2011/22: Should there be greater restrictions placed on high-speed police chases?

What they said...
'The police vehicle is the most dangerous weapon available to law enforcement'
Canberra consulting criminologist, David Biles

'I'm satisfied that the guidelines that the police have in place now protect themselves and other road users'
Former New South Wales Police Minister, Michael Daley

The issue at a glance
On January 10, 2012, a male passenger in a vehicle died after a 20-second police pursuit in Dandenong, Victoria. The car was a stolen vehicle and the driver, who received minor injuries in the crash, had refused to stop when the police attempted to pull him over for erratic driving.
The death is the third in three months, and the fourth in six months in which a police pursuit in Victoria has ended in a fatality. It is also the fourth chase in three weeks which has led to an accident.
On December 4, a teenage girl died after a police chase by New South Wales officers ended when the sedan she was driving rolled shortly after crossing into Victoria. Two weeks before, a 19-year-old male driver was killed when his car ran into a tree after a pursuit. On July 14, 2011, a man died after his car struck a tree outside Wangaratta during a chase.
On December 30, 2011, there was a non-fatal collision when a man ran his car into the wall of a funeral home. On December 29, 2011, an 89-year-old woman narrowly escaped injury when a car crashed into her Altona North home shortly after police pursuit ended.
The spate of deaths and accidents has led some opponents of high-speed police pursuits to renew their call for either a total ban on such pursuits or the implementation of a new set of guidelines which would allow such chases only in response to serious crimes. Guidelines such as these operate in Tasmania and Queensland.
Australia-wide there are groups concerned about the nature and operation of police pursuit guidelines. In the Australian Capital Territory, the Greens have prepared a discussion paper supporting a trial of similar guidelines to those that operate in Tasmania and Queensland. This has been rejected by the ACT government.

Background
High-speed Police Chases
(The following information is an edited version of the Wikipedia entry 'car chase'. The full text of this entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_chase)
Car chases occur when a suspect attempts to use a vehicle to escape from police officers attempting to detain or arrest them. The assumed offence committed may range from misdemeanours such as traffic infractions to crimes as serious as murder.
When the suspect realises that he or she has been detected and hailed by police, he or she attempts to lose the pursuers by driving away, sometimes at high speed. In 2002, 700 pursuits were reported in the city of Los Angeles. Police use a number of techniques to end chases. These include waiting for the driver's vehicle to run out of petrol to more forceful methods such as boxing in the vehicle with other police cars or the use of spike strips. When available, a helicopter may be employed, which in some cases, may follow the vehicle from above while ground units may or may not be involved.
The February 2005 Macquarie Fields riots occurred in Sydney, New South Wales, after a local driver crashed a stolen vehicle into a tree, killing his two passengers following a high-speed police pursuit. In the same year, the death of university student Clea Rose following a police chase in Canberra sparked major recriminations over police pursuit policies.
Reality television has combined with the car chase genre in a number of television shows and specials featuring real footage, mostly taken from police cruisers and law enforcement or media helicopters of actual criminals fleeing from police.
High-speed car chases are recognised as a road safety problem, as vehicles not involved in the pursuit may be hit by the elusive driver, who will often violate a number of traffic laws, often repeatedly, in their attempt to escape, or by the pursuing police cars. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that 40 people a year are killed in road traffic incidents involving police, most as a result of a police pursuit.

Internet information
On July 31, 2007, ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety issued an 'Independent Review of the AFP Urgent Duty Driving and Police Pursuit Guideline'. The review was written by consultant, Alan Cameron.
The review recommended that the Australian Federal Police should adopt some of the guidelines in use in Victoria and New South Wales. The full text of this review can be found at http://www.justice.act.gov.au/resources/attachments/Independent_Review_of_Pursuit_Guideline_Review_31_July_2007.pdf

On March 22, 2010, the ABC issued a report titled, 'Banning police pursuits not the answer'.  The report gave information on four deaths which had occurred in Canberra following a police pursuit. It then gave the views of Professor Paul Mazerolle, the director of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law and Justice at Griffith University in Queensland, who argued that police are constantly trying to maintain a delicate balance of ensuring public safety while minimising risk of harm to individuals.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-22/banning-police-pursuits-not-the-answer/375414

