2017/05: Police car chases: should Victoria Police's pursuit policy remain a secret?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On January 20, 2017, 9 News televised a report of the car attack against pedestrians in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall. The report includes an account of some of Victoria Police’s actions. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'We are not going to further educate the criminal element out there. By keeping [our pursuit policy] as quiet as we can, we'll increase the safety of the community as the crooks won't know when we will or won't engage'
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer explaining the rationale for keeping Victoria Police's pursuit policy secret
'It did not want to educate criminals on how to evade police. But such reasoning is infantile'
Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology at Bond University, criticising the rationale behind Victoria Police's decision to keep its current pursuit policy secret
The issue at a glance
On 20 January 2017, a car was driven into pedestrians in the CBD of Melbourne. Six people died as a result of the incident and at least thirty others wounded.
Police have alleged that the victims were intentionally hit, and have charged the driver of the vehicle with six counts of murder.
Immediately after the incident, questions were asked about the appropriateness of Victoria Police's actions and whether or not more might have been done to intercept the alleged perpetrator before the attacks occurred.
The incident has provoked comment on the pursuit policy followed by Victoria Police. This discussion has necessarily been general as, since the most recent reform of the policy, in July 2016, details of the policy have deliberately been kept secret.
Key members of Victoria Police command have defended the secrecy surrounding the policy; some criminologists and others have condemned it.