Police chases. How should officers behave? What should change?

Do not overtake, shoot only in certain situations and do everything so that nothing happens to anyone. If you can't do it otherwise, wait for your colleagues to come with rescue. And report, even if you have to rush the motorcycle, directing one hand – including Such duties fall on a policeman who begins chasing the criminal. Recently, a recording of spectacular pursuit through a crowded city was shown by the Krakow police. Should it look like this?

Around ul. Pachońskiego, on the northernmost, peripheral housing estate of Prądnik Biały. There, one of the most spectacular police chases of recent years began. Both the fugitive and the policeman rode on motorcycles. On an ordinary street, on a multi -lane, on a bus terminus and on the pavements of the estate from the times of the Polish People's Republic. Then narrow, more and more downtown streets, a dangerous ride under the railway viaduct and the most famous Krakow's communication artery – Alejeami Trzech Wieszczów. It ended at the Home Army, near the Student Town of AGH. Everything took less than eight minutes. For those who know Krakow, it is unimaginable. In the conditions of normal traffic during the day it is a road for a good 25-30 minutes.

The movie from the chase around Krakow streets raises a lot of emotions – on the one hand, watching over a seven -minute recording, it is difficult not to admire the peace and great skills of an officer on a police motorcycle, which efficiently waves between cars, rushing through the center of the metropolis. At the same time, it is difficult to escape the thought that there has almost been a tragedy many times – the film shows, among others, how the fugitive and the policeman chasing him pass at high speed of confused pedestrians on the pavement. The viewer may feel anxious when a policeman runs a motorcycle with one hand, passing cars at high speed on a narrow housing street. Was there no other option?

Well, the younger aspirant Kamil Styrna had to do it because the regulations order a policeman chasing the criminal to maintain continuous communication with the duty officer who was to coordinate the action. To speak, he had to press the button at the helmet with his left hand.

– In the coming weeks, motorcycles that are used by policemen will have modules that allow a conversation with the duty officer without having to take his hands from the steering wheel – assures Commissioner Piotr Szpiech from the Krakow City Headquarters. He points out that the changes in the equipment have nothing to do with chase and the need to replace the equipment has been noticed much earlier.

Driving without a handle

The need to drive with one hand at the helmet must have been very uncomfortable, especially at the beginning of the pursuit, which we do not see on the available recording. The policeman had to – which is clearly defined by the regulations, primarily the ordinance of the Police Commander -in -Chief of June 21, 2018 regarding the organization and conduct of pursuit by the police – to provide the duty officer with a fairly extensive information package. Must:

– inform that he is starting a pursuit and say about the circumstances (in this case it was a non -keeping control)

– provide more detailed information as possible about the escaping (i.e. what motorcycle is pursuing, how the escape is dressed, etc.)

– convey in which direction the prosecuted moves and inform on to which the page is going on an ongoing basis

The policeman had to do all this, trying to maintain eye contact behind the prosecuted. That is, rushing in a crowded city at dizzying speed.

– Safety should always be a priority for a policeman – both himself and all other people on the pursuit route. Therefore, an officer should act efficiently and as little as possible. The combination of these two aspects is a great art, I am glad that a policeman from Krakow did his job so well – says Commissioner Robert Opas from the KGP Road Office.

On the edge

We reviewed legal acts that specify how a policeman is to behave during the pursuit. And as we read in “Tactics of the implementation of police chases”, a textbook prepared by the Police Training Center, an officer chasing the criminal is to consider two potentially very risky scenarios.

First of all, he must “consider the use of a service vehicle as a means of direct coercion to stop the prosecuted vehicle.” So simply decide whether he tries to get the way to get the way to prevent escape.

Secondly, a policeman or policewoman is to analyze the legitimacy of using official weapons. This aspect, however, only applies to a certain pool of prosecuted for the most serious crimes. Among other things, these are the likely perpetrators of human trafficking, killers and criminals responsible for causing other serious damage to other health.

