A decade too late, but NSW Police must change their pursuit policy now

A 21-year-old fails to stop at the sight of red and blue flashing lights. A 48-year-old flees in an unregistered car. In both cases, the police give chase. In both cases, the outcome is tragic.

These kinds of urgent decisions are being made thousands of times a year, both by drivers on the wrong side of the law and the men and women in blue charged with the duty to uphold it. There has been a steep increase in the number of police pursuits over the past decade, and the number of deaths has also risen.

As investigative reporter Patrick Begley reveals today, police pursuits have more than doubled since 2014-2015, and there have been 19 deaths and 523 injuries over the same period. In 2022-23 alone, 3762 pursuits took place and there were six deaths and 72 injuries.

The alarm was sounded in a coronial inquest in 2014, when pursuits were described as a “Russian roulette” practice. Not only has nothing changed, the statistics show it has only become worse.

NSW Police to their credit are reviewing the Safe Driving Policy that governs pursuits. Unfortunately, the police have given no indication about when that review will be complete and what changes will be made.

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When asked, a spokesperson emphasised the dangers inherent in speeding, drink-driving, drug-driving and a disregard for other road users. These are all important to remember: the biggest dangers on the road are from drivers who do not obey the law.

Still, it is clear from the figures that NSW Police need to rethink how and when they respond, particularly to infractions that are typically dealt with by way of a fine.

Little is publicly known about the current Safe Driving Policy, and there are understandable reasons for the police keeping some tactics close to their chest. However, there is clearly not enough transparency on this vital issue of public safety. What we do know has only been gleaned from coronial inquests: that frontline police must weigh the need to immediately apprehend an offender against the risks to the community, police and the offender.

This puts frontline police in difficult and unenviable positions when required to make those split-second decisions about whether to give chase. The possible outcomes range from a benign interception to an outright disaster. Clearer, stricter guidelines are clearly required.