The Ohio Attorney General’s Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuits issued its recommendations in a
16-page report released on Nov. 3.
The report includes points to consider when initiating, continuing, and discontinuing vehicle pursuits to best ensure the safety of law enforcement and the public.
Since 2003, law enforcement agencies have been required to have a pursuit policy, but the policy details are left up to the individual departments.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine appointed the 13-member group — which included representatives from law enforcement, local government, and the public — to examine various law enforcement pursuit policies and to identify best practices to be used by agencies throughout Ohio.
At the end of the report, the group recommended that some portion of future Continuing Professional Training (CPT) for peace officers and troopers be devoted to vehicle pursuit best practices and safe driving techniques.
In addition, group members recommended that a state database be created to collect voluntary submissions of vehicle pursuit information, which could be analyzed to further develop related best practices.