Teens in stolen cars bait police, knowing they can’t chase them
Children as young as 13 are ‘‘baiting’’ police as they drive around in stolen cars, knowing the officers cannot chase them.
One group posted photos of police cars on social media along with the words ‘‘you can’t catch us’’.
Under police’s revised fleeing driver policy, released in December 2020 after a series of fatal pursuit crashes, safety was prioritised over catching offenders immediately.
In the 10 years before the policy change, there were 63 deaths related to the pursuit of fleeing drivers, including four innocent third parties.
Under the new policy, officers were told to pursue only when the threat posed ‘‘outweighs the risk of harm by the pursuit’’.
Instead, they should try to identify the vehicle and arrest the driver later. Even scenarios such as someone wanted for burglary, a driver weaving across lanes, a belief meth was in the car, a suspected stolen vehicle, or travelling at high speed did not justify a pursuit.
That policy is under review yet again. Sources say frontline police are frustrated having to watch offenders drive off in stolen cars right in front of them, powerless to do anything about it. Others say staff are ‘‘desperately’’ trying to get around the rules to catch criminals, putting themselves at risk of being investigated for breaching policy.
On Monday, police in Christchurch tried to stop up to six stolen cars with youths in them.
The youths are understood to have shared photos and videos of the police cars on Instagram, including one believed to have been made by a 13-year-old that had the words: ‘‘You can’t catch us.’’
As of March 21 this year, there had been no deaths involving police pursuits since the policy was revised in December 2020.
Three fleeing drivers, who were not being pursued, died in that time.
A briefing written for Police Commissioner Andrew Coster in preparation for a Waka Kotahi board meeting in December last year, released under the Official Information Act (OIA), said the number of fleeing driver events had increased, but those resulting in death or injury was projected to be about half what it had been over the past five years.
‘‘We need to remember that youths 18 or under make up a significant chunk of those killed or injured in fleeing driver events,’’ executive adviser Sarah Hutchings said in the briefing.
A quarter of fleeing drivers were 18 or younger.
‘‘While we are seeing a significant drop in those killed or injured, the next step is to lift the clearance rates in terms of identifying more fleeing drivers and holding them to account.’’
A report by national road police manager Superintendent Steve Greally in October, also released under the OIA, found frontline officers were concerned about the policy change.
Officers said there had been an increase in dangerous driving as a deliberate tactic to force them to abandon pursuit.
‘‘Officers reported cases of offenders baiting or taunting police due to the unlikelihood of an ensuing pursuit.’’
Research before the new policy came in found such incidents had ‘‘not been highly documented, suggesting they are isolated’’.
A police spokesperson said proposed fleeing driver policy changes were under consultation.
‘‘There will not be a decision on a potential trial until that process has been completed and considered by the police executive. That would not be before the end of September at the earliest.’’
A spokesperson for Police Minister Chris Hipkins said the policy was an ‘‘operational’’ matter.
Police Association president Chris Cahill acknowledged there were ‘‘varied opinions’’ on police pursuits.
‘‘We await details of proposed changes to the policy before commenting further.’’