– These options apply to policemen conducting chasing with a police car. In the case of motorcyclists, for obvious reasons, this is not taken into account – adds nadkom. Robert Opas.

So what becomes an officer on a motorcycle? He has, as we read in police studies, “continue the pursuit, not attempting to overtake and block the motorcycle until he is in a situation where further escape is not possible.”

Read also: He ran away with pavements, hit police cars. The police used weapons

And so the most dangerous part of the pursuit of Krakow streets ended. In the seventh minute of the film, you can see that the policeman drives to a few centimeters, removed his left hand from the steering wheel. On the recording you can not see whether he touches the escaping or not. It is known that everything happens at a speed of over 140 km/h. Soon after, the policeman commutes to the BMW standing on the road. The prosecuted criminal ineptly tries to pass the car on the left and hits him. Then the pedestrian pursuit begins, which a moment later ends in success.

Without numbers

What would happen if the escaping 21-year-old did not make a mistake? Then a lot would depend on other officers.

– A policeman conducting a pursuit is to inform the duty officer about his course so that the duty officer can organize effective help in stopping the prosecuted – says Robert Opas.

In the attachment to the ordinance of the Police Commander -in -Chief on organizing and conducting chases, we find diagrams of what police blockades on the road are to look like. Police cars are to be set up so that they cannot be easily rammed or bypassed.

In the same attachment you can find schemes presenting the way the spiket is used – a metal strip that pierces the vehicle's tires.

– It should be remembered that the use of a spiky for a motorcyclist may end up in his fall. This, in turn, is a danger to his health and life. This shows how many critical decisions policemen have to make in a very short time – adds Robert Opas.

The Polish Road Traffic Department Police does not run statistics, as often officers follow someone in pursuit. There is also no data on the effectiveness of such activities. However, you don't have to look for a long time to find information about many such situations. Some end tragically – just like the one from last year in Wejherowo. Personal Audi did not stop for road control, the police followed him.

Then it turned out that there was a 16-year-old boy behind the wheel, who was driving a year older. They both died after Audi It slipped and crashed on the roadside tree

– Every pursuit is a life -threatening situation, you have to say it clearly. While we do not have such data in Poland, foreign data leave no illusions in this respect. Only in England In 2022, 24 people were killed as a result of police chases. These data do not distinguish between escaping from bystanders – says Rashel Talukder, director of the Polish PPBW Platform (PPBW), Non Profit, which deals with increasing the level of security in the country.

There should be less chases

Talukder adds that in September 2024 the Police Headquarters joined the international consortium, which aims to develop safer procedures, thanks to which the chases are to be less, and these are to be carried out safer.

– The pursuit is dangerous, but limiting their number cannot affect the fact that criminals will feel unpunished. That is why different ways are analyzed. Instead of a bravada pursuit of the streets, you can use the targeting of perpetrators to a greater extent using urban monitoring. In some countries, trackers are also used, i.e. devices fired by the police towards the escaping vehicle, which then allows you to observe the fugitive with GPS – says Rashel Talukder.

The use of drones on a large scale and using less invasive spikes is also to be a breakthrough.

– Currently, breaking the wheels in the escaping vehicle is associated with a great threat to him and the whole environment. The new spikes make the air off the wheels slower, thanks to which the detention process is less dynamic – adds tvn24.pl interlocutor.

In the United States, nets are also used, which are fired from the front bumper of the police car, which entwine the rear wheel of the fugitive and quickly finish the chase. This is what it looks like in practice:

– European Union launched the Intercept project. This initiative aims to start the process of pre -commission orders with the participation of technology companies that could create a scalable and effective solution to remotely stop vehicles. In this way, threats related to police pursuits will be limited – says Rashel Talukder.

In the future, it may be that the police will not have to chase, it is enough for him to stop the indicated vehicle remotely.

– Such solutions can also be priceless for vehicles going against the current by fast roads. Of course, they are also associated with the threat of user privacy, which is why it is necessary to immediately develop issues related to ethical and legal framework in which the police and other services could use such solutions – ends the interlocutor tvn24.pl.