Being pulled over by police can give you a dreadful feeling, but Regina’s police chief said more people are actually speeding away instead.
The Regina Police Service (RPS) were involved in 20 vehicle pursuits in 2017.
That number has risen in recent years, but the number of people trying to evade officers is rising dramatically.
“Pursuit and catching doesn’t necessarily have to happen in one fluid motion,” RPS Chief Evan Bray said.
In 2017, 279 drivers tried to speed away.
Police believe the number of chases are tied to growing cases of vehicle thefts, but most times, they won’t try to keep up.
“The fact that I’m trying to stop you and you don’t stop doesn’t mean I can’t find you at some point, right?” Bray added. “I might know who you are, I might have your plate information, recognize your vehicle, there’s all kinds of things that factor in to an investigation,”
Of the 20 pursuits last year, police said two chases followed RPS policy, 17 of them deviated from policy with just cause, and one did not. Bray said that incident was because of a training issue, and the officer was coached on how to properly handle the situation.
“There are times where our officers won’t follow policy, but in the review we can say ‘yes, we understand what their thought process was and they walked us through it, and it was justified,” Bray explained.
He recalled a case where officers witnessed a person being assaulted inside a moving vehicle, and ended up pursuing the vehicle. The suspect was eventually apprehended, and the victim was given medical attention.
“The odd time we do have a case where we think ‘If we don’t stop this vehicle, someone is going to get hurt or something bad is going to happen.’ It’s a real balancing act.”
While Saskatoon is also reporting an increasing number of drivers trying to evade police, there are some inconsistencies in how cities across the province keep track.
Some jurisdictions lump the number of people trying to get away in with actual chases- prompting the provincial board of police commissioners to implement new reporting rules starting this year.
“I think it’s important that there be a uniform policy around the province,” Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said. “The Saskatchewan Police Commission has given out guidelines and refined them for agencies to follow and we’re doing that.”
So while more drivers are making a get-away, they’re not actually getting away with it.
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