Emergency Vehicle Operations: Emergency Calls and Pursuit Driving

by Tom Barker

In this book, Tom Barker clearly and thoroughly defines law enforcement emergency vehicle operations and provides invaluable insight and essential reading for all officers. A former police officer and certified police academy instructor, Barker's basis for this latest work is the belief that "few law enforcement tasks involve more danger - to officers and third parties - and the likelihood of civil liability than the emergency vehicle operations. Answering emergency calls and engaging in pursuit requires that the officer be adequately trained, properly supervised, and directed (and restricted) by policies, procedures, and rules. The days of unrestricted emergency vehicle operations, especially high-speed pursuits, by law enforcement officers, are over. The cost benefit analysis for every pursuit is reached by answering three questions that guide every pursuit: when to pursue, what to do during a pursuit, and when to abandon a pursuit. Ultimately, the need for a pursuit and the continuation of a pursuit once it has begun rests with the termination equation - justification for the pursuit balanced against the need for immediate apprehension and the risks involved."

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998