On March 23, 2010, The Sydney Morning Herald published a news report titled, 'Call to ban pursuits of stolen vehicles' which outlined the plea made by the parents of Clea Rose that police pursuits only be conducted to guard against a public danger. Clea Rose was killed in 2005 after being struck by a teenage driver who was being pursued by police.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/national/call-to-ban-pursuits-of-stolen-vehicles-20100322-qra2.html

On March 23, 2010, The Punch published an opinion piece by Shane Wilkinson, a former police officer with ten years' service. The piece is titled, 'Just let cops do their jobs'. In it Wilkinson defends police pursuit procedures. The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/just-let-cops-do-their-jobs/

In July, 2011, Shane Rattenbury, ACT Greens MLA released 'A community discussion paper on police car chases'. The Greens are seeking to have police guidelines on pursuits altered in the Australian Capital Territory. They want a trial of more severe restrictions. The full text of this paper can be found at http://act.greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/A%20community%20discussion%20paper%20on%20police%20car%20chases.pdf

Civil Liberties Australia (CLA) is opposed to police pursuits. On October 27, 2011, CLA published an opinion piece on its Internet site titled, 'Chase vehicle is the police's most dangerous weapon'. The full text of the piece can be found at http://www.cla.asn.au/0805/index.php/policing/articles/chase-vehicle-is-the-police

On December 29, 2011, The Herald Sun published a comment by Lorraine Bennett. Mrs Bennett criticises the police pursuit procedures that she believes contributed to her son's death. The full text of her comment can be found at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/my-son-paid-the-ultimate-price/story-e6frf7jo-1226232159721

On December 30, 2011, an ABC news report detailed Victoria Police defence of their pursuit procedures in the face of criticisms after two recent incidents. The report can be viewed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-29/police-defend-pursuit-policy/3751850

The On January 10, 2012, 3AW radio journalist Derryn Hinch conducted interviews with former Victorian Assistant Commissioner and then West Australian Police Commissioner Bob Falconer and former prison chaplain and now RMIT academic, Peter Norden. Falconer supports police procedures while Norden believes police pursuits should be banned.
These interviews can be accessed at http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/blog-with-derryn-hinch/police-damned-either-way-hinch/20120110-1pt78.html

Idea Connection has published a number of alternatives that either are or could be adopted instead of high-speed pursuits. These can be read at http://www.ideaconnection.com/solutions/352-High-Speed-Chases.html

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.'

Arguments against greater restrictions on high-speed police chases
1. High-speed chases are conducted in accord with safety guidelines
It has been noted that all Australian states have strict guidelines that determine the circumstances under which police pursuits can be conducted.
Among the factors Australian Capital Territory police have to consider are 'the nature and comparative seriousness of the offence' and the 'real or potential danger' to police, the public and people in the suspect car. The priority is the protection of life. The ACT guidelines state, 'The sworn duty of a police officer to protect life and property will always take primacy over the need to apprehend offenders, especially when the offence involved is relatively minor, or where there are safer options other than immediate apprehension.'
Victoria Police have developed a similar 'trigger point' system that includes a priority system depending on the severity of suspected crime. Police chasing a bank robber have more flexibility than police chasing the driver of a suspected stolen car.
The decision to abort a pursuit is left to operational police. Once a chase is declared, a sergeant or senior sergeant in the area is designated the pursuit controller. The radio channel is cleared and the chase can be called off if either the police driver or pursuit controller considers it too dangerous. Police are told to balance the need for apprehension against the risk to the community.
Other states adopt similar procedures. In March 2010, former New South Wales Police Minister, Michael Daley, argued there was no need for changes to the guidelines regulating police pursuits. Mr Daley stated, 'We're always happy to have suggestions about how to do things better but I'm satisfied that the guidelines that the police have in place now protect themselves and other road users.'
In Queensland police follow a Safe Driving Policy. This policy includes a decision making framework that is compatible with an operational officer's sequence of responses to various incidents. The policy includes non-pursuit matters and a detailed risk assessment process for other matters.
A similar, but even more conservative approach has been followed in Tasmania since 2000, where police will only conduct a high-speed pursuit if it is believed a serious crime against persons, such as assault or rape, has been committed.
The precise details of the pursuit guidelines followed by police in any state are never made public, as this would act as directions to criminals, telling them exactly how fast or how recklessly they had to drive in order to have the police call off a chase.

