Taketo Tabata
Miyagi University of Education, Educational Psychology, Faculty Member
The purpose of this article was to explore the police officers' experiences during police vehicle pursuits. Interviews of 3 US police officers were conducted and the descriptive phenomenological psychological method was used to analyze... more
The purpose of this article was to explore the police officers' experiences during police vehicle pursuits. Interviews of 3 US police officers were conducted and the descriptive phenomenological psychological method was used to analyze their naive (unanalyzed) accounts of their lived-experiences. The psychological constituents of the experience of leading a successful chase and capture of a fleeing criminal found are: (1) Alert to Possible Car Chase, (2) Suspect Identified, (3) Anxiety and Excitement About the Chase, (4) Awareness of Primary Chase Role, (5) Radio Coordination with Others to Take Actions to Stop the Suspect, (6) Ongoing Evaluation of Chase Situation and Persistence, (7) Reading the Suspect's Driving Behaviors, (8) Car Chase Transition to a Coordinated Physical Capture, and (9) Making Sense of the Experience through Inquiry. The differences and similarities in Japanese and American police that might influence the research finding's relevance to japan were brought to light. Insights garnered from this study may be useful to police, policy makers, trainers and others interested in emergency and crisis decision-making.
