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The
Myth of the Split Second Decision
Pursuit Policy is more than just
pursuit policy
The AWOL American media
Police Pursuits-A national
epidemic
If the bad guys hadn’t run none of
this would have happened…
The presses roll, and the carnage
continues…
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Police Pursuits-A national epidemic
According to Dr. Geoffrey Alpert, Director of Research for the College of Criminal
Justice at the University of South Carolina and nationally recognized expert on police
pursuits, 40% of police pursuits end in crashes, 20% in personal injury, and 1% in death.
Since pioneering the formal study of police pursuits in 1985 he has observed that these
numbers are remarkably consistent from study to study, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,
and regardless of pursuit policy.
Another statistical trend that can be taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System(FARS) is
that of the 300-400 fatalities reported each year 2/3 are suspects, or passengers of their
vehicles, and 1/3 are innocent bystanders.
For many reasons the FARS data is recognized by most experts as incomplete and
under-reported.
-The system is voluntary.
-Many fatalities may occur hours or days after the initial report.
-Fatalities may not be classified as pursuit related mistakenly or by
design.
Best estimates are that the data is under-reported by a factor of 2-3 times.
In a recent 2 week period (11/22/03 to 12/5/03) PursuitWatch has collected news stories that
document 27 pursuit deaths. This is an annualized rate of 705 deaths per
year-approximately twice the number predicted by the FARS numbers. We can extrapolate some shocking numbers from this data:
|
| Annual: |
FARS Data |
PursuitWatch Data |
| Pursuits |
35,000 |
70,000 |
| Crashes |
14,000 |
28,000 |
| Injuries |
7,000 |
14,000 |
| Total Deaths |
350 |
700 |
| Bystander Deaths |
118 |
236 |
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Sobering numbers. Given the fact that several studies have
shown that fewer than 17% of pursuits are for an underlying serious felony. The shocking
fact is that 29,000 to 58,000 pursuits, resulting in 6,000 to 12,000 injuries, are
undertaken for traffic, misdemeanor, or property crimes. Up to 4,000 injuries to innocent
bystanders each year for crimes that usually result in a simple fine or a slap on the
wrist. It is time to stop the insanity. James
Phillips
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