2. Police generally exercise sound judgement when conducting high-speed chases
It has been claimed that the police typically exercise caution when conducting high-speed police chases. Recent data from the Australian Capital Territory indicates that almost half of all pursuits were terminated by police. Around 20% of suspects stopped of their own accord, and slightly fewer when forced to do so by becoming cornered, becoming bogged, or running out of petrol. Only 10% of pursuits were concluded by a collision involving the suspect vehicle. These figures suggest that half of all pursuits are ended by the police presumably because the police judge it unsafe to continue.
The Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner, Kieran Walshe, has noted that police in his state had been involved in more than 600 pursuits in 2010, with most being abandoned. Mr Walshe has claimed that this reluctance to continue pursuits in hazardous circumstances demonstrates that police generally make the correct judgement. Mr Walshe stated, 'The vast number of pursuits our members get involved in, they do make the right call.'
Mr Walshe further noted that Victoria Police exercise this restraint despite the provocative behaviour of some motorists. He said hoons were increasingly taunting officers to chase them, aware that police must call off pursuits that endanger lives.
In March, 2010, the deaths of four people in an incident that occurred after a police chase led then New South Wales premier, Kristina Keneally to state, 'Our police officers follow very strict guidelines when it comes to police pursuits and they do so safely. We had police pull back from that pursuit and yet we still had this horrible tragedy occur.'
Defenders of current guidelines also argue that the fact that a pursuit may be followed by a death does not indicate that the police involved failed to exercise sound judgement.
A Queensland coronial review of police pursuit procedures published in 2010 stated, 'The current policy seeks to balance the risks created by engaging in a pursuit against the risks involved in allowing the suspected offender to escape immediate apprehension.' The review went on to note with regard to a number of deaths which had recently occurred in Queensland following a police pursuit, 'In three of the cases that this report is based on, the officer who was attempting to intercept another vehicle, discontinued or was preparing to discontinue that attempt soon after it became apparent the driver was not going to stop, yet the deaths still occurred. In those cases, quite clearly, the officers involved were not blameworthy...'

3. Greater restrictions would unreasonably limit the police
It has been argued that the only person capable of determining whether a high speed pursuit is justified is the police officers on the spot and the pursuit controller. Stricter guidelines would, it is claimed, only limit the police officers' capacity to make a balanced, informed decision.
Professor Paul Mazerolle, the director of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law and Justice at Griffith University in Queensland, has indicated that police are constantly trying to maintain a delicate balance of ensuring public safety while minimising risk of harm to individuals.
Professor Mazerolle has stated, 'There are good reasons and appropriate reasons to pursue, and there's times when police officers shouldn't pursue. It's that continual reassessment. A blanket statement that police should always pursue or police should not pursue, I think, is inappropriate.'
It has further been suggested that imposing greater restrictions on police freedom of action might actually put the community at greater risk. It has been argued that such restrictions would only encourage fleeing motorists to drive more recklessly in the belief that the police would then terminate the pursuit.

