HC Deb 20 May 1999 vol 331 cc443-4W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are currently in place which are intended to reduce the need for high-speed vehicle chases involving the police and car thieves; and if he will make a statement. [R] [84553]

Mr. Boateng

This is an operational matter for the Police Service. There is a nationally agreed Association of Chief Police Officer's (ACPO) Pursuit Code of Practice and work is going forward to implement recommendations from the recent ACPO report on police pursuit driver training. It is already policy to consider continuously the consequences of a pursuit and whether to break it off. Operational measures to avoid pursuits or curtail them include the use of helicopters, the early deployment of tyre deflation devices across the carriageway and tactical containment in which a number of police vehicles box in the target vehicle and bring it safely to a halt.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will encourage chief constables to install black box recorders in police vehicles. [84626]

Mr. Boateng

This is an operational matter and it is for chief officers of police to decide whether to fit recording equipment. I understand that the Metropolitan Police Service has decided to fit such a device in many vehicles as a management tool to promote their economical and proper use. If any of these were to be involved in an accident, the equipment would be able to provide independent evidence of the vehicle's speed. I am sure that other forces will be taking a close interest in the Metropolitan Police approach.