Police not allowed to chase criminals?!! what do you think?!!?

Mike

This has been a problem here in the US for years. Where do you draw the line between catching the bad guy and endangering the public? The common rule of thumb has been:

Does the risk created to the public by the bad guy escaping
outway the risk created by chasing him?

A serial killer or rapist presents a serious threat the the community and catching him justifies risks. Therefore it is reasonable to chase him despite the possibility of an innocent person being hurt. The higher that possibility, the less justification there is for the risk. A high speed chase on a highway may be appropriate but if that same suspect leaves the highway and heads for a parade route it is not. No police officer likes to let any bad guy get away but they don't want an innocent person to get hurt either. Eventually society will have to decide how far they want the police to go in protecting them.

Al Bundy

when they put lots of other innocent people at risk while chasing, its not worth it

Leogirl0804

I believe what they are referring to are car chases. Innocent bystanders can get hurt or even killed in a car chase. The officer in pursuit needs to look at all the surroundings before he goes nuts trying to catch someone who has just stolen a car for a joy ride or ran a red light.

deadly

Political Correctness yet again. The way the Police are going why not make them all redundant. If it comes down to a criminal being hurt in a chase or being caught chase them. If you have commit ed no crime why run. Human rights are now a joke in the UK. It is the criminal that has the rights not the victim or the police.

Sprite

utter madness. you cant do anything to bloody criminals anymore - i mean even if some tw*t breaks into your house the cheeky gits try suing you if you tackle em - the world has indeed gone mad. where is the justice?

Eddie

This is a debate that has been around for many years now. My PD has vasilated from no pursuits to pursuits to pursuits with assorted limitations.

My feeling has always been that we as a society have a obligation to stop crime from happening. It means that you must support your police and get involved. Stand up and let your voice be heard. I am not saying to the point of blind obedience, but letting criminals that you won't allow their behavior to flourish.

The police also have an obligation to protect the property and life of all of its citizens they are sworn to protect. That means to me that we will chase the bad guys till they are caught because we are sworn to uphold the the law.

Sometimes innocent people get hurt as a result. The citizens have a right to be outraged, but it should be directed at the people who allow criminal behavior to become rampant in our society.

People should be punished for their behavior and not put onto to society because they did not do enough to prevent the criminal from doing what they do best...manipulate, lie, cheat, steal, and kill.

Punishment if needed should be swift, just, and firm. No multiple appeals with years of no resolve. One appeal and that's it. I can't see the courts finding someone who is truely innocent guilty twice on the same evidence.

We as a society need to stand up and voice our distaste for the liberals who want to coddle the misunderstood criminals.

Bill Carc

The big problem is that this is a Nanny state now, and the authorities are afraid of being sued, not only for wrongful arrest but being injured in the chase. It seems as if this country is a haven for criminals.

Mike N

I know there are certain times when they don't want to put innocent bystanders at risk, but it is ridiculous to stop chasing a suspect because THEY are in danger.

X-Woman

I say let the dogs do the running. A dog can be trained to spot and catch a running person easily. And they are faster. I think every officer should have a police dog in the back seat of their car. Officers would get faster anwsers with their criminal in the back seat of their car having a police dog sitting next to them.
Have a nice day.

PEP

There is "health and safety" guidlines for officers regarding climbing roofs after that young police officer died a few years ago pursuing a criminal across a roof and the roof gave in.
Police are not robots... their safety counts too and who wants to be maimed and crippled? They are just people too... same under the uniform as you and me.
Although they wont get "sacked" for doing it. That is pure nonsense.
There is no policy for jumping over gates, etc. If the offender chooses to jump over a gate and gets injured then thats his own problem. Every officer in the UK force loves a foot chase.

Bambi slayer

Sounds like it is time to become a bank robber

GT'sWife

Once again, it seems that criminals have more rights than the victims!

someonecanbme

your viewpoint is too limited. read more articles and get back to us.

tyrsson58

Car chases are very dangerous. There are scores of instances where the Police are chasing someone who ran for a minor infraction; i.e. speeding, no tag, etc. These chases have ended in tragedy when: a) the offender hits and injures/killes an innocent person(s), or b) the Officer hits and injures/kills an innocent person(s).

In the past, the rule was: Chase everyone who runs, every time, until you catch them. This is the policy that is changing. No body deserves to get killed over a speeding ticket. Someone who just killed a bank teller while committing armed robbery needs to be caught, so chasing them is appropriate.

What is happening all across the country is that departments are working on policies for car chases that clearly state when to chase, how long to chase, when to end the chase, and etc. Needless to say, there are many differing views on this subject, but most people want a reasonable compromise between the need to catch criminals, and how much danger the public is subjected to during the chase.

Cops will always try to catch bad guys. We just want to make sure the risk to the public is kept to an acceptable level while we chase.

mnrine

Different departments have different policies regarding chases. Some have a strict no chase policy. This is due to the fear of liability , fear of damage to department equipment and possible injury to the officer and citizens.