4. Greater restrictions would allow criminals more freedom to commit crimes
It has been claimed that police pursuits are necessary and that without the freedom to pursue suspects crime rates would increase. Those who hold this view note that restrictions on police pursuits would simply reassure criminals that they were unlikely to be apprehended.
In March, 2010, the Australian Capital Territory Police Minister, Simon Corbell, stated, 'This is difficult, but at the end of the day the government's view is that police must have the capacity to enforce their lawful directions, because if they can't ... it's a green light for people to simply flee police.'
Steve Wilkinson, a former police officer with ten years' service, stated, 'For every tragedy that occurs as a result of a police chase, many more are averted. You won't read about the lives saved on the roads and violent crimes prevented because of the arrest of suspects a, b, c... following successful pursuits in previous days, months, years which didn't result in deaths ...whilst prevention is better than cure, it obviously isn't newsworthy.'
Wilkinson further noted, 'What would they have our police do? Wave a white handkerchief at offending drivers and shout, "Stop. Or, I'll shout stop again." The response from crims would be predictable: a one-fingered salute as they accelerate into the sunset - or into the side of another innocent family's car.
It's a lovely notion: stop police pursuits and criminals will fall into line and adopt safe driving practices. Perhaps they'll take the sentiment further and leave behind a trail of happiness, good cheer and rose petals.'
In June, 2002, the then Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Ray Shuey stated, 'If you have a situation where there's a no-pursuit policy or concept there, the criminals will take over the whole of the community because they'd know they only had to go faster than a certain speed limit and police wouldn't engage in any sort of interception.'
Former Western Australian commissioner, Bob Falconer, has similarly stated, 'A no-pursuit policy only allows offenders to know they can avoid apprehension by speeding.'

5. The primary responsibility for any death or injury lies with the fleeing motorist
Supporters of police retaining the power to conduct high-speed pursuits stress that the responsibility for any death or injury as a result of a police chase rests with the motorist who flees.
This point has been stressed by former Victorian Assistant Commissioner and then West Australian Police Commissioner Bob Falconer. Mr Falconer states, 'Any Police officer worth his or her salt should chase people who flee from them. It is their job. Pundits need to accept the fact that there is no pursuit without flight,'
Steve Wilkinson, a former police officer with ten years' service, stated, 'What most people forget is that it's usually the crims moronic behaviour behind the wheel that brings them under notice in the first place. Police simply move in behind them and give them an option. A simple option. A safe option: to stop.'
In March, 2010, the Opposition leader, Barry O'Farrell stated, 'Ultimately, government can't protect all of us from people who make the wrong choices. What we need to do is to instil some more personal responsibility and try and make sure people understand there will be consequences for action.'
As part of a bid to acknowledge that the primary responsibility in an incident involving a fleeing motorist rests with that driver, New South Wales introduced Skye's Law in February 2010. Under this law drivers involved in high-speed police pursuits will face jail sentences of up to three years, with a maximum term of five years for repeat offenders.

Further implications
High speed police pursuits appear to pose a difficult dilemma in many jurisdictions. The belief is held by both the broader community and the police that pursuit powers are necessary if felons are not to be allowed to act with impunity.
A series of studies outlining those most commonly pursued by police does not support the view that it is serious felons who are most often chased. Those pursued are most likely to be relatively minor offenders, often being chased after having committed a traffic infringement. Such findings have led to a number of groups and individuals to call for the banning of police pursuits, especially in the light of further statistics that indicate more deaths result from police pursuits than from police use of firearms.
There are, however, more moderate responses that can be adopted. Rather than banning all pursuits, it is possible to adopt a policy such as that employed in Tasmania since 2000 which requires that police only pursue motorists believed to have committed a serious crime. The policy adopted in Tasmania appears to have been successful as there have been no deaths or injuries resulting from police pursuits since its adoption and crimes such as car theft have fallen. Critics of the policy argue that despite its apparent success it would be less applicable to more populous states such as Victoria and New South Wales. Interestingly, Queensland has recently adopted a more restrictive policy similar to Tasmania.
There is no easy solution to the problem posed by high-speed police chases as it is very difficult for police to know what a motorist driving erratically or suspiciously may have done. The conservative policy adopted in Tasmania would seem to inevitably allow for the possibility that a number of criminals who have committed serious crimes will not be pursued because the police will not have sufficient grounds on which to give chase.
Perhaps the ultimate answer lies with high tech devices such as immobilisers which give police a safer means of halting a fleeing vehicle. At the moment however limited reliability and availability mean that such devices do not represent a solution to the problem.
There are currently calls for uniform pursuit laws across Australia. Given that fleeing motorists often cross state boundaries this makes sense; however, the difference between some state policies makes nationally agreed procedures not immediately likely.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline