New York City police officers will no longer engage in high-speed chases of drivers who break traffic laws or commit other low-level offenses, the Police Department said, in an effort to stop the crashes that have led to serious injuries and deaths in America’s most densely populated major city.

A new policy will prohibit officers from chasing vehicles at their discretion, unless the drivers have committed the “most serious and violent crimes,” meaning felonies or violent misdemeanors, according to a statement released by the police on Wednesday.

“Our officers deserve clear guidance and smart protocols when determining whether to engage in a vehicle pursuit on our streets,” Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in the statement. “The N.Y.P.D.’s enforcement efforts must never put the public or the police at undue risk, and pursuits for violations and low-level crimes can be both potentially dangerous and unnecessary.”

The policy comes as New York’s streets are contested as never before, with drivers competing not only with one another, but with pedestrians and riders of electric scooters and bicycles. Congestion pricing has officers looking for drivers who have altered their license plates to avoid toll readers. And legalized marijuana has created a morass as the police must contend not only with drivers who are high, but with how and when to apprehend them.

The chase policy, which will go into effect on Feb. 1, followed an analysis of the current practice, which allows officers to chase drivers who flee after vehicle stops.

Last year, the police engaged in 2,278 vehicle pursuits, according to department figures. A quarter led to a collision, property damage or physical harm, the police said. Sixty-seven percent of the chases occurred after an officer pursued a driver who fled a car stop. Many of those chases would not have been allowed under the new policy, the police said.