Police will continue to pursue offenders - Collins

The scene of the fatal accident on Kirkbride Rd in Mangere. Photo / Richard Robinson

Police will not stop enforcing the law, Police Minister Judith Collins says, after two people died following police chases in Auckland over the weekend.

The fatalities were the 15th and 16th police-pursuit deaths this year. Five others were injured in the crashes.

Ms Collins told Radio New Zealand this morning people needed to pull over when officers signalled them to, or more lives would be lost.

She said police could not stop chasing offenders or the practice of driving off would become even more common.

"We have a few instances where people refuse to stop - obviously they have got something they don't want to talk to police about - and I'm not going to stand by and ask police to wave goodbye to them as they continue down a criminal path," she said.

Ms Collins said police could not ignore people breaking the law, dropping pursuits would mean later arrests may not result in successful prosecutions, as offenders would argue someone else was driving.

"I think what we are saying is that if we force the police not to enforce the law - if we tell them not to do it then we would have more of this sort of behaviour.

"The fact is that we now have fewer people killed on the roads these days than we did 30 years ago, we have more police officers out there enforcing the law and the roads are generally much safer. However, we continuously get people who will not obey the law."

Police policy had been reviewed six times after crashes from pursuits and the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) would investigate the deaths.

"Every single one of these incidents has been referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority, who look at everything. They are going right through the whole thing and the police are held to account for everything that they do. Unfortunately, the message has not got through to drivers to `please don't run it's just not worth it'.

"Please don't run, if you do run what will happen is you will put yourself at risk, you will put others at risk and you will put police at risk."

Green MP Keith Locke said reducing the number of chases was likely to save lives and the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) had recommended only pursuing for serious offending.

"The authority points out that the benefits from pursuing a person for minor offending does not outweigh the risks," he said.

"It is unfortunate that (Ms Collins) is set against a more moderate policy."

In Queensland police only pursue for serious offences or when someone's life is in danger.

"We owe it to the families of all those killed and injured to explore other options than the current hard-line policy."

Prime Minister John Key told Breakfast he wanted answers as to why so many people fled police - about 2000 cases this year.

Mr Key said the number of people running from police was "a real worry".

"That is something that I know (Ms Collins) is going away to have a bit of a look at to see if there are more options available to her," he said.

Weekend pursuit crashes

The 33-year-old male driver of a Subaru died instantly when he lost control on Kirkbride Rd, Mangere and hit a sign about 11.30pm on Saturday night. The impact caused the sign to fly into a carpark and debris damaged a nearby restaurant.

A 27-year-old man who was the front-seat passenger suffered serious head injuries while a 29-year-old man received moderate injuries.

Both were in a stable condition at Middlemore Hospital last night.

The Subaru crashed about 30 seconds after the pursuit began. An unmarked police car saw the car speeding - but when officers started to follow the driver accelerated.

In the second crash, four people were thrown from a stolen car when it crashed into a ditch on Chapel Rd, Botany.

A female passenger who was admitted to Middlemore Hospital died last night. Police have not released her name.

Fleeing drivers 'put themselves at risk'

Inspector Jason Malcolm, of Counties Manukau police, said officers spoke to an occupant of the car at Maraetai Beach about noon, but the driver sped away.

"Soon after police attempted to intercept the vehicle but abandoned their action when the standard of driving by the offending male deteriorated."

A short-time later the car was found crashed in the ditch. The four occupants had been thrown from the vehicle.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating both crashes and the separate investigations would be peer-reviewed by an out-of-town investigator.

Mr Malcolm said police were in a difficult position when a fleeing driver failed to stop.

"The important question that needs to be considered is why an individual feels the need to avoid speaking to police."

The onus of responsibility ultimately rested with the drivers.

"Drivers who flee from police put themselves and innocent road users at great risk," he said.

'Luck' no bystanders hit

Sachin Ghadiyar, manager of Aerodeck, the restaurant damaged in Mangare, said the restaurant closed just 20 minutes before the crash.

Debris from the crash smashed windows in the front door and knocked out wooden rails on the verandah.

People would normally be coming and going there at that time of night.

"It was very, very lucky ... normally at that time we have the last dinner guests moving out of the restaurant. It was only luck that we were closed."

Peter Nathan runs a motel on Kirkbride Rd opposite the crash site and is used to the speeding traffic.

"There are quite a lot of loonies, it's like a speedtrack."

There had been a crash at the same spot before when a driver lost control and destroyed a bus shelter, he said.