Broderick said police cannot control the behaviour of a fleeing driver, but the response has to be appropriate and proportionate to the level of offending, and be safe for all road users.
"Our staff need to judge whether the initial reason for signalling the vehicle, coupled with its failure to stop, outweighs the risk of harm associated with a pursuit, which may include death or serious injury," he said.
Broderick said the fleeing driver policy released in December prioritises safety over the immediate catching the driver.
The number crashes involving fleeing drivers went up in 2018 and 2019, and the nine months of information available for last year showed a 1 per cent drop. The number of fleeing drivers who crash also fell from an average of 20 per cent in the first half of the 2010s to 15 per cent over the second half of the decade.
Broderick said police regularly examine the way they do and manage things as they work to make New Zealand the safest country in the world.
"Police do not want to see anybody needlessly die or be injured on our roads," he said.
About 0.15 per cent of the around 2.5 million vehicles New Zealand Police stop every year flee.
More fled in Hawke's Bay in the nine months to September last year than Auckland City (226), Waitemata (214) Northland (209), Southern (189) and Tasman (102) districts.
Numbers have climbed steadily since 2015, with major increases in the past couple of years partly, said Broderick, because of more officers.
"More staff means a proportionate increase in the number of times we look to engage with high-risk motorists. This in turn has led to a larger number of fleeing driver incidents," he said.
Broderick said the reasons drivers do not stop vary.
"The decision to flee can have significant and sometimes horrific consequences for the driver, their family and friends, the public and police," he said.
