The Idiot Factor
Law enforcement imitates art - or at least, TV:
Q: Are car chases more common in Los Angeles than anywhere else in the nation? If so, why?
A: Someone drives away from the cops in Los Angeles County about fifteen times a day—much more often than anywhere else in the country. There are several reasons for the prevalence of “pursuits.” First, L.A. has a strong car culture. Its residents spend so much time in their cars that they’re like second homes, and nobody likes to be told what to do in his own home. Second, the county has some twenty-two thousand miles of highways and streets, and this gives a suspect the illusion of endless escape routes. Third, local police forces have been much quicker to initiate pursuits than many municipal forces. (In Baltimore, for instance, pursuits have been banned for decades.) And then there is Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca’s theory: “We have more idiots here than anywhere else.”
Q: Are car chases more common in Los Angeles than anywhere else in the nation? If so, why?
A: Someone drives away from the cops in Los Angeles County about fifteen times a day—much more often than anywhere else in the country. There are several reasons for the prevalence of “pursuits.” First, L.A. has a strong car culture. Its residents spend so much time in their cars that they’re like second homes, and nobody likes to be told what to do in his own home. Second, the county has some twenty-two thousand miles of highways and streets, and this gives a suspect the illusion of endless escape routes. Third, local police forces have been much quicker to initiate pursuits than many municipal forces. (In Baltimore, for instance, pursuits have been banned for decades.) And then there is Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca’s theory: “We have more idiots here than anywhere else.”
posted by Germanicu$ at 1:11 PM
2 Comments:
Then there's the theory that the no holds barred helicopter TV news coverage of every goddamned car chase is an incentive for young hoodlums to get their 15 minutes of fame.
Is an idiot driving like a maniac away from police national news? In the words of Asian Reporter Trisha Takanawa, the police say no but our producers say yes.
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