Police chases in the Valley rose by 9 percent in 2007, when vehicle pursuits elsewhere in Pennsylvania fell by 9 percent, according to a report released by the state police.

Police officers were involved in 1,931 vehicle pursuits statewide last year, a decrease from the 2,115 reported pursuits in 2006, State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said.

In the Valley, though, pursuits in Northumberland, Snyder, Union and Montour counties rose from 14 in 2006 to 17 in 2007.

The biggest jump took place in Union County, with no reported chases in 2006 and six in 2007.

There were five each in Northumberland and Snyder counties in 2007, a decrease from seven and six chases, respectively.

Montour County reported state police were involved in one pursuit in 2006 and in 2007.

Thirteen people were killed in pursuit-related crashes in 2007, none in the Valley, an increase of one fatality from the previous year, Miller said.

None of the fatalities involved police or people uninvolved in the pursuits.

Of the 1,931 chases, nearly half were initiated as the result of traffic violations and 1,387 pursuits ended with the apprehension of the fleeing motorist.

About 650 of the pursuits resulted in crashes and 218 involved injuries.

Miller said state law requires every police department in Pennsylvania to have a written vehicle-response policy regarding vehicle pursuits.

By law, the policies are confidential.

Cpl. Christopher Bendl, the state police pursuit coordinator, said the annual report of police reports is meant to provide statistical information to agencies and does not try to explain increases or decreases in any category.

The report is available online at http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us.

n E-mail comments to mmoore@dailyitem.com