all motor vehicle crashes in the United States in which someone died within 30 days of the crash). These crashes happened most often at night, on local roads, and of course at high speeds. Most of the pursued drivers had prior motor vehicle convictions (emphasis mine) as opposed to more serious offenses. Although only forty of these deaths were to police officers, it's safe to say that was forty too many. But even more disturbing, 946 of these fatalities were to persons not involved in the pursuit; innocent victims that just happened to be in harm's way. That includes 102 that were either pedestrians or bicyclists.The article concludes that high-speed police pursuits are controversial, (a somewhat obvious statement), and that “alternative means should be explored”. (Rivara, Mack).

            What are some of these alternatives? One of the oldest would be the setting up of roadblocks, coordinated by on-scene officers radioing the perpetrators' route so that other officers can intercept them. Admittedly, there are occasionally some drawbacks- if the fleeing vehicle has enough visibility of an upcoming roadblock, they might turn around and find another route and/or prolong the chase. In extreme cases a desperate pursuee will try to ram through a roadblock, killing or injuring themselves and others.

            Another clever method is the use of puncture-strips thrown out in front of a vehicle to enable flattening of their tires to thwart their progress. This depends on both some good timing and good luck however, since the object is to flatten just the vehicle in question's tires, and nobody else's ,and therefore is not a common option. Perhaps most interesting of the alternate apprehension means that are available, I was surprised to learn of a recent high-tech development that some more urban departments have begun experimenting with: GPS “bullets”. A cannon installed in the front of a police vehicle can shoot one of these sticky devices, from close range, onto the fleeing car, and then its location can be tracked by satellite, making them easy to locate. It's expensive- over $5000 for the cannon, and $500 per “bullet”, but being a fairly new procedure those costs might come down as they're more mass-produced. (Ferro, 23) But perhaps the most effective option is the most overlooked- just simply not engaging in a police pursuit for the majority of these encounters. But where does one draw the line?

            In my and others' personal opinions, it comes down to the severity of the crime. Obviously, police chases cannot be banned altogether, as there are times when lives may be in danger or a known violent criminal is on the loose. So I think that is at least a starting point: there should be a known serious felony being committed before a pursuit is authorized. A minor traffic infraction doesn't warrant a chase, even if the vehicles takes off. Presumably the officer will have the tag number and the make/model, and can track the driver with that information. Even if the car is suspected stolen, putting out an APB or ordering a roadblock is a safer yet efficient way to apprehend the thief. It's one thing to chase somebody that's committed a murder or a kidnapping, but quite another to do so because some teenager has run a stop sign (and is driving his dad's car without a license). The kid panics and speeds off; maybe he even has an open beer or some weed on him... is it worth endangering his life, the officer's, or bystanders? No, it most definitely is not. If you don't know that some serious crime has occurred, a chase should not be an option.

            One of the most tragic police chases ever occurred right here in NC, in late December of 2003. In Troutman (about 35 miles north of Charlotte), a stolen vehicle was being driven erratically, by a 15 year-old African American boy and six of his friends, when a city officer gave chase for a short while, at speeds up to 100 mph, before backing off. But the backing off was too late- the boy continued a short way before hitting an embankment, flipping, and landing in a creek. All seven of these teenagers died. (Simmons). Yes, they were driving at high speeds before the chase, and might have done themselves harm anyway. The bottom line- did the officer's pursuit help? No, it most certainly did not, and may well have hurt in the very worst of ways. And with that, the “prosecution” rests as well: Police chases should be banned except in the most dire circumstances. Many lives could be spared as a result.

Works Cited

Rivara, F.P., Mack, C.D. Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths Related to Police Pursuits in the United   States. Injury Prevention. BMJ Publishing Group. October 2004. Web.

Ferro, Shaunacy. “Police Shoot GPS Trackers at Fleeing Suspects' Cars”. Popular Science. 29 October 2013. 23-24. Print.

Simmons, J.D. “After 7 Teens Die in High-Speed Chase, Town Looks for Reasons”. Charlotte Observer. 29 December 2003. Re-published online: USA Today.com. 30 December 2003. Web.