Chicago prohibits most police foot chases.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Maniac Craniac, Jun 25, 2022.

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  1. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/1106654201/chicago-police-will-no-longer-be-allowed-to-chase-people-on-foot

    "Under the policy, officers may give chase if they believe a person is committing or is about to commit a felony, a Class A misdemeanor such as domestic battery, or a serious traffic offense that could risk injuring others, such as drunken driving or street racing"

    Some critics are saying that the new policy doesn't go far enough to protect career criminals who are just trying to do their jobs.
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  2. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

    This should help burglars who had it really hard in 2020/21 during COVID.

     
  3. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    I support this policy. When I was a New Orleans police officer, we had a similar policy for car chases. Why risk injuring yourself and the public over an offense that is not that serious?!
     
    Jonathan Whatley and JBjunior like this.
  4. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    You mean there are alternative ways to policing that may be effective? As an American that recently lived in Europe for a couple of years I was very surprised by the different policing tactics. I didn’t see an officer on the road for months in the country I was living and still managed to get a speeding ticket (disposed of after taking a training). Overall, I felt safer there than almost anywhere else I have ever lived. Policies like this one can still lead to the same result, the person identified and held accountable, and reduce the risk of death or serious injury to the police officer, the perpetrator, and the public.
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  5. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    It's counterintuitive, but I'm open-minded. The police superintendent publicly supports the policy, and I feel much more comfortable deferring to him for judgement on the matter than Lori Lightfoot. However, my initial sarcasm aside, I am concerned that this policy will serve as a how-to guide on evading police capture. Also, another excuse to vilify police for 100% justified arrests and shootings ("he shouldn't have even been chasing him!").
     
    JBjunior likes this.
  6. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Is there any evidence to support this notion that fugitives choose their residences based on police policies?
     
  8. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    I don't know if there is overwhelming evidence to support this. However, based on my experience in the NOPD, criminals aware of the department's policies would do certain things to evade capture. For instance, we were not allowed to travel the wrong way on a one-way street even if the suspect did. Hence, there were times when criminals would do that, and we couldn't.
     
    Rich Douglas likes this.
  9. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Okay, Chris. That makes a lot of sense. Local flavor and all of that.

    But the other? I guess we'll wait for that to be a search option on Zillow.
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  10. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Chicago is a disaster, they fail to enforce law there.
     
    Vonnegut likes this.
  11. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Citation needed.
     
  12. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Not in Chicago.
     
  13. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Police squads, “intensively trained in minimal force techniques, advanced tactics, car stop, de-escalation is essential to all of it.” Now, de-escalation is important. But when we’re actually trying to go after bad guys here and the cops have to feel supported and not be told that they’re basically social workers who happen to have a gun.
     
  14. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    https://data.cityofchicago.org/widgets/dpt3-jri9?mobile_redirect=true

    81 arrests the most recent data day is available (June 25). 86 the day before that. 565,000 (at least) since 2014.

    $264 million in parking tickets issued. (https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/02/how-does-chicago-make-200-million-a-year-on-parking-tickets-by-bankrupting-thousands-of-drivers/)

    I'm not defending Chicago PD but to say they fail to enforce the laws is simply not true. If anything, they over-police minorities.
     
  15. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I knew I will hear what you are saying but I was not talking about the hard working policeman who put their lives in danger to protect us, I was talking about the politicians, mayors etc who dictate the policy.

    The failure is not of the police, with all the critique that they endured but with failed policy makers.
    I understand that its theoretically to protect the policeman.

    Officers won't be allowed to chase people on foot if they suspect them of minor offenses such as parking violations, driving on suspended licenses or drinking alcohol in public. But they will still have discretion to chase people who they've determined are committing or about to commit crimes that post "an obvious threat to any person."

    So they will have to exercise judgement - the title of the tread a little misleading.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2022
  16. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Ever spend time there?
     
  17. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Yes, and I'm still not convinced.
     
  18. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Betcha didn't get arrested though, did ya!
     
    Vonnegut, Maniac Craniac and Dustin like this.

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