How to Fill Out and Submit the California CHP 187 Pursuit Report

The California CHP 187A pursuit report is the standardized form every state and local law enforcement agency uses to report vehicle pursuit data to the California Highway Patrol, and it must reach CHP within 30 days of the incident.¹ The form has two parts: Section I, which every involved agency completes, and Section II, which only the agency that ended the pursuit fills out.²

Who Has to File and by When

Vehicle Code Section 14602.1 names city police departments and county sheriff’s offices, but the requirement reaches any California agency employing peace officers who initiate or participate in a pursuit.¹ When more than one agency is in the chase, each agency files its own 187A covering its portion of the event.

The clock is 30 days from the date of the pursuit.² Late reports create gaps in the annual statewide data CHP is required to compile for the Legislature, so the deadline is treated as firm.

Completing Section I

Section I applies to every agency involved, whether or not that agency concluded the chase. It runs 22 numbered fields.²

Agency and Incident Identification (Fields 1–9)

Fields 1–2: your agency’s NCIC code and name.
Fields 3–4: date and time the pursuit was initiated.
Fields 5–7: the pursued vehicle’s license plate, state of registration, and VIN.
Fields 8–9: the time your agency joined the pursuit and the category that best describes the suspect’s vehicle.

Your Agency’s Involvement (Fields 10–15)

Field 10: total time your agency held the primary position, in minutes.
Field 11: total distance traveled in the primary position, in miles.
Field 12: the county where your agency’s involvement began.
Field 13: the agency that originally initiated the pursuit, which may not be yours if you joined mid-chase.
Fields 14–15: whether your agency turned the pursuit over to another agency, and whether your agency concluded it.

Operational Details (Fields 16–22)

Field 16: ID numbers of all your agency’s officers involved.
Field 17: the highest number of your agency’s units engaged at any one time.
Field 18: weather conditions.
Field 19: maximum speeds attained, reported separately for freeway and surface streets.
Field 20: forcible stop methods attempted and the number of attempts for each.
Field 21: collisions in your area, categorized as fatal, injury, or property damage only.
Field 22: the original violation the initiating agency observed — a traffic infraction, a suspected felony, a stolen vehicle, or similar grounds.

Completing Section II (Only If Your Agency Ended the Pursuit)

Section II is filled out only by the agency that brought the pursuit to a conclusion, including cases where the agency aborted the chase. If you handed the pursuit off, skip Section II entirely.²

Injuries (Fields 23–24)

Field 23 covers injuries caused by collisions during the pursuit. Field 24 covers injuries that occurred after the pursuit ended, such as during the arrest or from a suspect’s self-inflicted harm. In both fields, identify each injured party as a police officer, the suspect driver, a suspect passenger, or an uninvolved third party, and classify the injury as fatal, severe, other visible injury, or complaint of pain.³ The statute requires the form to differentiate between those categories.¹

Resolution and Suspect Data (Fields 25–30)

Field 25: whether the suspect was apprehended and what ended the pursuit — voluntary stop, collision, tire deflation, PIT maneuver, suspect abandoned the vehicle, or agency termination.
Field 26: all violations the suspect was charged with after the pursuit. Felony evading under Vehicle Code Section 2800.2 is a common entry here.⁴
Fields 27–30: the suspect’s date of birth, gender, whether they were driving under the influence, and ethnicity.

Getting Field 20 Right

Field 20 warrants extra care because the data feeds statewide analysis of which stop techniques work and which add risk. Common entries include tire deflation devices, the Pursuit Intervention Technique, and roadblocks. Record the method and the number of attempts as they actually happened.

Some departments deploy GPS tracking darts as an alternative to sustained high-speed pursuit. If your agency used this technology, note it in Field 20 and document how the incident transitioned from active following to remote tracking.

Submitting the Completed Form

CHP accepts the 187A by mail, email, or fax. There is no external online portal for allied agencies. The web-based Pursuit Reporting System is CHP’s internal database, not a submission tool for outside departments.⁵ Send completed forms to:

California Highway Patrol
Support Services Section, Data Analysis Unit
P.O. Box 942898
Sacramento, CA 94298-001
Fax: (916) 843-4228²

The statute authorizes electronic forms, so email to CHP’s Data Analysis Unit is also acceptable.¹ Whatever method you use, keep a copy for your agency’s files. Have a supervisor review and certify the form before it goes out. Incomplete or inconsistent entries come back for correction and eat into the 30-day window.

What CHP Does with the Report

CHP’s Data Analysis Unit reviews incoming reports for completeness and loads the data into the Pursuit Reporting System, a web-based front end tied to a database that lets CHP analyze pursuit data statewide.⁵

Vehicle Code Section 14602.1(e) requires CHP to compile the data into an annual report to the Legislature. That report must include the total number of pursuits reported statewide, the number that resulted in collisions injuring or killing uninvolved third parties, and the total number of uninvolved third parties injured or killed.¹ Each 187A your agency files becomes part of that statewide picture.

The Separate Written Policy Requirement

Filing the 187A is not the same obligation as maintaining a written pursuit policy. Vehicle Code Section 17004.7 requires agencies to adopt and regularly train officers on a written pursuit policy to receive civil immunity for damages caused during a pursuit. The policy must address when officers may initiate and continue a chase, and every peace officer must certify in writing that they have received, read, and understand it.⁶

The written policy is not a prerequisite to filing the 187A. The reporting obligation under Section 14602.1 applies to every agency regardless. But an agency that reports pursuits without maintaining a compliant written policy loses the immunity shield Section 17004.7 provides. Most agencies treat the policy and the reporting as a single compliance package.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 14602.1 – Reporting of Motor Vehicle Pursuit Data
2
California Highway Patrol. Allied Agency Pursuit Report
3
Department of California Highway Patrol. CHP 187A Allied Agency Vehicle Pursuit Report
4
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 2800.2
5
California Highway Patrol. 2024 Senate Bill 719 Police Pursuits Report
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 17004.7