High speed vehicle chases have been banned in most police jurisdictions. Still, some police departments realize the importance of not letting criminals get away, simply by speeding up. When police begin a high speed pursuit, there are two dangers which must be weighed against each other.
The first: the criminal. A person who flees is likely to either not be thinking rationally because of chemical substances, or has another reason to flee, whether it be an outstanding warrant or a stolen vehicle. No matter what category the person falls into, it is important that the police are able to apprehend the criminal. If a criminal is allowed to get away simply by driving faster, it sends a message to other would-be evaders.
By banning high speed chases, there is a danger of encouraging others to engage in high speed chases, and therefore creating more danger in the future. Instead of blaming police officers for deaths related to high speed chases, the blame should fall on the person breaking the law, which directly causes the chase. Police officers are simply doing their job, and any attempt to blame police for crime is equivalent to saying “if there wasn’t any law, there wouldn’t be any crime.” It is a true assertion, just a perverted one.
Until alternative methods exist for apprehending criminals, such as the use of aircraft, high speed chases are necessary and accidents are the fault of the criminal evading arrest, not the person enforcing the law.