Every time an accident arises from a police pursuit there are calls for this policing procedure to be abandoned. Of course the public is equally angry when a speeding driver or a speeding rider collides with a pedestrian or another vehicle and maims or kills another innocent road user.
A Coroner's enquiry has just cleared two police officers in the death of a sixteen year old motorcyclist who met his death while being chased at Mussellbrook in 2013. The inquest heard that a stationery speed check detected a motorbike travelling at 121 kph in a 50 zone and activated lights and siren in pursuit. The rider screeched to a stop to allow a pillion rider to alight and then tried to make a high speed escape, ending when he failed to round a bend and crashed into a post and rail fence, sustaining fatal head injuries.
The inquest was told that this rider held learner permits for both car and motorbike and would have undertaken the escape attempt because he understood that his speed in a 50 kph zone would have invoked the cancellation of both permits and probably caused the loss of his job. The police testified that they had been unable to read the registration numbers of the bike and and the pursuit was necessary on public safety grounds.
The vast majority of citizens instantly obey police orders to pull over when a driving offence is detected. In many cases those who do not lack a driving license or are at the wheel of an unregistered - or stolen - vehicle. Escape is the first thought that comes into the mind of many juvenile offenders and police pursuit procedures are strictly monitored - and abandoned whenever the risk factor to others is deemed to be too high.
To unilaterally ban police pursuits in all but cases involving crimes such as terrorism or murder would simply hand a "get out of gaol free " card to both the criminal element and the "lead foots " of society. It would be a positive incentive to speed away instead of stopping at a DUI checking station and in most cases this would still involve very high speed. It could very easily increase rather than decrease the risks to the public.
One factor that has reduced the incidence of police pursuits is the implementation of what has been called "Skye's Law " in this state, named after a little girl killed when a fleeing car driver rammed her parent's car and caused her fatality. It simply elevates causing a police pursuit to a major crime category - with an appropriate severity of punishment. Many who may have been tempted to "make a run for it "now have second thoughts. Probably the best way to diminish police pursuits is to vigorously apply this law to offenders. Consistent law enforcement is proven to reduce driver misbehaviour, as the ever lowering figures of those driving with illegal blood alcohol levels illustrate.
It is impossible to eliminate all risk. There are some who will try and escape despite the penalties that apply and we can only hope that the limitations on police pursuits can implement a reasonable safety level. It is the job of the police to catch offenders and they need the facilities to achieve that end. Banning police pursuits is not the answer !
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