Our force’s hands tied over policy

CONSIDER this scenario.

You’re a police officer who has completed intense training to uphold the law and protect the community.

But almost daily, you see someone wilfully break the law in a myriad of ways. You switch on the police lights and siren, telling the driver to pull over. They don’t.

You’re made to watch the offender get away, your hands tied by a restrictive no-pursuit policy.

The Chronicle today reveals evade police offences across the Darling Downs region rose from 98 in 2012, to more than 260 in 2016.

This year alone, 105 people chose to outrun the law.

The policy’s exception is when there is imminent threat to life, but where is that particular line drawn?

The police union has called for the State Government to review its no-pursuit policy, not least because NSW offenders only have to make it to the border and they’ve outrun the police.

Tough penalties exist for evade offences, and to their credit police resolved about half the number of offences committed this year.

But at what cost to police resources?

It’s time to seriously reconsider the policy and enable our officers to enforce the law, just as its time for the public to remember they are never above the law.