[WalterBright]

WA state passed a law that says a cop cannot chase a suspect unless they committed a violent crime. This resulted in a surge of crimes where the suspect driver just flips off the police and drive off. Common crimes resulting from this:

1. catalytic converter thefts

2. thieves steal a car, ram it into a store, loot the store, drive off in another stolen car

[TomSwirly]

And yet almost all the rest of the world has these rules, and we don't see crime waves.

To me, you're describing the incompetence of your police forces.

> thieves steal a car, ram it into a store,

This is really considered a non-violent crime in the US?

I live in a city where car chases would be impossible. And yet there are criminals here, and they have a higher apprehension rate than in the US.

If this crime happened here, they would use drones, helicopters and roadblocks. They get way ahead of the escaping criminal. The different police departments cooperate well here, so you can't just drive to another area.

Which is why, generally, criminals dump their car almost immediately and try to escape on foot.

[iinnPP]

It's most likely 3 different violent crimes according to FBI:

Definition. In the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force.

[notch898a]

Um if a person drives a car into an occupied structure with people is that not violent? If you drove into the police station the officers would say they feared for their lives and open fire.

[btilly]

Presumably they do it at night when nobody is around to be hurt. And hopefully nobody reports it to police in time.

[mikrotikker]

You should enter the Olympics for those mental gymnastics.

[WalterBright]

Yes, that's exactly what they do.

[duckmysick]

Catalytic converter thefts are up across the country. Does it mean all other states passed similar laws too?

Or maybe there are other reasons, like their high value and relative ease to steal.

[WalterBright]

Those thefts surged after the "no chase" law went into effect.

[duckmysick]

Catalytic converter thefts surged in recent years elsewhere in the United States and also in the United Kingdom and France. Those places didn't get a new "no chase" law. Either the state of Washington has an unusual reach or there's a different explanation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64057742

https://www.tf1info.fr/justice-faits-divers/video-vols-votre...

[nativeit]

Post hawk air go prompter hawk.

Thanks phonetical memory of television’s “The West Wing”!