Under Pennsylvania law, Pennsylvania police departments are required to make a record of all police chases or vehicle pursuits and report them to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). Below are some statistics from the PSP’s 2010 report on police chases and pursuits:
- Over half of the pursuits were initiated due to a traffic offense, like speeding or violating traffic signals.
- One “uninvolved” person (i.e., bystander) was killed as a result of a police chase.
- Nearly 1/3 of the roughly 1400 police chases in 2010 resulted in crashes.
- A little over 200, or 7%, of the total police chases resulted in injury.
- Of the 200 persons injured, 35 were “uninvolved persons” and 32 were police officers.
- When the initiating crime was a vehicle violation, there was a corresponding 26.28% crash rate.
- When the initiating crime was a felony, there was a corresponding 41.5% crash rate.
- When the initiating crime was a suspected stolen vehicle, there was a corresponding 49.5% crash rate.
Read our free legal article to learn more about police department liability in Pennsylvania police chase cases.
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