Pursuits Policy and Practice Review - New Zealand Police

Pursuits: the case for change

Report to the Commissioner of New Zealand Police from the team headed by Superintendent Roger Carson

ISBN 0-477-10000-7

December 2005


Executive summary

Introduction

This review was commissioned in late July 2003 by the Deputy Commissioner Operations. DC Long sought an authoritative study to assess the quality and adequacy of current pursuits policy and practice in the wake of considerable media and public concern over two pursuits in 2003 that ended with three fatalities. These deaths occurred in a short space of time, and contrasted with just six pursuit related deaths in the previous seven years.

Objective and scope

The review team undertook a robust examination of all matters relating to police pursuits in New Zealand since the previous review in 1996 (known as the "Gibson Report"). They set out to identify areas of concern, and to provide recommendations for future policy and practice. To achieve this aim, the review team examined:

  • international pursuit literature
  • legislation and legal matters relating to pursuits
  • outcomes and factors involved in pursuit activity in New Zealand in the period 1996-2002
  • developments in the pursuits policy area in recent years
  • current practices in relation to pursuit management
  • current thinking in relation to police driving and driver training.

The timeframe did not allow substantial qualitative research (such as interviews with frontline staff other than at the communications centres), but even so a wealth of information emerged. This resulted in a report rather longer than planned, but the value of the material presented in this report not only provides the Police Executive with the comprehensive examination of pursuits they wanted but will act as an excellent future reference.

Chapter outlines

Chapter One - background

This chapter outlines the background to the review and the steps taken to ensure a comprehensive examination of police pursuits in New Zealand was carried out. It also presented police data on contacts with the public to put pursuits into context. This demonstrates that pursuits are rare occurrences. Police are involved in more than 5 million events each year, of which almost 3.5 million are directly related to traffic enforcement. Using the 3.5 million events that are directly related to traffic enforcement as a base, the 785 pursuits recorded in 2002 represent 1 pursuit for every 4,459 events. If some offences (such as stolen vehicles) and incidents (such as vehicle occupant "turnovers") that are known to result in pursuits are also considered, the ratio is even higher. In a single year, most police will engage in a pursuit only rarely, if at all.

Chapter two - the wider picture

This chapter presents fascinating information about pursuits taken from the international literature. This body of work highlights the major tension in pursuit activity between the need to prevent and control crime but also to maintain public safety. A key finding was that that although all pursuits begin with an attempt by a police officer to stop a vehicle for reasons such as a traffic violation, the investigation of potential criminal offending, or other everyday policing activities, the decision by the offender to flee completely changes the situation. Police officers are well aware that the small number of people who do not stop usually have good reason for wanting to evade the Police. This is reinforced by the rare nature of these events and the criminal profile of the offenders involved. The original reason for wanting to stop the offender’s vehicle is largely irrelevant once the offender fails to stop, as this changes the nature of the situation by signalling that something of additional significance is likely to be present.

The literature also emphasises the commonly recognised ‘blue-lighting’ culture within police organisations and the psychological and physiological effects on an individual in a pursuit situation. These make it vital that officers have clear guidelines and training to ensure they have the necessary technical skills and decision-making ability to undertake pursuits safely and discontinue them where appropriate. The literature is also clear on the need for a sound infrastructure that incorporates professional supervision, management, oversight, and review of pursuit events.

Chapter three - the law

This chapter provides a brief analysis of various legal issues that impact on police pursuits, from the legal powers of police to stop vehicles to the legal restrictions, protections, and liabilities relevant to police driving. A critical point is that there is no blanket protection for police officers while driving and that a duty of care exists in all situations. In addition to issues such as the potential for police to commit traffic offences and be liable to charges of criminal negligence should proper care not be exercised, Police as an organisation also has health and safety obligations towards both its own staff and to those affected by police activities.

The chapter also highlights a number of issues with both legislation and internal Police policy documents, identifying the need to address shortcomings in Police General Instructions and the potential for legislative amendments to increase penalties for failing to stop.

Chapter four - the nature of pursuits 1996-2000

In this chapter the review team uses three types of available information to present a picture of pursuits in New Zealand from 1996 to 2002 - all pursuits reported on the official *PURSUE form, all files of fatal pursuits, and an audit of a sample of pursuits where the offender was charged with dangerous or reckless driving. Whilst there were limitations to the *PURSUE data, the analysis provided a wealth of information that has not previously been available.

For example: there were 4,076 pursuits in the 7- year period, an average of 582 a year; most pursuit offenders have substantial criminal offending histories (the apprehended pursuit offenders over the 7 years had accumulated over 60,000 criminal convictions between them); the proportion of pursuits abandoned by Police has increased markedly since 1996 (with a corresponding decrease in offenders apprehended); road spikes are able to be deployed in very few pursuits; that 34% of pursuits involve damage (a crash of some form) to an offender’s vehicle and 6% to a Police vehicle; and both Police and offender crashes are trending downwards.

Examination of the fatal pursuit files shows that these events involved offenders with criminal histories, and that the pursuits were relatively short, with no time to use tactics such as road spikes. The audit sample highlighted deficiencies in the provision of information from pursuing officers to Police communication centres, at least partly attributable to single-crewing, short pursuits, and crowded radio channels, although training and policy issues were also identified.

