Emergency Driving Including Vehicular Pursuits by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Personnel Directive

The current directive titled Emergency Driving Including Vehicular Pursuits by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Personnel Directive is effective until May 2023.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has updated the directive on Emergency Driving and Vehicular Pursuits after an extensive review of the agency’s pursuits, which will go into effect after a several month training and implementation period. To inform this update, CBP reviewed more than two dozen vehicle pursuit policies from various enforcement agencies across the country, as well as model policies created by states.

Vehicle pursuits do inherently pose risk – to members of the public, officers, and agents, and those in a vehicle being pursued who may not be willing participants. The updated policy acknowledges these risks and emphasizes a risk-based approach when it comes to pursuits. The policy clarifies the “reasonableness” standard that is familiar to most in law enforcement as they attempt any detention or seizure. Although vehicle pursuits do not always result in uses of force, the risk involved can be considerable. This policy requires a similar factor analysis that agents and officers are already familiar with in CBP’s Use of Force Policy