Police officers have the responsibility of defending the lives of citizens by maintaining law and order. However, in attempts to avoid being arrested, some criminals are normally willing to escape without much concern to the dangers that they pose to their lives as well as those of other innocent citizens thus engaging the police in hot pursuits. High-speed pursuits are dangerous and cause serious risks to the police officers. As they flee from the police who are on their pursuit, the suspects could end up sustaining potential injuries. Estimates from The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration indicate that on a national scale, nearly four officers are often killed every year while pursuing fleeing suspects. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also reports that 255 innocent lives were taken in 1997 during police pursuits (Alpert, Hudak, & Schultz, 2010). These data are amazing and have led to the increase of public scrutiny into the police pursuits throughout the country. Such data calls for the need to reform the law to focus on deterrence and to eliminate restrictions that create barriers to police operations or that causes further civic liability while enforcing the law. Reforming penalties on drivers fleeing or eluding police arrests will reduce dangerous high-speed pursuits as well as the risks that it exposes the police offices and the innocent citizens as well as civic liability to. In attempts to help the police officers better respond to high-speed pursuits, the Criminal Justice Training Council has improved their training to give the police the capacity to deal with such situations (Picard, 2010).
The police academy has adopted more effective training pursuit as part of their comprehensive driving classes (Alpert, 1997). This course trains both the new cadets and the already sworn in officers. Its main purpose is to help police officers become more effective in pursuing criminals and to also make them safer and smarter in their operations. The training imparts various skills in the officers and they include skid control, defensive driving, turns, vehicle maintenance, performance driving as well as high-speed pursuit skills (Picard, 2010). To effectively implement the training from the police academies, the police department has a range of functional types of cars and units to help apprehend fleeing suspects.
The functional cars are always ready to be on the move in response to any prospective emergency. The response cars normally have higher specifications which are capable of moving at faster speeds. They are also fitted with audio-visual warning systems which make other vehicles give way during the pursuit and also help alert other officers to put road blocks or to join in the pursuit. These vehicles also carry large firearms that can be used in case of exchange between the police and the criminal(s). Police officers also use unmarked cars to respond to fleeing suspects. These vehicles are not easily identifiable and have non-uniformed police officers who would normally trace the suspects while updating other officers of the suspects’ locations and other relevant information. They maintain close supervision of the suspects without arousing suspicion form the suspects. Police officers also have surveillance cars which are fitted with CCTV cameras that enable it gather evidence of the criminal offense. Such evidence is produced in the court of law to help prosecute the suspect (Alpert, Hudak, & Schultz, 2010).
The police vehicles have also undergone mechanical modifications to enhance greater speed as well as high mileage driving. They have also been modified to tolerate longer periods of idling while at higher temperatures. This enables the officers to make quick emergency response and to engage in long distance pursuits. These vehicles also have Automatic Number Plate Recognition which is a computerized system that enables the driving officer to know whether the vehicle being pursued had been used in a crime; is listed as stolen car or whether the vehicle’s duty had not been paid. Such information helps the officer make informed decisions and therefore consider more appropriate measures for dealing with the situation. The officer is therefore enabled to make evidence-based decisions which help evaluate the risks involved in accomplishing the mission which is normally to apprehend the fleeing suspect. Knowledge of the reason as to why the suspect is fleeing helps the officer to balance public safety with the goals of the justice system (Alpert, Hudak, Schultz, 2010).
Police also employ helicopters in high-speed pursuits especially if the criminal is suspected to have committed a major offense. The helicopters enable the officers to monitor the direction and location of the suspect so as to provide more accurate information to the officers on the ground. The suspect’s escape is therefore made almost impossible as the officers in the air coordinate the activities of those on the ground as they monitor the fleeing suspect (Alpert, 1998).
Police officers’ duties may sometimes be easy as they pursue the fleeing suspects. However, at times, the officers find going too tough to manage as they are also restricted by the policies regarding high-speed pursuits. They are required to apprehend the suspect and to do anything possible to protect the life of the suspect as well as the lives of the bystanders. This may prove to be very difficult especially when the victim turns violent and engages in armed exchange.
Injuries and deaths that result from police pursuits are shocking. The police are not accorded maximum protection from the state and are also not assured of the federal liability in most cases. The officers have to perform their duties of apprehending individuals who engage in criminal conduct. It is therefore important that the state realizes the need to protect the society as well as the law enforcement officers. The state should consider reforming the current laws that guide police officers when dealing with fleeing criminals or those who attempt to elude arrests. It is also important that the public is made aware of the dangers and legal penalties imposed on fleeing criminals.
High-speed pursuits could also be better eliminated if the state was to adopt more modern technologies like very small radio receiver which could be developed in every police vehicle’s computer-control circuit chip. Using the radio receiver, the fleeing vehicle’s ignition circuit is often disconnected, in affect resulting in the turning off of the ignition key once a coded signal has been relayed from the police vehicle to the car occupied by the fleeing suspects. The vehicle would therefore roll to a stop and hence making it easier for the police to apprehend the suspect. If such technology were to be implemented, high-speed pursuit would not be required any more.
Reference List
Alpert, G. P. (1998). Helicopters in pursuit operations. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Alpert, G. P. (1997). Police pursuit: Policies and training. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Alpert, G. P. Hudak, E, & Schultz, D. P. (2010). Evidence-based decisions on police pursuits: The officer’s perspective. Web.
Hill, J. (2002). High-speed police pursuits: Dangers, dynamics, and risk reduction,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Picard, K. (2010). Vermont police train to respond to high-speed chases. Web.