Curious Kids: is it more dangerous for police to pursue a suspect than to call off the pursuit?

Is it more dangerous for police to pursue a suspect than to call off the pursuit? – Hugo, age 12, Melbourne.

There is no simple answer to your question. Police officers do a difficult job – every day they are faced with dangerous situations. One of the most difficult situations a police officer can face is being involved in a pursuit.

I was a police officer in Queensland for 28 years and spent some years in the traffic branch as a motorcyclist, before I later became a detective. When I was in the traffic branch, I was involved in many pursuits. I also had to do accident investigation duties where I had to investigate serious and even fatal accidents.