The police have not yet caught Ms. Traub’s carjacker, as is often the case. She blames D.C.’s “no chase” policy for police. The District had effectively banned police chases earlier this year, as part of a national trend in recent years to prevent often fatal pursuit-related crashes. But D.C’s ban went too far. As violent crime in the city surged, the D.C. Council passed emergency legislation this summer to adopt a slightly more permissive standard for police pursuits. The new policy, which was in place the night Ms. Traub was carjacked, permits police to chase when there is an “imminent threat” to others, there is a low likelihood of anyone else getting hurt and police can apprehend quickly. Yet if this policy rules out pursuing the perpetrator in Ms. Traub’s case (either by car or by helicopter), it and those like it in other cities are still too restrictive. …
No single tool will prevent all carjackings, but the number of victims will keep rising if police can’t pursue criminals when the risk of doing so would be low.
[Not mentioned once in this article: defunding the police. Chase policies may be one problem and community safety guidelines may hamper resolution of carjackings, but the defund movement sapped police departments of the resources necessary to go on all-out pursuits of such perps. And the perps know it, too. They are operating with impunity because of dipsticks that pushed police-dismantling policies, as well as the cashless bail and progressive prosecutorial surrenders for ‘social justice’ that keeps criminals on the streets to reoffend over and over again. It’s fine and dandy for the WaPo editors to call for more robust policing and to credit Mayor Muriel Bowser for offering less restrictive policies on chases, but that’s too little too late. — Ed]
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