Facts & Statistics

It's not about numbers. It's about people—real people.

Collision Factors .. ..Deaths . . .Myths. . .Pursuit Terms . . Siren Factors.. . Research ... Why they run?

 

 

 


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.Quick Facts

On average...
• Police chases for non-violent crimes kill at least 3 innocent bystanders every week in the United States.
• This number increases to at least 5 innocent bystanders killed every week when added with fatalities due to police response calls.
• These crashes kill 1 officer about every six weeks.

The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin...

"Police pursuit records provide some frightening statistics.

• First, the majority of police pursuits involve a stop for a traffic violation.

• Second, one person dies everyday as a result of a police pursuit.

• On average, from 1994 through 1998, one law enforcement officer was killed every 11 weeks in a pursuit. [By 2010, that number increased to one officer killed every six weeks in a pursuit.]

• Innocent third parties who just happened to be in the way constitute 42 percent of persons killed or injured in police pursuits.

• Further, 1 out of every 100 pursuits results in a fatality.” —The FBI Report


88% of all chases are for non-violent crimes.
spacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacer—Dr. Geoffrey Alpert, conducted extensive research for the U.S. Department of Justice

"90 seconds. That's the time an officer saves between driving 80 and 100 mph over a 10-mile stretch."
spacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacer —Former Illinois State Police director Larry Trent


Pursuits are the most dangerous police tactic, killing more innocent bystanders than a bullet from an officer's firearm.

“A traffic crash constitutes the most common terminating event in an urban pursuit.”
spacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacer—Ret. Police Chief D.P. Van Blaricom, Bellevue, WA

“Nationally, we say about one-third of our police pursuits conclude in a collision. You tell me another law enforcement activity where one-third of the time it goes bad and they continue to do it.”
spacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacer—Capt. Travis Yates, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department

It is estimated there are about 70,000 chases each year in the United States. However, there is no national database to provide this information. PursuitSAFETY's stance on penalties for drivers who flee.

Chronic underreporting of pursuit-related fatalities is a problem.

“Most people agree that these pursuits should be controlled. Yet, researchers note a widespread lack of accurate data on the subject. The lack of a mandatory reporting system hampers attempts by NHTSA to track pursuit fatalities and results in the collection of as little as one-half of the actual data."
spacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacerspacer—John Hill, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, July 1, 2002

PursuitSAFETY's professional advisory board members concur with the FBI report and affirm that the actual number of fatalities is “two or three times higher” than NHTSA’s figures.

Police chase fatalities are underreported for a number of reasons, including the following:

·It's voluntary. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses a voluntary tracking system to collect information. It is not a report of the actual number of all deaths, especially the deaths of innocent bystanders as a result of vehicular police chases and response calls. Information to NHTSA is given—or not given—at the discretion of each individual law enforcement agency.

·No independent oversight at the state or national level of the information submitted to NHTSA.

·No independent investigations: Often, police officers or their agencies will make the determination that a crash occurred right after a pursuit was "terminated," hence the crash is not pursuit-related. (Source: FBI Journal Report)

·Inadequate reporting: Officials from law enforcement agencies often change their minds about whether it was or was not a chase when innocent bystanders are killed. Consequently, these deaths to innocent bystanders are not counted in any government reports.

·Inadequate reporting: Babies and young children in the car whose driver is fleeing the police are not counted as innocent victims in the government's report. They are recorded as "occupants of fleeing vehicle."

·Inadequate reporting: Chases for suspected DUI are sometimes reported solely as DUI fatalities, and

·Inadequate reporting: Individuals who die later (for example, not at the crash scene) are sometimes not reported as a pursuit fatality.

 

Deaths

  • PursuitSAFETY’s professional advisory board members concur with the FBI report and affirm that the actual number of fatalities is “two or three times higher” than NHTSA’s figures (see below). NHTSA uses a voluntary tracking system, with information given—or not given—at the discretion of each individual law enforcement agency. Consequently, there is no national database that uses a mandatory reporting system, and there is no independent state or federal oversight of the information submitted to NHTSA. The information from NHTSA does not reflect the actual number of deaths as a result of police chases and response calls:

    Police Chases:
    NHTSA’s incomplete account     for 2006, 2007 and 2008 totals 1,169 deaths; an annual average of 390 deaths.
    ...NHTSA's breakdown of who was killed during this three-year period follows:
    .....· Innocent bystanders in other vehicle, pedestrians and bicyclists: 349 deaths; an annual average of 116
    .....· Occupant in police vehicle: 17 deaths, an annual average of 6
    .....· Occupant of chased vehicle (includes babies, children and unsuspecting passengers): 803 deaths; an ..............annual average of 268

    Police-Only Response Calls:
    NHTSA’s incomplete account for     2006, 2007 and 2008 totals 365; an annual average of 122
    ...NHTSA's breakdown of who was killed during this three-year period follows:
    .....· Innocent bystanders:     254 deaths; an annual average of 85
    .....· Occupant in police vehicle:     111 deaths; an annual average of 37

    View NHTSA's collection of voluntary data for Police Chase fatalities, 1982-2007 (pdf) and Response call deaths, 1982-2008 (pdf).     NHTSA releases their data for the previous year in July.



  • Collision Factors

    Forty percent (40%) of all police car chase cases end in a collision.

    Twenty percent (20%) of those cases end in serious injury.

    One percent (1%) result in a death.

    Innocent third parties constitute 42 percent of persons killed or injured in police pursuits.

    On average in the United States, police chases kill at least thee innocent bystanders each week.

    One out of every 100 pursuits results in a fatality.

    From the FBI Report: "50 percent of all pursuit collisions occur in the first two minutes of the pursuit, and more than 70 percent of all collisions occur before the sixth minute of the pursuit.”


     

    Why they run?

    46% were suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

    32% were driving stolen vehicles
    (The No. 1 circumstance resulting in the death of innocent people. A stolen car is insured and can be replaced.)

    20% were afraid they would be beaten.

    17% had drugs in their possession.

    16% were suspected of being involved in criminal activity of which 12% were for violent crimes

    Source: Dr. Geoffrey Alpert did this extensive study for the U.S. Department of Justice. The percentages do not add up to 100% because some suspects answered more than one category when they were interviewed by Dr. Alpert. Statistics are more than 10 years old, but law enforcement agencies still use these statistics.

     

    Siren Factors

    Only 24% of drivers can hear and determine from which direction a police car and its siren are traveling. (ALERT International Conference, September 2008.)

    In the case of excessive speeds, some drivers won’t hear the siren at all because they are just behind or catching up to the sound.

    "Innocent third-party drivers who do hear the siren have no time to react."     —Ret. Police Chief D.P. Van Blaricom, Bellevue, WA