Public Attitudes Toward Police Pursuit Driving: What Do Studies on Attitudes Toward Police Pursuit Reveal? (From Crime & Justice in America: Present Realities and Future Prospects, Second Edition, P 170-182, 2002, Wilson R. Palacios, Paul F. Cromwell, et al., eds.)

• NCJ Number: 194692
• Author(s): John M. MacDonald; Geoffrey P. Alpert
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 93-IJ-CX-0061
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Journal of Criminal Justice, V 26, N 3, pp. 185-194, 1998.

Annotation

This chapter presents findings from a multijurisdictional survey that solicited public perceptions of police decisions regarding whether to engage in high-speed pursuits of suspects.

Abstract

Eight previous studies on the attitudes held by the public and police officers concerning pursuit driving indicate that pursuit driving is a controversial tactic that is viewed differently by various groups or samples. Previous research showed that officers resented having their discretion reduced or controlled; policies were not understood; training was not received or remembered; and officers were drawn to the "heat of the chase." The little that has been learned about public attitudes toward pursuit driving indicates that citizens view pursuit cautiously and offer only limited support. The current study examined attitudes toward police pursuit held by citizens in Aiken County, SC; Omaha, NE; and Baltimore, MD. The survey instrument presented pursuit scenarios by creating categories that corresponded to the existing empirical information regarding influences on officers' decision to engage in a pursuit. Subjects were asked to assume that the police had initiated a traffic or felony stop and that the suspect refused to pull over and actively attempted to flee and avoid apprehension. Subjects were asked to respond about whether or not a police pursuit should be initiated under the various scenarios. Among all the jurisdictions surveyed, respondents tended to base the pursuit decision on the seriousness of the offense at issue. Support for pursuits was strong and criticism was minimal, if it existed at all, when a police officer was shot or a felony committed. Support was minimal, especially under high-risk conditions, when a traffic violation was involved. Support for pursuit also decreased when information about the dangers of pursuit was presented. The findings thus suggest that an informed public is less likely to accept the necessity of police pursuit for less serious offenses. 4 tables, 4 notes, and 16 references