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The effects of restrictive police pursuit policies in Washington State

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_projects/x059cg97k

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  • High-speed police pursuits occur daily across the United States. On average, one person dies per day as the result of a police pursuit. In certain contexts, it might be acceptable to society for a police officer to engage in a high-speed pursuit. The ends could justify the means. For example, an officer might continue pursuing a fleeing bank robber. Society might believe that this pursuit should be authorized. There is an acceptable risk in return for making the arrest of the bank robber.A restrictive pursuit policy allows the police officer the discretion to engage in a high-speed pursuit if they are attempting to stop a fleeing felon or an individual who is a threat to society. A restrictive pursuit policy would restrict the officer from engaging in a high-speed pursuit for simple traffic violations and misdemeanors. This cornerstone project uses data analysis of 1635 police pursuits from 21 agencies in Washington State over a 5-year period from 2018 to 2022. Analyzing the data shows that police pursuits often result in injuries and property damage. Damages occur whether an officer is pursuing a wanted felon, or a simple traffic violator. When the State of Washington passed RCW 10.116.060 in July, 2021, pursuits were restricted to probably cause felonies, resulting in a large reduction of pursuits, as shown by the data. The law was changed in May of 2023 to reflect other state’s restrictions of reasonable suspicion of a felony suspect. Dialogue continues between public policy makers regarding the risk to society and the risk of the offender getting away.
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