Rise in drivers f leeing police

The number of drivers convicted of fleeing police is sky-rocketing, and they are getting jailed for it at a rate of nearly two a week.

Ministry of Justice figures show 500 more people were convicted of failing to stop in 2017 than five years earlier and the number jailed has gone up by a factor of almost five.

Meanwhile, police figures show there were 12 fatal police pursuits in 2017 – more than during any of the previous five years, when there were between two and five fatal pursuits annually.

Yesterday morning, a driver apparently fleeing police died when the car they were driving slammed into a power pole in New Plymouth. That was after the fleeing driver’s vehicle had crashed into the police car pursuing it, police said.

The ministry figures show the number of those jailed for failing to stop jumped from 17 to 79 between 2012 and 2017.

The jailed drivers are the worst offenders because a prison term can only be imposed on a third or subsequent conviction for the same offence.

Auckland traffic lawyer Steve Cullen said police were once more willing to withdraw a failure-to-stop charge – especially if it was a first offence – but there seemed to be a ‘‘groundswell’’ now to pursue the charge.

Tougher penalties for the crime, introduced in August 2017, made it a more desirable option and police may have previously laid a charge, such as dangerous driving, he said.

Now, those recidivist fleeing drivers were starting to get to their third conviction.

Police had strict protocols around pursuits that factored in concerns such as risk to the public and speed, he said.

Assistant road policing manager Sandra Venables said police assessed risks before pursuing a fleeing driver.

Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson largely blamed video games for the problem, which mostly came from members of the ‘‘Xbox generation’’.

‘‘The current tsunami of young adults fleeing police is being driven by video games, boredom, unemployment and an anti-authoritarian attitude learned from Hollywood action movies. It’s a lethal combination.’’

‘‘The tsunami of young adults fleeing police is being driven by video games, boredom, unemployment and an antiauthoritarian attitude ...’’ Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson