§ Dr. PughTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are being taken to reduce the number of collisions involving police vehicles which lead to injury and death. [75333]
§ Mr. DenhamMeasures already in place include a new police driver training course, launched in December 2000, which introduced a universal standard for driving in England and Wales. An essential element of the course is that officers should recognise the need to give priority to public safety above all other considerations such as attending an incident or apprehending a suspect. Where pursuits are concerned, there is a nationally agreed ACPO Pursuit Code of Practice and it is already police policy to consider continuously the consequences636W of a pursuit and whether to break it off. In addition, all forces have adopted some or most of the recommendations from the 1998 Lind Report on Police Pursuit Driver Training.