The first consideration during any pursuit is to determine the ______ for the chase.

• A. Urgency
• B. Legality
• C. Risk
• D. Necessity

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that you must determine necessity before anything else. Necessity means there must be a legitimate, compelling reason to engage in a pursuit—typically to prevent the suspect from escaping a crime scene, continuing to commit offenses, or posing imminent danger to the public. Because pursuits create serious risk to bystanders, officers, and the suspect, the decision to chase hinges on whether continuing the pursuit is essential to achieve a lawful objective and to prevent greater harm. If there isn’t a clear, justified reason to pursue, the risks typically outweigh the benefits and the pursuit should not be continued. After establishing necessity, you then weigh other factors like urgency, safety risks, and legality, but the initial, overarching criterion is whether pursuit is truly necessary.