Chapter five - recent developments

This chapter examines developments since the Gibson report and specifically tracks progress against the recommendations of that review. The main finding of this chapter is that while there have been many changes to pursuit policy in this period, only increased driver training for recruits has been the direct result of the Gibson report. While some of the report’s other findings in the area of legislation and vehicle specifications have effectively been implemented, there has been no action on the majority of report recommendations. This is particularly the case in the area of road spikes, the increased use of which formed a key recommendation of the Gibson report.

Separate to the Gibson report recommendations, a potentially far-reaching shift in policy, training and practice has been under development for some time. Previously known as the Safe Driving Policy and now as the Professional Police Driving Programme (PPDP), this initiative would implement a driver and vehicle classification and assessment system similar to that used by other police organisations in comparable jurisdictions. Proposals to implement the PPDP are under development and form one of the recommendations of this review.

Chapter six - management of pursuits

This chapter examines issues around the management of pursuits, such as the role and responsibilities of both drivers and the Communication Centres. In particular, it highlights the critical shortcomings of current pursuit policy documents. For example, Police general instructions provide insufficient guidance to different groups and are in fact unclear and inconsistent. Resolving these issues is a recommendation of the review.

This chapter also discusses technology related problems and opportunities. There are major issues with radio congestion and reception, while Police Communication Centres lack ready access to crucial information such as the availability of road spikes and the locations of police units. Currently available technology provides an opportunity to address these issues, with devices such as automatic vehicle location, in-car video, and hands free microphones all having potential to greatly improve the conduct and management of these incidents. These are all presently under consideration and trials are planned or underway.

Chapter seven - drivers and vehicles

This chapter examines driver training and policy, and the pursuit capability of police drivers and vehicles. It sets out police driver training, which currently focuses on recruit training at the Royal New Zealand Police College. While this recruit training is equivalent to that delivered by many other Police organisations, New Zealand Police do not have the formal systems of ongoing training and assessment found overseas. While some districts carry out ad hoc training and there is a limited programme for members of the Highway Patrol and Commercial Vehicles Investigation Unit, there are no national standards or co-ordination. In addition to skill issues, anecdotal evidence indicates that some drivers do not advise Communications Centres of the full circumstances of a pursuit in case they are instructed to abandon pursuit, indicating that there may also be issues with the attitudes of some police drivers. This chapter concludes that not all police drivers are capable of carrying out pursuit driving. In addition, approximately 25% of the police vehicle fleet is composed of four wheel drive or other vehicles unsuited to carrying out pursuits.

This chapter also discusses the proposed professional driving programme in some detail, setting out indicative classification systems for drivers and vehicles. If implemented, the programme will provide clear guidelines for vehicle and driver deployment and an ongoing programme to monitor driver capabilities. In essence, it will better enable Police to meet health and safety obligations to staff and the public by ensuring that only qualified staff in the appropriate vehicle engage in pursuits and urgent duty driving.

Chapter eight - conclusion and recommendations

The final chapter of the report concludes that most pursuits are short, essential and safe. It takes elements from previous chapters and uses them as the basis for recommendations. The review team approached the task of making recommendations by establishing that they must be concrete and measurable, should be prioritised and weighted, should be as few as possible, should not attempt to micro-manage implementation, and must add value.

Following these principles, the report makes eleven recommendations in total and prioritises them as urgent, medium-term and long-term. The first 3 recommendations are urgent and will result in immense change to the current pursuit environment and police driving generally. In short they require:

  • the appointment of a member of the Police Executive to implement all decisions arising from the report
  • the implementation of the Professional Police Driving Programme
  • the immediate rewriting and dissemination of General Instructions and policy on pursuits and urgent duty driving.

The usefulness and success of the pursuits review rests on the implementation of these three recommendations, particularly the Professional Police Driving Programme. Pursuits do not happen in a vacuum. They arise in the context of policing as a whole, and can be seen as a particular kind of police driving. Whilst the review has shown that motor vehicle pursuits are relatively rare, and few end in death or serious injury, Police cannot afford to sit back. Action on police driving is needed now, and it should be decisive and far-reaching.

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Recommendations

Urgent (by 31 March 2003)

  1. A member of the Police Executive should be charged with implementing the decisions which follow this report.

  2. The Professional Police Driving Programme should be implemented now.

  3. General Instructions and policy on pursuits and urgent duty driving should be rewritten and implemented forthwith.

Medium-term (by 31 December 2004)

  1. Trials of the following should be evaluated and followed up:

    • hands-free microphones

    • global positioning systems (automatic vehicle location)

    • in-vehicle videos.

  2. All references to imperative and elective pursuits should be removed from documentation.

  3. Introduce an event code for pursuits on the Computer Aided Dispatch database.

  4. Review electronic form *PURSUE in the light of this report.

  5. At all stages of training, basic driving skills and the experience and attitude required to carry out those skills in thepolicing environment should be considered separately.

  6. Patrol car drivers and communications centre staff should receive regular training and practice in the techniques of radio communication during emergencies.

Longer term (those which call for further research or reflection, or where Police are in no position to dictate timing)

  1. Police should promote a legislative provision expressly to authorise the use of road spikes and similar devices.

  2. The offences of failing to stop should be made punishable by imprisonment.

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Table of contents

Executive summary
Chapter One - Background to the review
Chapter Two - The wider picture
Chapter Three - The law
Chapter Four - The nature of pursuits 1996-2002
Chapter Five - Recent developments
Chapter Six - Management of pursuits
Chapter Seven - Drivers abd vehicles
Chapter Eight - Discussion and recommendations
References
Glossary of terms -->

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