Police Pursuit review whitewash

"The outside intervention of a Royal Commission is needed to sort out road police's incompetency" says Rachael Ford of Candor Trust. In their latest review Police try claiming New Zealands policy which increased pursuits 400% since 2002 is "restrictive". The review is couched in emotive language defending the status quo, and avoids any discussion of scientific evidence as regards best practices for road safety.

Road safety is clearly the least of the writers concerns. It's noteworthy there is zero interest in how quadrupled chase incidences too over 2000 yearly in short time has moved NZ from a decade averaging 1 death a year to a sudden rise in 2004 to 3-9.

The fact Police are pursuit happy and make only a negative contribution to road safety by their road safety program is completely skirted - despite that the content of 3 MoT reviews and one they commissioned found this to be the case ie that since 2003 when the Boy Racer legislation was passed and the RAM quota software began completely tasking road Police crash trauma has increased.

As if the fact we lead the OECD in deaths per vehiclle kn travelled and are in leading youth toll ranks is unrelated. Police well know their methodology including bad pursuit practices is implicated - because they have in hand MoT advice that the more thety enforce the select priorities - especially speed - the higher the toll goes.

It's not rocket science. Many studies show that initiating chases over speed infringements and suchlike immeasurably up risk to the public and consequently trauma levels. But Polices report starts anmd ends on the nut job note that chases start for only one simple reason - that offenders run.

This is childish gobbledy-gook. Why are people suffenly running 2000 times a year when it was 500 until 2002? Are Kiei's naughtier? No - Police have been scavenging revenue from that date and pulling people over for trivia since then. There is no moral law or 10th commendment to chase what runs - unless you are a greyhound.

But Police have far bigger stakes in this than prize seeking greyhounds - and therein lies the reason they should not be writing reports about the chase or not to chase dilemna. It does not help their credibility, which has been shot since their management took and continue to take the MoT advice delivered at a 2005 meeting of the NRSC to "ignore the results (of the quota system) and try to believe (they) have the right system".

This is probably their weak point as to why they refused to debate Candor Trust on live television when given the oportunity. Such is their interest in road safety that they can't and won't step up. They are not road safety hero's - just Treasury darlings and pretenders to the title.

The most neuseating part of the latest whitewash out of many was the refusal to look art the human cost of Polices program. Almost tripled ACC crash loabilities since it was introduced in 2003. There is no concern to balance the interests of innocent third party chase victims.

They briefly note the fact that many States only chase for violent offences, and some Autralian ones prohibit chases over traffic infringements. These are the chases upping our toll. How else are Police isuing 120,000 learners breach licenses while maintaining high youth tolls. This is the definition of "redundant" and "shooting blanks".

It is horrifying to see on p45 they were considering placing in their pursuit training manual that those they would chase are likely to be young inexperienceed drivers, drunk or drugged and unlikely to comply with road rules in the chase scenario eg red lights.

The chase policies of road safety considerate countries disallow chases of youth and caution against chasing impaired drivers. NZ seems to have entered some twilight zone where best evidence practices are automatically reversed. And reaps high tolls as a result.

It is telling that Police are most anxious of all to avoid prescriptive policy regarding permitted causes for chase initiation. They want to retain discretion after proving they lack proper judgement time and again, as without it and the right to puyrsue quota ticket issues with utmost zeal they could not meet key performance indicators.

Ones acting strongly against safety that take Police far off their alleged duty to protect life, making them slayers. Slayers with knowledge aforesight - given the MoT reviews and advice they increase trauma by their tactics and the advice to ignore the fact. This report qualifies Police as responsibilitydoodgers willing to empoloy rthespin teactic of "great lies" ie the more you upsize it the less uninformed people will suspect BS.

It is clear to Candor Trust after years of trying to reason with an underachieving Road Police faction that's declared war on safety, that only a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate crash causes, and the failure of the Road Policing program will get to the crux of NZ's safety demise.

Including the true reason for Police rigidity about their right to conduct dangerous pursuits. "Our advice to frontlune Officers being ordered to work unsafely isto question your Managers about the content of the 3 MoT reports regarding the Road Police Resource Allocation Model (RAM)in 2005 and why they have increased quotas, despite advice the system increases traumas."

"This is a serious business undermining Polices credibility and mandate, when Police are lying by omission in reports about issues of substance, and are furthermore happy to cheat the road using public out of their lives by running a faux road safety program - they know from repeat reports that what they do daily is worsening safety yet seem determined to persist. It's criminal."

ENDS

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