An alternative to police pursuits.

Hollywood has long glorified the high-speed chase in television and film accounts of police work. Yet, rarely do the action-packed vehicle pursuits portrayed on screen show the tragedy that often accompanies them in real life. Forty percent of all law enforcement pursuits end in a collision, and approximately 290 pursuit-related deaths occur each year.(1)

Within the last decade, vehicle pursuits have become a leading concern to law enforcement administrators throughout the country. Liability issues, coupled with negative media attention, have spurred this concern. In addition, organizations such as Solutions to Tragedies of Police Pursuits (STOPP) now lobby for federal laws to regulate law enforcement pursuits and urge law enforcement agencies to adopt rigid pursuit policies in the name of public safety.(2)

Even without such pressure, many agencies have adopted stringent policies, often only permitting officers to pursue individuals suspected of committing forcible felonies. But this leaves law enforcement administrators to face the dilemma of either allowing non-violent felons to escape or risking property damage, personal injury, or death from pursuits. Both options leave the department open to public criticism and potential lawsuits.

Law enforcement agencies clearly need an alternative to the traditional pursuit. Yet, no single method will avoid all pursuits. Some pursuits occur when the suspect flees the scene of a crime or an already-speeding subject refuses to stop for the authorities. Other pursuits, however, result when an officer identifies a wanted felon and attempts to make an apprehension. When the officer turns on the lights and sirens to indicate that the suspect should stop, the suspect flees and the officer gives chase. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) in Tampa, Florida, developed the Vehicle Intercept Program to replace the latter type of pursuit.

What is a Vehicle Intercept?

Vehicle interception rests on the premise that most suspects in vehicles will not flee as long as officers keep their lights and sirens off, thus giving deputies the opportunity to develop a plan of containment. A vehicle intercept uses law enforcement automobiles to block in a suspect's vehicle that is slowing, stopped, or just beginning to move at an intersection, driveway, or parking lot.

Officers position their automobiles according to pre-set guidelines and procedures. A vehicle intercept is not a moving road block, and suspect cars traveling more than 10 miles per hour are not considered viable intercept candidates.

Creation of the Vehicle Intercept Program

In response to a proposal submitted by the authors, the sheriff convened a 10-member committee to examine the vehicle intercept concept and, if it was found plausible, to develop a training module for the department. Sworn personnel from the canine, aviation, training, detective, and patrol bureaus served on the committee. They met over a 1-week period and discussed procedures and guidelines for vehicle intercepts.

The committee also conducted some practical experiments to determine the optimum vehicle positioning for intercepts, taking into account concerns for officer safety, such as cross-fire and possible air bag deployment. The sheriff approved the committee's recommendations, which became part of the HCSO's written standard operating procedure and training curriculum.

Intercept Procedure

Only two categories of drivers qualify for interception - felony suspects and impaired drivers who pose a threat to public safety. Once deputies determine that a vehicle contains a suspected felon or an impaired driver, they do not take any overt action that might alert the occupants of the target vehicle of impending law enforcement action. Deputies refrain from activating emergency equipment and appear to conduct routine patrol while they notify dispatch, giving a description of the target vehicle, current location, direction of travel, and suspected charges.

Next, deputies communicate via radio with other units that can respond to assist. Setting up the intercept requires tactical thinking; officers must consider what intersections and other road conditions lie in the path of the target vehicle that would be conducive to an intercept. Ideally, aviation and canine units would participate, but deputies may execute a vehicle intercept without their assistance. When other units have reached the area and the intercept site has been chosen, the deputies - as many as four units - determine the positions they will take.

Without activating any emergency equipment, the primary blocking unit pulls in front of the target vehicle at the designated location as it slows, is stopped, or is starting to pull away. The primary unit takes a position perpendicular to the target vehicle, with the passenger side facing the suspect's vehicle and the rear axle in line with the front center of the target vehicle.

A second police unit simultaneously barricades the rear of the target vehicle. Emergency lights can be activated now. If more than two law enforcement units participate, two can block the rear or one can be deployed facing the target vehicle's driver side door from a distance of 20 to 60 feet.

The deputy operating the primary blocking vehicle stays in the car until other deputies have secured the scene. This precaution prevents potential injury to the deputy if the target vehicle attempts to break through the block. It also limits the chance of a cross-fire situation developing.

