High Speed Police Pursuits
...hat dangerous police pursuits usually involve younger, less experienced officers. Although there is little data available in Canada, providing statistics on the reason a pursuit was undertaken by a police officer. One source indicates that the charges laid following pursuits in Ontario were 35.8 percent for theft or possession, 32.4 percent for criminal code traffic violations, 8.5 percent for serious driving violations e.x. impaired driving and 2.8% was for serious violent offences, including homicide and weapons offences. Basically what this data represents is that majority of people commit minor infractions or property thefts, and are only running away because they have panicked or are scared. However there are those out there who might think it better to try to escape and face the penalty associated with the chase then get caught for their original crime, which might carry a harsher penalty. In Canada there is no penalty known as leading a peace officer on a high-speed chase. Rather, there are penalties that make up high-speed pursuits, such as; speeding, damage to property, danger of public peace, disobeying authority, etc... These offences carry penalties but many people are unaware of this fact. If there were a direct statement indicating the harsh penalty of leading peace officers on a chase there might be that part in the suspects mind, that would rather have him self surrendered or obey the peace officer when asked to pull over, and instead face the music for that particular crime then for leading a peace officer on a high speed chase. The penalty for high-speed chase has to be made into an indictable or dual offence, with harsh penalties such as immediate termination of their driver's licence for 5 to 10 years and possibly even a lifetime suspension. Those who commit the offence and injure someone should get 10 to 15 years and chases where someone is killed should get an automatic life sentences. New regulations put in place by Toronto Police in 2000 were supposed to put a stop to police chases before they got dangerous and out of hand, but police continue to use their cars as weapons, and as a matter of fact police hot pursuits cause more deaths and serious injuries than do police guns. Pursuits should only be initiated when there are no other alternatives. The regulation placed in 2000 stated: i) Police should only pursue a vehicle if the need to identify the driver outweighs the risk to public safety ii) Police should continuously reassess the risk to public safety during a pursuit iii) Unmarked police vehicles should not engage in police pursuits, and iv) Vehicle contact is allowed "for the purposes of stopping (a pursued vehicle) where the officer believes that to do so is necessary to protect against loss of life or serious bodily harm." Since the regulation was put in place in 2000 the police pursuits in Toronto have dropped about 18%, dated through September of 2001 which is still not enough, as the number of chases reported by Toronto police between 1998 and September 2001 was about 1,144 and half involved collisions, 1 in 3 involved injury, 1 in 4 involved property damage and about 5 percent of innocent third parties were involved, along with 8 deaths. The Toronto Police Service along with the rest of the law enforcement community in this country needs to place harsh consequences on officers who pursue in a high-speed chase where the regulation has not been met. Also the Ontario Police College needs to put more time into teaching their recruits on pursuit driving. Currently pursuit training includes: two 4 to 6 hour training sessions (which include a video, manual and test). This compared to the United States who train officers anywhere from 40 to 80 hours, is pathetic given that almost every officer will be involved in some form of pursuit. In this day and age why not use our best friend "technology." Yes, the helicopter is a great device and may give great results such as in Calgary and Edmonton, where the number of police pursuits dropped by over 50% in one year after being used, but the only negative is that it comes with a very hefty price tag, as Toronto learned in 2001. Instead why not put in place former RCMP, Larry Martens discovery. His technology can end high-speed police chases with the push of a button. The retired Moun...