{
  "id": "2005-january-february-data-shows-cops-ignore-hot-pursuit-rules",
  "slug": "2005-january-february-data-shows-cops-ignore-hot-pursuit-rules",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2005-january-february-data-shows-cops-ignore-hot-pursuit-rules.html",
  "year": 2005,
  "month": "January • February",
  "monthNum": 1,
  "headline": "Data shows cops ignore hot-pursuit rules",
  "kicker": "SPOTLIGHT: PROBING THE POLICE",
  "author_name": "Ian Demsky and Christian Bottorff",
  "author_title": "reporters",
  "affiliation": "The Tennessean",
  "summary": "The Nashville Tennessean found that two-thirds of police chases violated department safety policies by analyzing paper records that contradicted the department's electronic database.",
  "keywords": [
    "police pursuits",
    "public safety",
    "accountability"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Crime & Justice",
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Data & Databases"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "Access",
    "ArcView"
  ],
  "full_text": "Just because a police department says it followed all the rules doesn't make it true. After a chase in January, Nashville police killed a fleeing suspect after he crashed at a busy intersection. The policy was very clear: Officers may chase only if allowing a suspect to flee \"would present an imminent danger to human life or cause serious injury.\" We decided to examine all pursuits from 2003. We found that 67 percent of the pursuits appeared to have violated the written policy. Additionally, pursuits of suspects wanted for minor traffic violations led to the most accidents and injuries. We started with the original paper records kept by the police department. We photocopied all 229 of the pursuit report forms and narratives. We created a Microsoft Access database with the fields we wanted to track. If we had requested an electronic database from the department, we wouldn't have found the story. The database they kept of chases didn't match the paper records; it showed far fewer fast chases and far more slow chases than the records indicated. Using information from the narratives, we categorized the chases based upon what the suspect was wanted for when the chase began. The pursuit reporting forms lacked critical detail regarding duration, distance and top speed. Two things we found extremely helpful: a memo field in which we could note brief highlights, and unique identification numbers for each chase. We also kept track of the gender and race, finding that 63 percent of those pursued were black. Later, we used ESRI ArcView 3.2 geographic information system to map the starting locations and times of the pursuits. After the story ran, the new police chief announced changes to the pursuit policy. Now, supervisors have the responsibility to authorize each pursuit and grant continuing permission as conditions change.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "pre-v2",
    "extracted_at": "",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1997-march-quick-hits",
      "score": 0.141
    },
    {
      "slug": "1999-april-officer-downings",
      "score": 0.138
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-december-we-dont-file-out-tapes",
      "score": 0.134
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-december-undermining-defining",
      "score": 0.129
    },
    {
      "slug": "2004-november-nicar-has-transportation-data-for-journalists",
      "score": 0.127
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2005-january-february-data-shows-cops-ignore-hot-pursuit-rules.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2005-january-february-data-shows-cops-ignore-hot-pursuit-rules.json"
}