NCJ Number
208048
Date Published
2004
Length
125 pages
Annotation
This book provides law enforcement personnel with the knowledge and tools for safely capturing suspects who attempt to flee from the police on foot.
Abstract
The book first notes that foot pursuits of criminals can be one of the most hazardous situations an officer can encounter, because they are unpredictable and contain many challenges and hazards in addition to the threat posed by the suspect. The first chapter addresses the tactical decision about whether to continue to chase a fleeing suspect or attempt to contain the suspect. Factors discussed in relation to this decision are the suspect's age, the nature of the crime, whether the suspect is known to be armed, the location of the foot pursuit, the time of day, the officer's physical fitness, available resources, and the number of suspects. The second chapter focuses on the features of an effective perimeter containment of a fleeing suspect. Perimeter containment involves ensuring that a suspect is contained within an area by deploying officers to the perimeter of the area, such that they have clear views of all sides of the containment area. Another chapter describes the roles and responsibilities of responding officers, followed by a chapter on the duties involved in the management of the perimeter of a containment area. Separate chapters discuss procedures for working with airborne assets in tracking fleeing suspects as well as K-9 search operations. A chapter on suspect trends and tactics describes the various patterns commonly used by fleeing suspects, followed by a chapter on tactics suspects may use in an attempt to escape from a contained area. Common hiding locations are described in another chapter. The concluding chapter discusses the features of a training program that will adequately prepare officers to capture suspects who flee on foot. Subject index