1) Now everybody runs when stopped by Police. OK, not everybody, but the rate has probably tripled.
2) After the police give up the chase, a member of the public is almost invariably killed at an intersection within 30s, since the offender is still driving at high speed but there are no longer any lights and sirens to warn the public.
3) Everyone - Police, media, politicians, the public - is genuinely confused as to why this keeps happening.
Basically, you can't win :(
>They never get away.
This is false. I've personally watched los angeles based car chases where the person gets away even though there was a helicopter and units on the ground right behind him.
He was able to get underneath a lot of trees in a neighborhood, jump multiple fences in a row, and completely evaded the helicopter and police units on the ground.
Why do people like you make false statements like, "they never get away" when clearly people do? Do you live in some sort movie fantasy world where the "good guys always win"?
Anyways, running makes sense if you already have multiple felonys and/or know your crime is large enough to meet federal prosecution.
So that minor chance of getting away or out of that scenario is mighty appealing, and running could certainly be a reflex for many.
I think it's a cultural issue and criminals in the US are generally more extreme.
I think the official policy in car chases is follow them enough so they'll give up but public safety is always #1. If in doubt abort.
In Germany everyone is required by law to register their address within two weeks of moving. Not registering where you live and accompanying information, etc is illegal. If you move and someone else is now registered where you lived, you are no longer registered. You cannot really do very many things without that piece of paper including getting a SIM card or even renting a car without some difficulty.
So the police identify you and if you do something wrong they can just find you later, it's best if you catch the attention of the police you stop and deal with it. There is a much more relaxed attitude about law enforcement here, it's far more analytical and people generally avoid social disruption for the sake of. Rather than to avoid punishment. So it's social but it's the method of enforcement as well.
This means that the police presence has been cut down substantially, sometimes I can go a month without seeing a police officer.
Also, registering stuff like SIM cards on an address you are not registered at is also perfectly fine as that information is stricly for the state. The only interesting value for such companies to get hold from me is the Personalausweisnummer (id card number).
This might differ for outsiders as companies want a valid statement that you have an address here.
However, the german police is very good at finding people (and things), as there is a record on where most of your relatives live... Due to all that being rather complete, it works very well. I had a case where the police called my home number because my brothers car window was wide open on a parking lot in front of his house, 600km away. The police is forced to tow the car in that case, if they cannot reach someone. Also, cars are often tracked by paint. If someone flees in a car involved in a crash, the car can often be found, as paint is very unique to cars and locations (statistically). The databases for this are big and germans are generally okay with them.
There is sometimes a way to put screws on other people where possible. Example speeding: if someone speeds in a car, the registered owner will be asked first, even if the person on the picture is someone else. If the owner is unwilling to identify the person, restrictions might be put on him, e.g. writing a trip journal where he enters each and every trip and driver. Everyone wants to avoid that.
Also, germans prefer to game the system, not to wage war on it ;). Speeding is still rampant and there is a huge number of lawyers specialized on traffic laws that know all tricks to get you out of a ticket. Suing for a 40 Euro ticket is nothing unheard of.
If you leave your windows open and aren't there then people can easily steal from you and then cost the public money. Nobody was penalised, simply contacted and asked to close the window on their car.
> police is forced to tow the car in that case, if they cannot reach someone
If you want to know the specific part of the traffic law: StVO § 14, 2 (safety when entering and exiting the vehicle) [http://dejure.org/gesetze/StVO/14.html]:
"Kraftfahrzeuge sind auch gegen unbefugte Benutzung zu sichern."
(Vehicles are to be protected against unauthorized use.)
Also, your insurance might not like this ;).
As I said before, the german law is much more build around responsibilities. This is one example.
If you're unemployed for a very long time, you are entitled to these things (if you're unemployed in the short term, you're actually entitled to more than the listed):
* the state will pay your rent, water, heating, trash retrieval, etc. (maximum level of that depends on where in Germany you live)
* the state will pay your insurances for rent, illnesses, accidents and extended medical care
* the state will pay you 374€ per month, which you can use for power, internet, food, etc.
A small note: The mentioned insurances are mandatory in Germany and will be removed along with the tax from your job earnings (as an employee) before the cash is even put into your bank account.
