KEY POINTS:
Boyracers are treating current laws against them like a game, Police Commissioner Howard Broad said today.
Mr Broad was speaking after a police officer in Christchurch was ambushed, bottled and shot at by boyracers on Friday night, prompting a meeting with Police Minister Judith Collins this morning.
Mr Broad said it was not a case of police in the worst hit areas - particularly south Auckland and Christchurch - not enforcing the law.
"What seems to be the case though is this is being treated as a game by those involved," he said. "It would seem that some of the sanctions available are not adequate."
Police can impound cars and in some serious cases sell them - however a loophole in the law allows the offender to sell the car first and pocket the proceeds.
Ms Collins said has sent a Canterbury Police wish list for tacking illegal street racing to Prime Minister John Key and Mr Broad, and will discuss it with her colleagues this week to decide which suggestions to adopt.
She said the previous Government had introduced some measures, such as fines for noisy vehicles, but said they were too easy to get around. "There's no point fining people who don't pay fines when you've got other action to take."
She said any new measures had to be strong.
"We've got some people who think they are above the law and they don't actually care about the public, they don't care about the police, they actually only care about one thing and that's their car."
Crushing cars
Ms Collins has said she is seriously considering crushing boy-racers' cars - and inviting the drivers to watch as it is done.
"That's certainly something we would be looking at for repeat offenders who just do not get the message, and for those people they need to understand we are not going to put up with that kind of behaviour," she said.
Ms Collins is visiting Christchurch this afternoon to see the problem first hand.
Mr Key said the Government was taking the boyracer problem seriously.
"First thing to recognise is we are not going to put up with 300 lawless people hanging around in Christchurch ambushing police officers on Friday nights," he told NewstalkZB.
"Secondly I think what it demonstrates is the law is not working because the vast bulk of those people are actually in breach of the law, so the law needs to change."
The most effective approach was to go after licences and cars, he said.
He also suggested other measures such as selling cars to pay fines and setting up a dedicated group in Christchurch to tackle the problem.
He said law changes to crack down on boyracers would be implemented quickly.
Mr Key said it would take four to six weeks to draft legislation, which could then pass within six months.
"It will be treated as a matter of priority," he told Breakfast on TV One.
Ms Collins said she had spoken to Sergeant Nigel Armstrong - the Christchurch officer whose car was attacked on Friday night.
"I am in absolutely no doubt at all, that if not for his good driving and a piece of good luck he could now be intensive care in hospital or he could be dead," the minister said.
"We are not going to put up with it, and if it takes a few cars being crushed to get the point through, that may be one of the options."
Options considered
The options included "cease and desist" orders under which police could take further action - including confiscation - for repeat boyracers.
Other options included demerit points on boyracer licences and temporary confiscation of cars.
Cease and desist orders had been used in Britain to good effect and would allow police to take more action if the same drivers were found congregating, street racing or endangering public safety, Ms Collins said.
Mr Broad said the cease and desist order was attractive because it was a targeted approach.
Any ban of groups gathering together could raise human rights issues.
"One of the risks here is we bring in a rule that has a wider application than we would want. This (the orders) would seem to be an answer to that potential criticism."
- NZPA and NZHERALD STAFF
