Date: December 21, 2006
Event: Signing of the multi-agency, dual-county pursuit policy
Location: Ada County Sheriff’s Office
Annex Training Room
7200 Barrister Drive, Boise
Contact: Andrea Dearden 577-3311
Sheriff Gary Raney, today, joined representatives from every Treasure Valley law enforcement agency to sign a unified pursuit policy. This policy has been more than five years in the making and is the first to be universally adopted by all agencies in Ada and Canyon Counties.
The arrest of a suspected criminal is the reason a vehicle pursuit begins, but the primary goal is always the safety of the public, the suspect and officers. It is not uncommon to have a pursuit involving multiple agencies, as a fleeing driver may move from Caldwell into Canyon County into Ada County and into downtown Boise. Different agencies operating under different policies and procedures can cause confusion, lengthen the pursuit and put both the public and officers in danger.
This new multi-agency pursuit agreement is the solution. “This agreement lays out the fundamentals of who is going to control the pursuit, who has the authority to terminate, who is going to take charge, and how command of a pursuit will be transferred,” said Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney.
In addition to defining who will control a pursuit, the agreement also standardizes the language used by officers during a pursuit and the coordination of radio traffic to allow for uninterrupted communication by everyone involved. This enables supervisors to make informed decisions on when to continue or terminate a pursuit.
Enhanced coordination and communication between agencies will increase the ability to bring pursuits to a quick and safe end.
