Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics

May 9, 2017    NCJ 250545

Presents data on police vehicle pursuits and pursuit-related policies, including the number of police vehicle pursuits conducted by general purpose state and local law enforcement agencies in 2012. Data also include the types of written pursuit-related policies maintained by these agencies as of January 2013, the prevalence of police vehicle pursuits by type of pursuit policy, the number of pursuit-related fatalities that occurred nationwide over the previous decade, and the characteristics of vehicle pursuits in selected agencies. Findings on the number of pursuits and pursuit-related policies are based on data from BJS's 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey. Data on pursuit-related fatalities are from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highlights:

• General purpose state and local law enforcement agencies conducted an estimated 68,000 vehicle pursuits in 2012.
• From 1996 to 2015, an average of 355 persons (about 1 per day) were killed annually in pursuit-related crashes.
• In 2012, local police conducted 8 vehicle pursuits per 100 officers employed and sheriffs' offices conducted 9 per 100 officers.
• As of January 2013, all state police and highway patrol agencies and nearly all local police departments (97%) and sheriffs' offices (96%) had a written vehicle pursuit policy.
• In jurisdictions with fewer than 10,000 residents, 4% of the local police departments and 10% of the sheriffs' offices did not have a written pursuit policy.

Part of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Series

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