New York AG Letitia James: Police pursuits should be limited, data reported
The report from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said police agencies should be required by law to track and publish standardized data on vehicle pursuits. Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas
Police should only chase suspects’ vehicles in very narrow circumstances and should be mandated to publish data on chases in an effort to decrease the number of potentially deadly police pursuits, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in a report released Tuesday.
"The evidence is clear: police vehicle pursuits and high-speed car chases can be dangerous and even fatal, and it is time for a change," James said in a statement. "We are proposing these reforms to improve public safety for everyone on the road — drivers, passengers, and law enforcement."
The report — "Improving Policing and Public Safety: Problems Presented by Police and Vehicle Pursuits" — said that chases should only occur in cases such as "when a serious or violent felony has been or will be committed and when the driver’s conduct poses an imminent threat of death." The report added that pursuits should not be engaged over "ordinary speeding or minor traffic infractions."
The report also said that police agencies in New York should be required by law to track and publish standardized data on vehicle pursuits, in coordination with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.
The report notes that there’s no centralized data on police pursuits in New York or a nationwide database. But it said that the U.S. Department of Justice in 2017 found an average of 355 people died annually in police pursuits from 1996 to 2015, according to federal data.
The Department of Transportation data from 2015 and 2020 showed that at least 30% of police chases ended in crashes, the report said.
Nassau County Police Department spokesman Det. Lt. Scott Skrynecki said Tuesday that the department could not respond to the attorney general's report without reading it.
Skrynecki provided the department's policy on pursuits, which reads, in part: "The policy of the police department is to minimize the risks of pursuit by limiting vehicle pursuits to only those situations where the escape of the suspect poses a greater risk of harm to the general public than does the pursuit itself."
Skrynecki added that "all pursuits are reported to police department management to be reviewed for compliance."
The Suffolk County Police Department did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Newsday has reported, citing a USA Today Network analysis, that between 1995 and 2015, Suffolk County led the state in the number of fatalities connected to police pursuits, with at least nine deaths.
The attorney general’s report follows a similar directive by the nation’s largest police department. In January, the NYPD issued a new policy limiting the use of high-speed chases to only the most serious and violent crimes. The policy barred pursuits for nonviolent misdemeanors, traffic infractions and violations.
Before the policy change, about 25% of the police department’s 2,278 police pursuits resulted in a crash, property damage, physical harm or death.
The attorney general’s report cited the Old Westbury Police Department as an example of a law enforcement agency that took steps to curb the dangerous practice of pursuits. Newsday reported in 2023 that the tiny department was using a system that shoots GPS trackers at a vehicle, with the aim of removing the need for a pursuit.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep.16: From Island to island, how football helped overcome tragedy Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to Carey football player James McGrath about how he has persevered after losing his parents at a young age, and to the Lahainaluna (Hawaii) High School football coach about how his team persevered after the Maui wildfires of 2023, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the All-Long Island teams photo shoot.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep.16: From Island to island, how football helped overcome tragedy Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to Carey football player James McGrath about how he has persevered after losing his parents at a young age, and to the Lahainaluna (Hawaii) High School football coach about how his team persevered after the Maui wildfires of 2023, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the All-Long Island teams photo shoot.
