Police must give high priority to hit-and-run crashes

Unfortunately in many police agencies, hit-and-run cases are not given a high priority. Reasons run the gamut from lack of resources to lack of personnel and leadership in prioritizing hit-and-run crashes. In truth, while many reasons exist, there are no justifications.

What are hit-and-runs and is there more than one type? Hit-and-runs generally fall into two basic categories: hit-and-run personal injury and hit-and-run property damage, where no injuries occur. Personal injury hit-and-runs involve an offender striking another vehicle, causing injury to its occupants, or an offender striking a pedestrian. Property damage hit-and-runs involve an offender striking another vehicle on a roadway, parked on the street or in a parking lot.

Hit-and-run crashes involving personal injuries or fatalities get far more attention from police agencies than those that do not involve injuries. As a rule, police agencies will assign detectives to investigate and follow up on all hit-and-run fatalities, using all the available resources. Property damage hit-and-runs do not receive the same treatment.

Recently, NBC 5 Chicago ran a series on the hit-and-run problem plaguing the Chicago area. It was reported that there were more than 37,000 hit-and-runs in Chicago, resulting in only 306 arrests. Chicago is not alone in seeing these kinds of numbers. Nationwide, due to an overwhelming lack of evidence and personnel to investigate and follow up, only about 10% of hit-and-run cases are solved. This reality notwithstanding, if you are involved in a hit-and-run, the car is drivable and no one is injured, the best course of action is to move the car out of the traffic lane to a safe location and wait for police to arrive.

One positive tool that has emerged recently is license plate enabled camera systems. Placed at intersections, entrances to malls and other locations throughout communities, these cameras undoubtedly have assisted law enforcement in solving numerous crimes, including hit-and-runs. When I was police chief in Riverside, the first crime we solved after the village installed street cameras along Harlem Avenue was a hit-and-run in which the victim was seriously injured. Within 12 hours, we had the car involved and the offender was arrested within 24 hours.

Hit-and-run cases are very frustrating for police agencies and police officers. Despite a desire to solve these crimes and either ticket or arrest the offender, several factors impede their ability to do so. Typically, hit-and-run offenders will flee. Information gathered during investigations has revealed that commonly the driver is intoxicated, has a suspended or revoked driver’s license, is wanted on an outstanding warrant or lacks vehicle insurance.

Furthermore, most hit-and-run offenders are not from the same community where the hit-and-run occurs. Patrol officers must answer routine, everyday calls and typically cannot leave their jurisdiction to follow up on hit-and-runs. Usually, the case is only pursued if a detective is assigned and many departments do not have the personnel to devote to these types of investigations.

There’s no question that a manpower shortage exists, often cited as the No. 1 reason more hit-and-run crashes are not solved. I believe that the chief of police plays a critical role in setting the priority given to hit–and–run investigations and follow-ups. For there to be an uptick in the solving of hit-and-runs, it is vitally important that the chief clearly communicates to department personnel that hit-and-runs deserve proper attention and allocation of resources.

However unintentional, if the residents being served see a lack of commitment to addressing this type of essential investigation, might not the public’s confidence in the quality of other criminal investigations be similarly eroded? Conveyance of such a message is a genuine concern and does not reflect the quality of service police departments strive to provide.

As a final note of interest is the reference in this column to hit-and-runs as crashes rather than as accidents. According to Illinois state law, fault in crashes must be assigned. There are no “accidents.” Upon investigation, responding police officers must determine who is responsible for the crash.

As changes are made in addressing and handling hit-and-run crashes, I hope that the frequency and effectiveness of solving these crimes will improve, benefiting the public and police departments alike.

• Tom Weitzel was chief of the Riverside Police Department. Follow him @chiefweitzel.