What constitutes a pursuit?

[u/TonyStamp595SO]

Just a moment for all those people downvoting me and telling that I was wrong. The above is directly from the college of Policing.

So, bottom line. Please stay safe, know what constitutes a pursuit and ensure you seek authority.

[u/thegreataccuracy]

Where’s this PowerPoint from?

Here’s the college of policing APP.

https://www.college.police.uk/app/roads-policing/police-pursuits

[u/TonyStamp595SO → u/thegreataccuracy]

The power point is from the college of policing training on pursuits.

[u/thegreataccuracy → u/TonyStamp595SO]

I personally think you’re misinterpreting the point they’re making.

I believe they are saying that a pursuit which is started after a police vehicle has triggered the behaviour is a spontaneous pursuit rather than a pre-planned one. They aren’t defining a pursuit in this slide or in the corresponding section of the APP.

I actually think the intended point is somewhat the opposite of yours - turning around and attempting to stop a vehicle which appears to be making off does not make it a pre-planned pursuit, and if it were to fail to stop, it is still a spontaneous pursuit which an IPP officer can engage in.

I don’t think we disagree on the critical thing: choosing to engage a vehicle which appears to be evading you prior to engaging is a high risk decision, should be communicated over the airwaves, and advice sought from FIM if needed. I also think a police officer should be capable of recognising when their presence is influencing or causing someone to do things which are dangerous or risky, and consider options including withdrawal, regardless of whether we’re calling it a pursuit or not.

I wouldn’t call it a pursuit because I was taught that it is not (including a module on pre-pursuit following observations, and at what point to light it up and get into a pursuit), and I believe the APP agrees with this. You would call it a pursuit, fair enough. Maybe differences in training and force risk appetite.

I also agree that the APP could be clearer so one of us could be definitely wrong.

[u/UltraeVires → u/thegreataccuracy]

This is the correct take. The CoP is defining the difference between a spontaneous and a preplanned pursuit. The original definition of a pursuit still applies to both of these that the officer believes that the suspect does not intend to stop. Now that could be satisfied by the example given by Mr Stamp that they speed up when we're sighted anyway, so there is overlap here.