High-speed police pursuits: Dangers, dynamics, and risk reduction

High-speed police pursuits and the inherent risk of injury and death that can resuit constitute an important law enforcement and public safety issue. Police pursuits are dangerous. Available data indicate that the number of pursuits continues to increase, as well as the number of pursuit-related injuries and deaths. A traffic accident constitutes the most common terminating event in an urban pursuit,1 and most people agree that these pursuits should be controlled. Yet, researchers note a widespread lack of accurate data on the subject.