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Police Pursuits

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Submitted By john316
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Every year in the United States hundreds of people are killed during police pursuits and many more seriously injured. Police pursuits have become a very controversial topic in the last several years. However, there is great concern of finding a way to reduce injuries or death to the public, police officers or suspect’s should be of the upmost priority while still being able to apprehend the suspect.
In United States between 350 and 1000 people are killed each year due to police high-speed pursuits, and between 20,000 and 55,000 are injured depending on the web site that you are looking at. According to the USA Today “35%-40% of all police chases end in crashes” (USA TODAY 2010). I found it interesting that 1 out of every 100 high-speed police pursuits end in a fatality, and 42 percent of the persons killed or injured are a result of police high-speed pursuits. According to the Pursuit Management Task Force (PMTF) “ Over half of law enforcement high-speed chases resulted in a collision with in the first two minutes of the start and nearly 70 percent occurred before the 6th minute”(NIJ 1998).
There are several possible new technology solutions that are being developed and tested, that will help in reducing the dangers of police high-speed pursuits. One of the most commonly used at this time is called the spike strip or tire deflation device. This device is placed on the ground in front of the suspect’s vehicle, when the suspect runs over the strip the tires pull out hollow spikes that are embedded into the tires, they allow the air to slowly leak out of the tires.
The second system that I want to speak about is called the Auto Arrestor System. This system developed by JAYCOR is similar to the spike strips or tire deflation device. The Auto Arrester is placed across the road ahead of the suspects vehicle, when the vehicle runs over the strip a short pulse of electrical current is discharged, which in turn damages the cars ignition system shutting down the vehicle’s engine. This is similar to the vehicle running out of fuel, the parts can be replaced with minimal costs.
A third system is the called the Road Patriot, which is similar to a mini rocket that is launched from the lead pursuit vehicle. Once the rocket is launched it can travel 20 miles per hour faster than the pursuit vehicle, the device can be launched at up to seven car lengths behind the vehicle in pursuit (JUSTNET 1996). When the projectile strikes the vehicle it sticks to it, and like the Auto Arrestor it sends out an electromagnetic energy impulse that disables the vehicles engine. This system is mounted under the front bumper of the patrol car and operated by a switch inside by the operator.
One system that most Chevrolet and GMC vehicles have is called OnStar, when notified of a stolen vehicle they can track it through GPS. When the vehicles location is retrieved by the GPS, the OnStar operator will notify the police and when they are in position OnStar can remotely shut down the vehicles engine. This is known as the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Technology that is available on nearly 1 million of their vehicles.
A fourth system is called the Road Sentry, this new innovative product differs form the Road Patriot in that it is already built into the road. This system is already installed in the roads and when the vehicle being pursued is near one of the sensors, it can then be activated. Once activated it sends out and electrical impulse that will also shut down the vehicle like the Road Patriot.
A fifth new technology in stopping high-speed police pursuits was tested in 2010 in a Southwest State. This is product is manufactured by StarChase Pursuit Management Systems, and is a dart that is GPS equipped. It turns out that as the pursuing officer chase the bad guy, he can fire a GPS equipped dart at the vehicle from a launcher that is mounted in the front of their patrol vehicle. Once the dart is fired and sticks in the target vehicle, the police can back down the pursuit and follow the vehicle by means of GPS, when the vehicle stops they can move in.
Many police departments are rewriting their pursuit policies to become more restrictive, these new policies will make sure the officer weighs the reason for the pursuit against the liability of maybe injuring an innocent person, themselves or the suspect. One thing that will always stay true is enforcing the department’s policy on high-speed pursuits and periodically revising them when it is needed.
According to Terry Pearson states with restrictive pursuit policies have seen a marked decrease in pursuits (National Law Enforcement & Correction Tech. 1996). At my old department we wrecked a few cars in pursuit of others for minor traffic infractions, nothing was ever said to us except good job on the apprehension.
While there is no simple solution for this problem, the technology that I mentioned although some of these are only in the initial conceptual phase it will require rigorous testing and modifications, before being utilized on the street in a real situation. These new products may well help lower high-speed police pursuits or in many cases stop them before they can really get started. I feel though that this new technology may be out of reach for most agencies due to lack of funding, unless grants will become available for these products.
Reference

Copeland, L (December 2008) USA TODAY: Technology may help police halt hot pursuits retrieved August 7, 2011 from www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-12-10-policechase_N.htm

Copeland, L (April 2010) USA TODAY: Deaths lead to question high-speed chase policies retrieved August 7, 2011 from www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-22-police-chase-deaths_N.htm

National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (October 1996) High Speed Pursuit: New Technologies Around the Corner retrieved August 4, 2011 from http://www.justnet.org/Lists/JUSTNET%20Resources/Attatchments/847/speed.pdf

National Institute of Justice (August 1998) Pursuit Management Task Force retrieved August 18, 2011 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/fs000225.pdf

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