By Trevor Fischbach, @StarChasePres
Police pursuits are an unfortunate, seemingly unavoidable aspect of law enforcement. Officers and others close to the pursuits issue would agree that high-speed chases have become part of U.S. culture due to the dramatic portrayals of vehicle pursuits in movies, television shows, and the 24-hour cycle of cable TV news. It’s possible that the near-constant visibility of police pursuits, both real and fictional, has fueled a misguided belief among criminals that getting away is easy if they drive quickly (and recklessly).
Whatever the catalyst may be, high-speed chases are too frequent occurrences that often end tragically. More needs to be done to manage the risks involved. The facts surrounding pursuits—55,000 injuries and 400 fatalities annually—underscore the demand that more attention be directed toward better understanding the pursuit trends on national and local levels.1
Here’s what is known: besides being terrifying for officers at times, pursuits are highly risky and come with a huge toll measured in lives lost, painful injuries, and multi-million dollar lawsuits that quickly drain taxpayer funds. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) estimates that 1 out of every 100 high-speed pursuits results in a fatality.2
Read more at: http://news.starchase.com/2015/01/15/finding-solutions-to-the-challenges-and-perils-of-pursuits/