Extreme Caution Policy

The Pursuit Policy that I would draft would be an Extreme Caution Policy for High Speed Situations. Safety should always come first. It is necessary sometimes for police to conduct high speed chases; however there should be some provisions. High speed chases should only be conducted in pursuit of dangerous criminals or felons. Crimes should include murder, bank robbery, and/or prison breaks, and other dangerous acts. If it is safe to pursue the suspects then that is what the officer should do. The officer should use his/her discretion as to whether or not to pursue the vehicle or abort the chase, keeping in mind the safety of everyone involved. There should be no such thing as a few people in the way making it okay to stop the perpetrator, NO! There should be no lives in jeopardy. …show more content…
There should never be shots fired when there are civilians present or in areas where bystanders will be located. There should be every effort made to get people off of the street when a pursuit does occur. This should be the job of backup police officers. In residential areas, if danger occurs the police officers should cease the pursuit of fleeing cars and use the backup plans which would involve calling ahead for help, putting spikes in place to slow the vehicle, and possible surrounding and apprehending of the perpetrator. It is the duty of officers to protect and serve the public. The lives of the public are far more important than the apprehension of the criminals. In the case of Sacramento vs. Lewis, even though the officers were found to be justified a passenger was killed in the process. This is unacceptable. There will be other opportunities to catch the criminals, but the loss of life cannot be