Right: Many police pursuits result in death, injury or property damage - often all three. Many argue that police should not chase any but the most violent offenders.
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Arguments in favour of greater restrictions on high-speed police chases
1. Many high-speed police chases have ended in death or injury
There were 163 deaths on Australian roads between 1990 and 2008 either at the end of a police chase or shortly after a police chase. In the same period, 92 people were shot and killed by police. In 1991 the claim was made that the police vehicle is the most deadly weapon available to police. Critics claim that current statistics continue to support this claim.
Over the same 19-year period in Australia, police shot and killed 92 people. Drawing on this statistic, criminologist David Biles has commented, 'the police vehicle is the most dangerous weapon available to law enforcement'. It has also been noted that the average number of people killed per year in police chases has increased. It has risen from about six a year in 1990 to about ten a year in 2008.
Further, it has been argued, it is not only the community that is put at risk by high-speed pursuits; police lives are similarly endangered. A New South Wales police report in the early 1990s found high-speed chases were the greatest cause of police deaths.
Tasmania has been offered as a counter example. The state allows high speed police pursuits only in the event of serious crimes against people. In 2002-03, Tasmanian police gave chase seven times, compared with 2459 in New South Wales, and Tasmania has been free of serious injuries from police pursuits since the policy was introduced.
Studies in Australia, New Zealand and the United States have found that one third of police
pursuits end in a collision of one sort or another. It has been suggested that the type of person who typically flees the police makes a collision particularly likely.
The standard profile of an offender who flees a police direction to pull over is young male; driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol; with a history of failing to pull over when directed and an extensive criminal history. The Australian Federal Police Literature Review noted, 'Clearly, pursuits typically involve individuals who represent high risks on the road under every-day driving, let alone under the unpredictable conditions involved in a pursuit situation.'
2. A majority of motorists are pursued for minor offences
It has been claimed that in many instances police conduct high-speed pursuits when the fleeing motorist has committed only a minor offence. Critics of current police pursuit policies argue that it is not appropriate to risk the lives of innocent bystanders, the police, the fleeing motorist and his or her passengers to apprehend someone who has committed a relatively insignificant offence.
In an opinion piece published in The Canberra Times on October 26, 2011, David Biles, a Canberra-based consultant criminologist, stated, 'An examination of the criminal behaviour that sparked the chases resulting in the 163 deaths [over the last 19 years throughout Australia] found that most often it was relatively minor offences. For example, 74 cases related to theft, 65 arose from traffic infringements, while only nine cases were related to violent crime.
This analysis raises the question of whether or not it is sound policy to risk the lives of police, innocent bystanders or the offenders themselves, when the overwhelming majority of them were only minor offenders.'
David Giles went on to note, 'In Western Australia in 1990 ... over a six-month period a total of 346 police pursuits were examined and not one was found to be associated with serious offences such as murder, kidnap or armed robbery. Similarly, a 1993 study in New Zealand found that only 3 per cent of people involved in pursuits were charged with serious violent crime.'
A 2011 Greens' discussion paper calling for greater restrictions to be placed on police pursuit powers noted, 'A 2007 Australian Federal Police Internal Review reported that in the ACT, 70% of pursuits were for traffic related incidents, 19% were on the suspicion of the vehicle being stolen, 8% on the suspicion the car was used in a crime and 4% where the driver was known to police or there was an outstanding warrant.'
The same discussion paper further noted, 'A 2005 Queensland study looked at the way in which police suspicion of a serious crime sparks a pursuit and stated that "this apparent justification for engaging in pursuits is largely unsupported - an examination of the charges against the fleeing drivers showed that very few apprehended drivers were charged with crimes more serious than what was known at the time the pursuit was initiated.'
3. Cutting back on high-speed police chases will not lead to an increase in crime
It has been claimed that reducing the grounds on which police can conduct high-speed pursuits will not result in a dramatic increase in crime. A variety of studies appear to have demonstrated that limiting police pursuit powers does not lead to a higher incidence of crime.
A 2011 Greens' discussion paper calling for greater restrictions to be placed on police pursuit powers noted, 'Ten years ago Tasmania Police introduced a restrictive policy that only allowed pursuits for violent offences such as murder and kidnap. The policy specifically prevents police pursuing for stolen cars. The number of stolen cars in Tasmania has dropped from 4,000/year in the year 2000 to 1,300 in 2009. Advances in immobiliser technology are largely responsible for this decrease, but it is equally important that the crime rate did not increase dramatically following the policy change as some people anticipated.'
Tasmanian Assistant Commissioner Scott Tilyard has stated, 'One of the things that people will say is that if police can't pursue for a whole range of things, then crime will get out of control ...but in our experience that has certainly not been the case... In the last 10 years our crime categories have reduced significantly in Tasmania. For example, motor vehicle stealing, which used to be one of the main triggers for pursuits, has actually gone down. Back in 2000, nearly 4,000 cars were stolen each year in Tasmania; last year we had just 1,300 stolen.'
A literature review conducted by the Australian Federal Police in 2007 reported that "Studies show that jurisdictions which have tightened their pursuit policies have seen a decrease in the numbers of pursuits and a resultant decrease in collisions, injuries and deaths without an increase in people fleeing from police". Similarly, Orlando, in the United State of America, reported a 1.1% drop in felonies the same year a more restrictive pursuit policy was introduced.
4. High-speed police chases are not an effective means to apprehend or deter fleeing motorists
It has been claimed that high speed pursuits are a very ineffective means of apprehending fleeing motorists. The best success statistics are about 50% apprehension. Australia-wide success rates are lower than this, without about half of all pursuits being called off by police. Overall, over 60% of those pursued evade apprehension.
It has also been noted with regard to stolen cars that very few are recovered in a drivable condition after police pursuit. In Western Australia the figure is less than two per cent. Professor Ross Homel of the School of Justice Administration, Griffith University, Queensland, has stated, 'Pursuits are the worst possible way of recovering a stolen vehicle undamaged.'
Professor Homel has also claimed that the deterrent value of police pursuits is highly problematic. Drawing on Western Australian data, Professor Homel states, 'The fact that many offenders are recidivists, deliberately steal powerful vehicles to escape police, and are frequently drug or alcohol affected, suggests that the specific deterrent value of pursuits is extremely limited.'
5. Other measures can be used to apprehend or stop fleeing motorists
It has been argued that there are safer and more effective alternatives to high-speed police chases.
One option is the use of helicopters. In September 2011, a media helicopter assisted the Queensland police apprehend a fleeing motorist. Following this episode Queensland Police Union president, Ian Leavers, called for dedicated helicopters for Queensland Police.
Mr Leavers stated, 'Yesterday's assistance from a media helicopter further underlines the need for dedicated police helicopters here in Queensland. New South Wales police have five helicopters, whereas Queensland police are still yet to receive their first one...
I am advised by police that a designated police helicopter would have been of great benefit and may have even helped apprehend the alleged offender earlier than when he was finally caught.'
Spike strips are another available option. These are a long strip of hollow spikes that are designed to stop cars during high speed chases. The strip is lain down on a road that the speeding car is approaching. When the car runs over the strip tyre-damage is caused. The strip is designed to place small holes in the tyre, causing the gradual release of air and the slowing of the fleeing vehicle.
There are other high tech developments that could either reduce the need for or replace the high-speed police pursuit. David Biles, a Canberra based consultant criminologist, has stated, 'Devices are [being developed] ... that could disrupt a vehicle's ignition system in newer vehicles or use immobilisers in older vehicles, or make use of laser-guided compressed air launchers to attach GPS tracking devices to fleeing vehicles.'