Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The number of police chases in the city has dropped 62 percent from last year as officers followed calls to use helicopters more often and avoid chasing drivers suspected of minor infractions.
Police Department statistics show officers initiated 76 pursuits during the first half of the year, down from 202 in the same period last year.
The Police Commission in January approved a policy barring officers from chasing people for minor traffic violations such as missing license plates. For more serious things such as reckless driving or auto theft, officers are allowed to give chase but must take into account weather conditions and the possibility of injuring bystanders.
Officers began receiving training in March and the policy went into effect in June. The department was also asked to emphasize the use of helicopters in tracking suspects.
Police Chief William Bratton, who pressed for the policy changes, called the figures showing declining numbers of chases “good news all around.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which had long criticized LAPD pursuit policies, also praised the statistics.
“These are just astounding numbers,” said Ramona Ripston, the group’s executive director.
The department began revamping its pursuit policy following chases last year that resulted in the death of a 4-year-old girl and the severing of a baby boy’s arm. Los Angeles led the nation in 2001 with 781 chases, according LAPD statistics.
Bratton and Mayor James Hahn have also expressed concern about the frequency with which chases show up live on television. Jeff Wald, news director for KTLA-TV, said the reduced number of pursuits appears to have resulted in less television coverage.
“I certainly feel they’re down (in chases), and I’m glad that they are,” Wald said.