EDITORIAL : IN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH ACLU CONDEMNATION OF POLICE CHASES IGNORES THE RISKS OF LETTING LAWBREAKERS ESCAPE.

Leave it to the American Civil Liberties Union to make law-enforcement officers look bad when things don't turn out right, such as when car chases result in death or injury.

Issuing a report last week on Southern California police and sheriff's departments, the ACLU charged that police too often vent their anger after a high-speed chase, resulting in injuries.

And because some traffic injuries and deaths have occurred when suspects flee, the ACLU demanded that the Los Angeles Police Department completely review its pursuit policies. The ACLU was especially critical of the number of LAPD pursuits that were prompted by traffic violations.

But, in our view, the idea of police not pursuing traffic violators is absurd, since the fact that they are trying to get away is pretty reliable evidence that they had been up to no good anyway.

And, people who flee police pose much greater risks to the public than the cop cars chasing them. Suspects may hurt or kill innocent people while attempting to get away from police, but if they do get away there's every likelihood that they will be emboldened to commit more crimes and victimize more people.

What's more, busting small-time crime is a proven crime deterrent in the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles Police Department officers in the Foothill Division have targeted offenses once deemed too trivial and a waste of police time - including public intoxication and cruising - and the result has been a 5 percent drop in property crime and an 8 percent drop in violent street crime.

So, there are proven public-safety benefits to enforcing even the little things.

And when a police pursuit occurs, how much real risk is there to bystanders? Less than you might fear.

The ACLU studied the period from 1993 to 1995, a time when there were 5,776 police chases in Southern California. Those pursuits involved 47 deaths - about 16 each year. Each year, an average of 639 people were hurt - 413 suspects, 121 officers and 105 others.

Those figures shouldn't make police pursuits a top concern of Los Angeles residents - certainly not as long as there are much bigger risks associated with routine daily life. For example, Census Bureau figures show that 75,000 Americans are injured each year by lawn mowers, and 36,000 are injured each year in accidents involving TV sets.

And while the ACLU found that Southern California cop chases annually kill about 15 people, national figures show more than 12,000 Americans die in accidental falls and more than 4,000 drown each year.

Of course, such statistics do not relieve police officers of the obligation to use reasonable care and take prudent action to protect public safety. Nor does it relieve higher authorities of their duty to review pursuit policies and give officers more training, if necessary, to control their emotions after high-speed chases.

But it should be obvious that a police pursuit is one of the least likely ways to be injured in Southern California. And, you're most likely to be hurt in a police pursuit if you're the one fleeing from the police.