Vehicle Pursuit Statistics

POLICE TRANSPARENCY:
2023 VEHICULAR PURSUIT REPORT

Since vehicular pursuits create the potential in which officers, members of the public, and/or the suspect may be killed or seriously injured, pursuits shall only be initiated and continued in accordance with the provisions set forth by Division policy.

The decision to initiate a pursuit is a difficult one. The decision to terminate a pursuit is even more difficult. Professional judgment and common sense are the determining factors.

Additional Data & Resources

Part I Crime
Traffic Data
Demographic Data
Application of Force Report
Crime Alerts
Public Data
Vehicular Pursuit Policy
Personnel Demographics

2023 Statistics

Pursuits increased significantly (58.6%) from 2022 to 2023. The previous five-year average was 62.2 pursuits; 2023 was a 78.5% increase over the five-year average.

Officers’ reasons for initiating a pursuit were similar from 2022 to 2023, with one exception – pursuing a stolen vehicle rose from 27.7% in 2022 to 37.7% in 2023.

Analysis of the age of the pursued reveals a consistent average age of 30, +/- two years, for the last three years. However, a significant decrease in age was evident upon calculation of the data mode for the last four years. The most prominent age for the data group in 2023 was 16 years old. The Police Division continues to seek enhanced pursuit training opportunities for sworn personnel and continuously evaluates pursuit data for policy revision considerations and officer development. These measures in conjunction with proper equipment allocation, policy transparency, and community feedback enhance community safety during pursuit events.   

Incident Occurrences & Location

During CY2023, the Henrico County Police Division was involved in one hundred eleven (111) individualized pursuits, as compared to seventy (70) pursuits in CY2022. Eleven pursuits resulted in supplemental officers continuing the pursuit after the initiating officer was no longer the primary pursuing officer. Any officer assuming the primary pursuing officer role submits a pursuit after-action report, capturing relative information for that officer’s involvement in the pursuit. The report is subsequently submitted through the involved officer’s chain of command for forwarding to the Quality Assurance Unit for review and analysis. Therefore, some statistical data contained within this report may exceed the maximum number of one hundred eleven (111) identified pursuits.   Officers initiated pursuits for both individualized and multiple combinations of justification criteria. Reckless driving existed in 32% of encounters, felony and misdemeanor violations in 15% of encounters, stolen / unauthorized use vehicle in 32% of encounters, suspected DUI-DUID driver in 4% of encounters and wanted persons in the vehicle in 14% of encounters.   Monday was the primary day of the week for a pursuit, 16.7%. Tuesday and Thursday were the next two primary days of week for a pursuit, at 14.9% each. Wednesday and Saturday were the next most popular days at 14.4%. Sunday pursuits account for 13.2% of all events. Friday was the least likely day for a pursuit at 12.3%.   Passenger cars were pursued in 59.0% of the incidents, SUVs in 24.0%, pickup trucks in 6.0%, motorcycles in 5.0%, minivans in 4.0%, and ATVs in 1.0%. No commercial motor vehicles were pursued in CY2023.   The average age of a person arrested or identified as being involved in a pursuit was 29.3 years old. The youngest involved person was 15 years old and the most mature was 63 years old. Analysis of pursuit data for 2020 – 2023 reveals the age of individuals fleeing from officers is significantly younger for 2023. The largest data group was sixteen (16) years of age.
Time of Incident   Officer reported data reveals the 6 p.m. to midnight and noon to 6 p.m. time periods as the most prevalent times for a pursuit to be initiated, accounting for 71% (48% and 23% respectively) of all the reported pursuits. Distance   The average travel distance of pursuits initiated in CY2023 was 3.79 miles from initiation to conclusion, an increase from 2.66 miles the previous year. Nearly half (46.8%) of all the pursuits proceeded less than two miles. An equivalent percentage traveled between two and ten miles. Only seven (7) percent of pursuits continued greater than ten miles.

Reasoning

Pursuits are initiated utilizing five primary observational and informational based criteria. There are also many environmental factors that contribute to the officer’s final decision to pursue a fleeing vehicle. An analysis of statistical data revealed that 32.5% of pursuits were initiated for driving behavior that was flagrantly reckless prior to the officer’s activation of emergency equipment. A vehicle operator that attempted to commit, or had committed, a violent felony or was suspected of being armed and dangerous led to a pursuit in 17.5% of incidents. Wanted individuals were pursued in 11.4% of incidents. Stolen vehicles were pursued in 37.7% of incidents.   Pursued individuals provided various reasons for fleeing from law enforcement personnel. Those making a statement provided the following routine reasons: intoxicated (0.01%); possess stolen vehicle (17.27%); scared (11.82%); possess stolen property (0.91%); or wanted for outstanding warrants (9.09%). Greater than fifty percent (52.73%) provided no reason at all for fleeing. Several pursued individuals provided more than one reason for fleeing, such as possessing a stolen vehicle and a stolen gun, being a wanted person and driving intoxicated, and possessing a stolen vehicle and fearing apprehension.

Pursuit Conclusions & Non-Pursuits

Pursued individuals voluntarily stopped in 42.2% of incidents. Officers or their supervisors terminated 31.6% of the initiated pursuits. Pursuit terminations are determined after the evaluation of many factors, including environmental conditions, traffic conditions, the severity of the traffic offense or contributory criminal activity, license and wanted status of the offender, and acquired knowledge of the traffic offender. Clearly defined policies and procedures provide checks and balances for protecting public safety by preventing unauthorized pursuits. There were fourteen (14) attempts in CY2023 to bring pursuits to a conclusion by deployment of a tire deflation device. Officers utilized the Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver four (4) times during the calendar year. Officers had ninety-nine (99) instances in which emergency equipment was activated and disregarded by the motorist, but the officer chose not to continue engaging a fleeing suspect as it did not meet established policy criteria. The danger to the public outweighed the severity of the offense in each of these instances, so emergency equipment was deactivated. There was a 59.68% increase in the number of motorists disregarding a lawful traffic stop from CY2022 to CY2023.
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7721 E. Parham Rd.
Henrico, VA 23294

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Henrico, VA 23273-0775

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