Some have a chase policy that states that the officer may only chase if a felony has occured. Some give their officers the discretion of making the decision to chase or not chase.

I've found that nearly all departments have a policy of calling off the chase if it is going to be a risk to the general public.

There are two schools of thought in this matter. One is, if the police are not allowed to chase as suspect, and that knowledge gets out to the public, will a greater amount of suspect flea the police knowing that they will not be pursued.

The other, is just the opposite, if the suspect knows that the police WILL pursue will they be more apt to surrender immediately.

It's a dilemma all police departments deal with.

Eliphas C

Trust me when I write that many cops in the USA are simply in no shape to give chase on foot or in a vehicle. Many departments are going to no pursuit policies unless it is of a known felon, because there's simply too much liability. This mindset varies widely from state to state, whereas in California they don't care - it's by whatever means necessary they catch fleeing suspects.
While I agree with your premise and think fleeing felons should just be shot, there's politics and too much liability in many cases. A friend I was a cop with in New Mexico shot a fleeing felon (accidentally in the back) (the guy had just committed an aggrovated battery on a police officer). Although he didn't serve any time (don't know how), he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and fired.

STIFLE IT LIBS

When i was younger,before i joined the army,I took the civil service test at the Chicago police academy,and the results of the test showed that i did not have the correct temperament to be a police officer.I would have just shot the scumbag!I guess that was a bad answer.

murphy51024

How can they win? look at the case in the uk a little while ago, where 5, 14 and 15 year olds were killed when they crashed their stolen car during a police chase..;the 14 year old driver (amongst others) had been drinking..;whilst it's tragic in one respect, what are the authorities supposed to do? say it's ok to drink underage, steal cars, and put heaven knows how many peoples lives at risk, or try to stop them before they can kill other people? I have a friend who's just retired after 30 years in the police force..try telling him and others like him why it's their fault if criminals get killed during a chase, because they can't understand why they always get the blame for doing their job, and the criminals get the sympathy...

Francis7

I have said it before but I will probably be shouted down by the do gooders.Ok here goes,If you commit a serious crime and it results in the death or injury of an innocent person whoever they are or are caught or proved to be planning the aforesaid you forfeit all your civil and human rights,Then watch the crime figures fall.

Doug W

This has been the case for at least 10 years now. Officers RARELY abide by the policy.

It's mostly for car chases because too many innocent people were being hurt and it's mostly for non-violent offenders. Someone being hunted for a crime where they hurt someone is chased until they're caught.

A speeder who runs might rarely be let go and then revisited at their home at a later time when they can take the person into custody.

sam

yup i agree whith ya man.....

Robert B

My dad was a cop in Los Angeles. It was somewhat of the same thing. They were so worried about offending or injuring a criminal suspect they sometimes had to take so many precautions it was almost absurd.

No one wants people to get hurt, but these people need to be taken off the streets.

Magic One

I'd love to know what article you read. Usually the reason for breaking off pursuit is for the safety of bystanders and not the offender. High speed chases through densely populated areas can result in collateral deaths (deaths of innocent people). The duty of the police is to protect the public. If the risk to the public is greater due to the chase than the criminal represents, then the chase should be abandoned.

While we're at it, I was once a police officer. The motto used to be "To protect and to serve". Newer officers seem to have adopted the motto "I'm getting home safely, no matter what." The reason we have police is for public safety. The last thing I want to see is some hot shot shooting an innocent member of the public because he pulls out his id and "there was a flash. I thought he was pulling a gun." We as police officers are paid to accept reasonable risks. We need to be sure before discharging a fire arm.

MITRE#136

It sounds awful when the procedures manual says not to get involved in a pursuit, but most agencies will also have a stipulation where if you have to neutralize, you have to neutralize, like if you were to be chasing an active shooter, however in the matter of initiating pursuit to catch a no license plate stop...i think in smaller matters it's good because today all liability falls on the officer's shoulders, if no license plate light wanted felon runs over mom and baby as evading, there is a greater chance of you losing your job and catching charges, than him.

Chuckles.

where did u read this insano letter thats a lie

taketwo

use the gun instead.

stinky_mutha

When ever has a copper got sacked for this....never

johnwayne

As I understand it,they do not want to endanger other innocent people's safety that the chase would do. Wonder when they are going to decide that the cost of maintaining a police force prohibits what is realized from it and just do away with the police force.

Trillyp

Its probably a violation of their civil rights or some such crap

searchpup

In our county, the Sheriff's Department a "no pursue" policy - however, if the suspect committed a violent crime then they are allowed to pursue.
Once pursuit begins, adrenalin gets flowing and things can get out of hand quickly. The Sheriff feels there is no need to put the public at risk chasing down speeders. This does not mean they let the criminals get away. They have other ways to track them down and fleeing just adds additional charges and time to your sentence once you are caught.

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