LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police Department leaders and Metro Council President David James agree: the department's new chase policy, which allows officers to chase cars that are stolen, seems to be working.
"I thought it was a great idea," said James. "You know, we have to balance the safety of the community versus the crimes that are taking place."
LMPD adopted the policy in the summer after fatal drive-by shootings from stolen cars.
James said LMPD's previous policy was getting in the way of catching the shooters.
"LMPD's one of the most restrictive, as far as policies go, on their officers. And as far as the policies related to chasing, it's one of the most restrictive in the country," said James.
Metro Council President David James
The new chase policy was set to expire at the start of 2020, but now, Chief Steve Conrad is extending it through at least June because of preliminary results.
While the number of chases has gone up 42%, LMPD said the numbers of monthly homicides and stolen vehicles have trended downward since the new policy was adopted, and there's only been one fatal drive-by shooting since then.
"I do believe that other crimes are being stopped, and if we did not have the policy in place to allow the officers to chase, I would hate to see what the homicide rate would be without that," said James.
However, James believes the homicide count is still too high and he hopes LMPD will strengthen other policies in 2020. He'd like to see a stronger focus on gangs, an increase of undercover operations and more intelligence-led policing.
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