Do police in the UK really have powers to commandeer your vehicle, just like you see in the movies and on TV?
Not according to our exclusive Select Car Leasing research, which says that while forces can seize and impound cars and vans, there’s nothing in the statute books to say they can borrow one to chase a suspect!
It’s a scene played out countless times on the big and small screen; an officer in need flags down a member of the public before making use of a privately-owned car to snare a criminal.
One of the most famous examples came in classic 1971 flick The French Connection, in which Detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle (played by Gene Hackman) commandeers a car from a member of public in order to chase down a hitman.
We quizzed motoring solicitors and issued a Freedom of Information request to the Crown Prosecution (CPS) in an attempt to sort fact from fiction.
Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing, says it’s a common law offence - one based on court decisions and case law rather than legislation - to ‘refuse to assist a constable’ in their hour of need.
But it’s prosecuted extremely rarely - and shouldn’t extend to commandeering cars.
Dominic Smith, Director at leading motoring solicitors firm Patterson Law, said: “There is no legislation that allows the police to commandeer a vehicle. A vehicle is privately owned and there is no law which allows the police to seize a private vehicle and use it to chase a suspect. Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 gives the police power to stop any vehicle being driven on a public road, but that doesn’t extend to commandeering it. Likewise, section 165A gives the police the power to seize a vehicle driven without a licence or insurance, but that only allows them to seize and impound, not commandeer it for police purposes.”
Speaking about the common law offence of ‘refusing to assist a constable’ - which could potentially attract a prison sentence - Mr Smith added: “The police do have the power to stop a vehicle and request assistance from a member of the public, but that’s extremely rare and not something that I can ever remember coming across in my career.
“If the police did stop and request assistance from a member of the public and they refused, theoretically they could be prosecuted for an offence of obstructing a PC in the course of their duty. But if I was a member of the public I would feel very aggrieved and as a defence lawyer I would certainly defend that charge.”
An FOI to the CPS from Select Car Leasing confirmed that there had been no recorded offences of ‘refusing to assist a constable’ since 2011 - the point where data about that specific offence can be easily retrieved.
Mr Conway, however, points out that there HAVE been recent cases where police appear to have commandeered vehicles.
In May 2023, Channel 5 TV show Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's Speeders appeared to show an officer hitching a ride in a farmer’s tractor to chase a suspect in rural Cheshire.
In 2019 there were reports that officers in Lancashire ‘commandeered a JCB’.
And in December last year Northamptonshire Police described how an officer had commandeered a bicycle from a member of the public in order to hunt down a suspected drug dealer.
Legal expert Dominic Smith adds: “My guess is that some police officers may choose, in the heat of the moment, to ‘commandeer’ a vehicle without actually having the power to do so – but it’s just never been brought to light as no complaint was made. I can imagine that happening.”
Despite what you see in Hollywood flicks, it’s a similar story in America.
There’s no overarching federal law allowing the police to commandeer vehicles - but it might happen in certain states under emergency powers.
Select Car Leasing’s Mr Conway reveals: “In 2019, California repealed a law dating from way back in 1872 that required members of the public to help police when asked - and which included provision for commandeering cars.
“Now Californians - who might even live in Hollywood - can refuse a police officer’s request to help with an arrest, in what’s a major shift.”
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