Speaking with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the new focus towards repeat serious offending was a response to multiple businesses being targeted. Video / Newstalk ZB
Police Association president Chris Cahill believes the majority of officers want more capacity to pursue fleeing drivers and questions the Police Commissioner’s description of feelings among frontline staff as “mixed”.
However, Cahill is confident meaningful reform will follow Commissioner Andrew Coster’s promise last month to review police’s pursuit policy in the wake of the nearly 10,000 people in vehicles fleeing police in the past year, more than double the number recorded prior to the last policy change nearly two years ago.
On Friday, Coster appeared in front of the Justice Select Committee for the 2021/22 annual review of the New Zealand Police, during which he had a heated exchange with National MP Mark Mitchell over the value of a police operation targeting gang firearms.
Coster was also questioned about plans to address young offenders who had contributed to in spikes in ram raids and aggravated robberies this year.
Police’s pursuit policy changed in 2020 following a series of high-profile deaths. Between 2010 and 2020, 75 people died in police chases, and two in incidents when police did not pursue.
In December 2020, after a major police review, staff were told a pursuit was only justified when the threat posed by the vehicle prior to failing to stop, and the necessity to immediately apprehend the driver and/or passengers, outweighed the risk of harm created by the pursuit.
In the nearly two years since, there have been no deaths during pursuits, while four people have died in incidents after fleeing from police.
However, speaking to the committee last week, Coster acknowledged it had led to the “unintended consequence” of an increase in the number of fleeing drivers.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. Photo / Jed Bradley
A Herald analysis earlier this month found there were 9499 fleeing drivers in the 12 months to November this year, up from the 4846 in the 12 months prior to the policy change.
The number of incidents where the offender was not immediately identified nearly tripled, from 2419 to 6412, while police proceedings remained relatively steady, moving from 3374 to 3484.
While confirming the policy would change, Coster told the committee there were “very strong views” on the issue and feelings were “mixed”, including within police.
“There are staff [members] who have been involved in pursuits where someone has died who do not want to see the policy shift back from where it was, and there are others who are very strongly of the view that you’ve expressed in your question,” Coster told National MP Paul Goldsmith.
“What is the right setting to leave offenders of the view that there is a good chance of being caught, whilst not unnecessarily putting the public [in] danger?
“We are going to shift the policy but it will be a rebalancing, not a wholesale reversion to where we were before and it will be focused on how we hold offenders committing the most serious offences to account, particularly where we fear further offending.”
Police Association president Chris Cahill. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Cahill told the Herald he believed the “vast majority” of frontline officers felt the pursuit settings were not fitting.
“I think the majority of our members don’t think the balance is right and especially the frontline ones have seen the consequences of it.”
Cahill’s view was informed by a survey of 6000 association members in 2021, which found just 39 per cent of respondents believed the pursuit policy was reasonable, down from 73 per cent in 2019 prior to the change.
The 2021 survey also found 60 per cent of respondents considered the settings too restrictive, up from 19 per cent in 2019.
“From the submissions and conversations I’ve had around it, I wouldn’t think that was fair,” Cahill said of Coster’s description.
“I think much more [people] want to see it adjusted.”
Cahill did understand why officers involved in deaths caused by police pursuits would oppose a more active policy, noting how such incidents often prompted intensive investigations even when pursuits did not lead to death.
“That can go on for many months and be really stressful in its own right, that does bring a different perspective [to] officers that only see the offenders getting away from them repeatedly and that also is incredibly frustrating.”
Cahill remained confident the policy change would be meaningful and hoped it would allow officers to target ram-raid offenders.
