Police ‘pursuit’ exercise on M9
Drivers on the motorway near Dunblane had some added excitement during their journey last week.
They were witness to an exercise aimed at teaching officers the proper procedure to follow during vehicle pursuits.
It involved officers from the road policing division of the Scottish Police College, at Tulliallan Castle, and they conducted the exercise on northbound carriageway of the M9, near to the Keir roundabout, on Thursday.
During the‘pursuit management course’, officers were shown how to contain and confine a target vehicle.
Police aim to prepare for a pursuit before it happens then take control of the situation before bringing it to a conclusion quickly and safely.
Control room staff assemble pursuitappropriate vehicles and drivers when a chase is anticipated by a officers tailing a suspicious car.
Officers tailing the vehicle feedback to the control information about location, traffic, weather, surface conditions, subject’s manner of driving and speed.
Police drivers attempt to ‘encourage’the subject towards quiet, narrow single-carriageways that allow easier containment, or motorways, where one direction of traffic and ample manoeuvring space aid safety and control.
Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Tory councillor Alastair Majury, who witnessed the exercise, said:“Police drivers need to be able to pursue suspects and respond quickly to emergency calls as part of their duty, but it’s not without risk. This includes risks not only for the police and the driver of any pursued vehicle, but for passengers, bystanders and other road users.
“Pursued drivers bear responsibility for their own actions, but police officers should also consider the risks to the public and only undertake a pursuit where it is safe to do so, and where authorised. The pursuit management course training part of which was witnessed helps ensure that officers make the right decision when weighing up these risks.”