Police pursuits: How New Zealand compares to Australia

Tuesday, 13 March 2018

Police 'letting themselves down' on pursuits policy - Manning

ANALYSIS: Queensland has about 44,000 more people than New Zealand - yet it had 3197 fewer police pursuits in 2016.

New Zealand had 3323 pursuits that year, resulting in seven deaths, while Queensland had only 126 pursuits and no deaths.

Since 2009, no deaths have been officially attributed to pursuits in Queensland, whereas 22 deaths have been attributed to pursuits in New Zealand since 2014. Why is the difference so stark?

'All Australian policing jurisdictions have variations of a restrictive pursuit policy in place,' the Queensland Police Service said.

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Australian states lean towards more restrictive pursuit policies, in an effort to protect the general public and reduce police officers' exposure to risk.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT), for example, restricted pursuits in 2016 to incidents where there was a serious risk to public safety or in relation to a crime involving the injury or death of a person.

The other end of the scale is the United States, where chase policies are more liberal and estimates suggest one person dies every day as a result of a police pursuit.

New Zealand's chase problem is worsening, with 3797 police pursuits in 2017, increasing from fewer than 2500 in 2012. The number of deaths in pursuits has increased from two in 2014 to 10 (from nine events) in 2017.

The deaths of three people in a high-speed chase near Nelson at the weekend underscored an ongoing debate over the necessity of high-speed police pursuits in New Zealand.

Barrister Deborah Manning, who has advised families of people killed in police pursuits, told RNZ that New Zealand police was 'out of step' internationally on the subject of pursuits.

'In Victoria … if you compare New Zealand police pursuit rates, New Zealand has triple the amount of pursuits and triple the amount of deaths.'

In Queensland, Manning said police could only chase if there had been a murder or imminent risk to life.

'I think what needs to happen is there actually needs to be an immediate ban on pursuits, except for very serious crimes.'

She believed there was an 'entrenched cultural problem in the police that they want to chase', and suggested an independent inquiry should be held under the Inquiries Act.

KIWI POLICE ATTITUDES TO PURSUITS:

Police assistant commissioner for road policing Sandra Venables said fleeing drivers needed to take more responsibility.

'He or she has to take more responsibility and make better decisions. We would hope people would just realise it's better to stop and talk to the police officer,' she said.

'We [police] have to strike a balance between the responsibility to protect life and the duty to enforce the law, but it's really up to the driver in these pursuits.'

Police never took pursuits lightly, Venables said.

'It's one of those quick judgement calls police make every day to keep the public safe and uphold the law,' she said.

AUSTRALIAN POLICE ATTITUDES TO PURSUITS:

Queensland

Three people died in a two cars collision, on State Highway 6, between Hope and Brightwater, on Sunday morning.

The Queensland Police Service said statistics demonstrated a sharp reduction in the number of fatalities associated with pursuits in recent years.

'There have been no deaths officially attributed to police pursuits since 2009, compared with the period between 2006 and 2009 when there were 11 deaths which occurred during a police pursuit,' a spokesperson said.

Police pursuits were permitted where officers had reasonable belief that an occupant of the vehicle would: a) create an imminent threat to life, b) had or might commit an act of unlawful homicide or attempt to murder, c) had issued threats to kill and had the capacity to carry out the threat, or d) had committed an indictable offence prior to the attempt by police to intercept the vehicle.

Police pursuits in Queensland were governed by the Safe Driving (Pursuits) policy, which has been in place since 2011.

Victoria

Victoria's pursuit policy changed in July 2015, meaning police could pursue only when there was a threat to public safety or when a serious offence, such as murder, had been committed.

Previously police could pursue for any offence if they stuck to a strict risk assessment, which was also tightened under the new regulations.

But after a car was used to mow down pedestrians in Bourke St in Melbourne in January 2017, police said the wording of the policy gave rise to a culture of fear, and caused risk-averse decision-making among senior ranks.

Police believed they had several opportunities to intercept the car, but were directed not to, their union said.

Northern Territory

A Northern Territory Police spokeswoman said 189 pursuits were recorded in the state between January 2016-2017. 'This is an increase of 25 per cent from the previous year,' she said.

South Australia

A South Australia Police spokesperson said the thresholds and risk assessments outlined in its pursuit policy were some of the toughest in the country.

'Every police pursuit is registered with an independent incident controller. The controller can terminate the pursuit, as can the driver or other managers at any time.'

It would not consider adopting a 'no pursuit' policy, however, as that would 'simply encourage some offenders'.

Under the Criminal Law Consolidation (Dangerous Driving) Act, people convicted for driving recklessly by attempting to evade police or cause police to engage in a pursuit would face a loss of licence for two years and maximum imprisonment of five years.

New South Wales

A New South Wales (NSW) police spokesperson said a risk management strategy had to be implemented for each pursuit, in accordance with the NSW Police Force Safe Driver Policy.

Western Australia

A Western Australian Police Force spokeswoman said incidents requiring emergency driving were overseen by a senior officer and officers, who constantly conducted rapid risk assessments during chases and aborted when safety was at risk.