The suspect(s) then are removed from the target vehicle using the high-risk felony stop method or whatever is appropriate for the situation. If the target vehicle breaks through an intercept, deputies respond according to the HCSO's standard vehicle pursuit policy.

Guidelines for Intercepts

The decision to use or participate in a vehicle intercept rests solely with each deputy and does not require supervisory authorization. When deputies decide to intercept a vehicle, they cannot use citizens' vehicles to form any part of the blockade, such as when a suspect stops in a line of traffic. Two-officer patrol vehicles cannot be used as the front blocker due to the potential danger to the officer on the passenger side. Finally, marked and unmarked cars may participate in vehicle intercepts.

Training

Vehicle intercept training consists of a 4-hour module divided into two segments - classroom instruction and practical exercises. The 2 hours of classroom instruction open with a presentation of videotapes and newspaper articles illustrating the critical attention given to police pursuits by the media. Civil liability also is discussed to emphasize the importance of alternatives to high-speed pursuits.

The instructors then present the guidelines and procedures for vehicle intercepts, using diagrams to show vehicle positioning. Audiotapes of radio transmissions during actual intercepts are played and critiqued to give the students a clear sense of how to organize an intercept. Throughout the classroom session, deputies are encouraged to ask questions and voice concerns and criticisms of the program. The aim is to ensure that the students are comfortable with the procedure and to correct any perceived flaws in it.

The second segment consists of practical exercises on the training center's driving pad. Every deputy must complete a minimum of two vehicle intercepts HCSO driving instructors scrutinize and evaluate deputies' driving technique, vehicle positioning, and radio transmissions.

Initial vehicle intercept training for the agency occurred over an 8-month period. From February to October 1995, approximately 700 sworn personnel, including deputies and detectives, completed both segments of the course.

Field Results

As of May 31, 1996, approximately 60 vehicle intercepts have been performed. Of those, only two vehicles broke through intercepts, one of which resulted in minor injuries to a deputy. It is difficult to calculate precisely how many pursuits these intercepts have prevented; however, HCSO deputies agree that most of the target vehicles would not have yielded to standard law enforcement approaches. Post-pursuit data indicate a 50-percent reduction in pursuits since HCSO deputies were trained in vehicle interception.

Vehicle Intercept Program Benefits

The Vehicle Intercept Program does not eliminate the need for all police pursuits, but it does provide a viable alternative to many of them. Apprehending suspected felons without protracted, dangerous chases protects the lives and property of the public, the police, and the suspects.

This pursuit alternative also assuages concerns of those who perceive law enforcement as soft on crime when agencies restrict pursuits to suspected violent felons. It demonstrates to them a genuine effort to apprehend all felony suspects in the safest manner possible.

The Vehicle Intercept Program also can generate some positive press coverage. Agencies should not overlook the public relations benefits and should publicize their efforts. Finally, vehicle intercepts result in fewer police pursuits, which translates into fewer liability claims against an agency.

Conclusion

As the nature and frequency of vehicle pursuits have changed in recent years, law enforcement agencies have been forced to reconsider their traditional practices. As demonstrated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Vehicle Intercept Program, alternatives to pursuits do exist and work. If law enforcement officers rethink the way they approach suspects in vehicles, offenders can be apprehended without the unnecessary endangerment of life and property caused by police pursuits.

Endnotes

1 P. Thrash, "Police Pursuit Considerations," Law Enforcement Technology, vol. 9, 1994, 28-30.

2 B.L. Dorgan, "The National Police Pursuit Policy Act of 1995," Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates of the 104th Congress, First Session, 141 (97).

RELATED ARTICLE: Two-Car Vehicle Intercept (Same Direction)

As the target vehicle stops at an intersection, police car 1 blocks the rear of the vehicle. Police car 2 moves around to block the front of the target vehicle. Emergency equipment is activated only after the target vehicle has been contained.

RELATED ARTICLE: Three-Car Vehicle Intercept

As the target vehicle stops at an intersection, police car 1 blocks the rear while car 2 moves to block the front of the target vehicle. Car 3 is angled facing the driver's side of the target vehicle from a distance of 30 to 60 feet. Emergency equipment is activated only after the target vehicle has been contained.

Corporal Eisenberg and Corporal Fitzpatrick serve with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida.