One of the lengthy police pursuits of a fleeing driver in 2018 which ended in a crash. Photo / File
One of the lengthy police pursuits of a fleeing driver in 2018 which ended in a crash. Photo / File
More drivers are fleeing police in the Bay of Plenty and deliberate attempts to drive at police officers just doing their jobs have also risen. Sandra Conchie reports.
A top Bay of Plenty cop says more fleeing drivers trying to run down police officers or ram patrol cars during pursuits.
The comments come as new figures reveal the Bay of Plenty was one of New Zealand's top spots for pursuits resulting in serious injury crashes last year.
The region ranked first equal with Counties Manukau, after 11 serious injury crashes involving fleeing drivers last year. The next highest was Canterbury, which had six.
According to new police data, 28 people were seriously injured in pursuits in the Bay of Plenty policing district in the past five years and three people died.
The most recent deaths were in 2018. Stephen Elijah Harrison, 25, died after crashing into a tree in Kawerau in May and a 24-year-old driver died after crashing on Malfroy Rd in Rotorua in November.
Bay of Plenty police were involved in 552 chases last year - more than double the 208 in 2009. The region had the fourth-highest number of pursuits in New Zealand.
Last year, just over half (305) the chases were abandoned, but 90 ended in a crash.
Rotorua area commander Inspector Phillip Taikato said pursuits were becoming "more and more common", as was fleeing drivers deliberately aiming at police officers or their vehicles to try to avoid capture.
"Not long ago in the Eastern Bay of Plenty one of our police staff was ... left with lifelong injuries after being deliberately struck by a fleeing driver.
"That officer would have been killed that night if it wasn't for the great work by the emergency responses on the spot."
Taikato said, sooner or later, "someone else is going to be killed by such selfish, reckless and cowardly behaviour".
"We need people to start thinking about the dangers to themselves and others before they decide to flee from the police or decide to ram police vehicles.
"We're now more prepared to highlight ramming of police cars as an aggravating factor when those responsible come up in court for sentencing," he said.
Bay of Plenty Police Association director Scott Thompson's plea to drivers was: "Just stop".
Thompson said the injury and death toll should serve as a grim reminder about the risks of failing to stop when signalled by police.
"We need people to just stop and deal with whatever the issue is that brought them to the attention of police in the first place and then they can move on with their lives.
"Nothing is worth taking off and hooning around the streets or driving on the wrong side of the road trying to evade our officers, as it's never going to end well."
Pursuits were stressful situations for police and crashes also took a toll.
"It does impact badly on them and their family, especially when they come in for criticism for not abandoning the pursuit earlier, despite them just doing their job.
"It amazes me the reasons some people give why they didn't stop, such us not wearing a seat belt or their car had a noisy exhaust and they didn't want a ticket.
"Making this sort of dumb decision can have huge consequences for themselves, their families and innocent members of the public or one of our members. Just stop."
Thompson said the laws were appropriate but police wanted to see stiffer sentences for those who target officers or their vehicles.
Assistant commissioner of road policing Sandra Venables. Photo / Supplied
Nationally over the past decade, the number of police pursuits has more than doubled, reaching 4863 last year, with 76 fleeing drivers dying including six in the Bay of Plenty.
Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Sandra Venables said overall in New Zealand fleeing driver crashes were trending down, as were resulting deaths and injuries.
Venables said the rate of crashes reduced from 15.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2018 to 12.7 per cent in the same period last year.
"Only a very small number of drivers chose to flee police and they pose a considerable risk to other road users, themselves, and their passengers.
"Many of the drivers who flee demonstrate high-risk behaviours and put themselves and innocent members of the public at risk," Venables said.
"The number of deaths and serious injuries arising from fleeing driver events nationally had fallen by 36 per cent when compared with the same quarter last year," she said.
"We expect to see the loss of life and injury continue to decrease."
Police were also abandoning more chases.
"This shows our police staff are continuing to prioritise safety during fleeing driver events. What we really want is for all drivers to prioritise safety on our roads.
"If signalled to pull over and stop by police, we ask that you comply. Nothing is worth risking the loss of life for you, your friends, or any road users," she said.
