Police chase policy needs review, says report

Police car chase policies need an urgent overhaul, a review team recommends in a report.

Four people died last week in crashes after pursuits, taking the toll to 10 for the year - the worst since records began 24 years ago.

A draft report says officers often begin chases without telling their supervisors, for fear of being told to abandon the pursuit. Some ignore commands to pull out, and others join pursuits without permission.

The 115-page report, written by a high-powered review team, said the rules and policies on pursuits were a confusing "mishmash".

It was not clear who controlled pursuits, abandoning them was misunderstood, rules were contradictory and policies on exceeding the speed limit were inconsistent.

"In light of that, the present confusion cannot be allowed to continue a minute longer," the report said.

The report was delivered to senior police the day before three people died in Mt Roskill just seconds after a brief police chase was abandoned.

The next day a man drowned when the car he was driving plunged into the Tauranga Harbour several minutes after police lost him during their inner-city chase.

Widespread concerns over fatal police chases prompted police Deputy Commissioner (operations) Steve Long to commission the review six months ago.

Mr Long said yesterday that the work included looking at how pursuits were handled overseas.

"There are places where they have stopped pursuits for traffic offences, but we're noticing around the OECD world it's a growing problem.

"The worry for us is we think a lot of this is due to methamphetamines and drink and a lot of young drivers with cars."

Training was to begin urgently for officers on assessing risks before starting a pursuit. Mr Long predicted fewer pursuits as police became more selective in starting them.

* An unemployed painter from Mangere has been charged with three counts of manslaughter over the triple fatal crash in Mt Roskill on Thursday.

The defendant, 18, was driving a car that was in collision with a blue ute on Stoddard Rd.

The ute's occupants, Amber Baddock, 21, and Joseph Ahkiau, 33, both of Kingsland, died. A passenger in the car, Faafetai Time, 17, of Mangere, also died.

Others in the car, including the driver, suffered moderate to serious injuries.

The defendant's lawyer, Rose Thomson, appeared on his behalf in the Auckland District Court on Saturday.

The defendant was remanded to appear in court today if well enough and was granted interim name suppression.

The crash came after police chased the car for more than one minute.

Detective Senior Sergeant Andy Lovelock, head of the police inquiry into the deaths, said officers working on the case were keen to hear from anyone who saw anything of the chase or the crash.

They can be contacted on (09) 820-5700.

- STAFF REPORTER, NZPA