So, to become homeless you need to either choose it willingly, or be in such a mental state that you somehow manage to slip through the social security net, but aren't functioning badly enough that the state hasn't picked you up yet.
Thats the only thing you need is place where official communication with you can happen. In practice, that means that there is some way to deliver letters for you.
Houses without address are pretty hard to find in germany. Building enforcement is very strict and every piece of land is owned and usually has an address before a house is built.
As a disclaimer I like bad shows that they do not take themselves too seriously more than I like your average series.
I would take Cobra 11 over any american police series any day.
i call BS, citation?
I had always assumed this was because it was standard practice to report that they had stopped chasing whenever the crashes occur. That's the rules so that's what you report.
The fault is on the criminals, not on the police trying to apprehend them or the pursuit.
"When officers went to investigate, there was a physical altercation between police and 26-year-old Gerardo Diego Ayala that ended with a fatal officer-involved shooting."
The cops killed one of the suspects then pursued the rest, then a pedestrian died in the chase. But the fricken media did a great job phrasing things so the cops seemed justified, woo-hoo.
See:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/05/santa_ana_pede...
(taken from further on this page, belongs further up btw)
I think the difficulty in handling a situation like that in any way other than immediate armed confrontation must be immense. If somebody tasked me with "handling" a gang member I'm pretty sure I'd want a gun, and I'd want absolutely no restrictions or post-event questioning on its use. Obviously I'm not involved in professional law enforcement in LA but even with training I can imagine it to be an incredibly difficult situation.
I think that the hard thinking to be done should be directed primarily at the underlying issues that result in (and support) organized street crime.
Ironically, the reason there's very few chases is that punishments are not severe for crimes. If you are certain that you'll get federal prison in USA for almost any crime, it makes sense to risk it and try to get away.
It seems you can find them all you want, but eventually you're going to have to take them in and many times the bad guys just won't want to go.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Felony-Murder+...
Driving evasively seems like a very good way to attract the attention of other officers who might not recognize the suspects' car. Once the cruiser is out of sight, the suspects' best bet would be to "act casual." If the drone can see the suspects then it doesn't matter how they drive, and if it can't see them then driving like a maniac only makes it easier to be found.
I am curious what the average response time is for a police helicopter though.
It's not a universally accepted line of reasoning, even in communities across the US. But it's also not one just made up of whole cloth, 'for nothing'.
just as if for example, we felt the same way the police would be quite scared right now.
No police officer was killed. As far as I can tell the chase happened when three men fled police who had killed a fellow gang member.
whoops i read the wrong side of the gun. perhaps assange is right and their language is their undoing.
still, the though of an "emotional" response remains stirring.
There are several comments throughout this story about how police in [various enlightened areas] no longer do chases. It usually isn't so straightforward, otherwise the world's bank robbers and kidnappers will be on their way over, idling car at the standby.
What most police forces throughout the world have stopped doing is chases for trivial things (where the single most serious crime committed is not stopping for police), which has historically led to everyday people panicking when the police turn on the lights after they roll through a stop sign, etc. Police also try to resort to helicopters sooner, and abandon the chase if it's 2pm in a school zone, etc. However the nature of law enforcement means that chases still happen for serious incidents, and they happen around the world, some questionable accuracy claims in comments notwithstanding.
This is a terrible tragedy and it's unfortunate that this armchair speculation has taken the lead so quickly.
All officers must report how safe the chase is (cars on the road, weather conditions, pedestrians) and lying is a criminal offence. Also, officers who are part of a chase must be pursuit trained.
Here's the de facto manual all pursuit trained officers must be accustomed too:
http://www.acpo.police.uk/documents/uniformed/2011/20110418%...
Example of a pursuit in the UK and notice the shock tactics at the end (smashing the passenger side window, dragging him from the car, etc) this is the to confuse and disorientate the man and makes sure he doesn't have time to get a weapon or destroy evidence.
This could be the result of a driver coming to one's senses, an erratic move resulting in a single car accident, or it could be the result of a police blockade with spikes or a PIT maneuver. The last is an example of one technique police departments employ to end police chases more safely.
What's the logical strategy in a police chase? Just keep driving after each other? It risks the lives of hundreds living and walking in the path of the chase all for the sake of punishing 1 or 2 individuals. It just doesn't seem to add up to me.
What a shame we lost someone so brilliant for nothing.