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A review of the rules around police chases is to be carried out after concerns over the frequency of pursuits that have ended in serious or fatal injury in the past three years.
The review is to be carried out by the Police Complaints Authority and will determine whether the present policy and general instructions provide enough guidance for officers involved in pursuits.
It will be the first time the rules have been reviewed since 2003, when procedures and guidelines for pursuits were tightened after three deaths in two high-profile chases.
Justice Lowell Goddard, who heads the PCA, said the authority was "concerned" about the frequency of fatal and serious injury police pursuits.
"It has decided to review all such incidents since the police introduced updated policy and general instructions on pursuits in March 2004."
Guidelines introduced then by the police put safety ahead of arrests.
Supervisors were told they could order chases to be abandoned.
Police media spokeswoman Jane Archibald would not say last night how many pursuits had been carried out since 2004, when the changes were implemented. But it is understood at least two people have died during pursuits this year.
Newspaper reports show that in the year to last November 2089 pursuits took place, 539 resulted in accidents and 26 of these resulted in injuries and three deaths. About 570 were abandoned.
Police Deputy Commissioner Operations, Rob Pope, welcomed the review, saying it would provide "a valuable, independent perspective".
"The very nature of police pursuits means there will always be a high level of public interest in the policies and procedures police must follow."
The Police Association said it was important the review did not shift the blame away from offenders, as that would just "encourage irresponsible driving and lead to further tragedies". "It is drivers who refuse to stop for police, not police officers, who are to blame for members of the public becoming innocent victims of those offenders' selfish and irresponsible actions," said association vice-president Stuart Mills.
"Offenders who are the subject of police pursuits often pose a danger to the public long before a pursuit begins, for example, drunk and dangerous drivers, or serious offenders fleeing from scenes of crime."
Mr Pope said the police were also conducting their own review to determine the effectiveness of training, policy and procedure changes implemented during the last review.
They are due to report back to the commissioner in the middle of next month.
