Pursuing fleeing drivers is not the only option for police and New Zealand should adopt a no-chase policy to avoid pursuit-related deaths, says a leading road safety campaigner.
Four people have died in New Zealand this month alone following police chases and Clive Matthew-Wilson says the pursuits are unnecessary.
“The FBI has said the style of police chase used in New Zealand is completely unnecessary and that the police can catch just as many people without this style of chase,” he said.
Mr Matthew-Wilson says chases are banned in many Australian states and they don’t have pursuit related deaths.
"As an Australian police chief said, ‘we’d rather drag them out of bed at 6 o’clock in the morning than drag them out of the wreck of a car that just crashed,'" Mr Matthew-Wilson said.
“Imagine if police had shot eight people in the back for fleeing in a car, there would be a national outcry but somehow it’s okay when it’s the result of a police chase.”
Mr Matthew-Wilson said the government didn’t want to appear soft on crime but a ban on pursuits would eventually be imposed.
"There have been multiple reviews that have said the way police are chasing often contributes to the situation," he said.
On Monday, a 15-year-old male and 12-year-old girl died in a crash, following a chase near Palmerston North.
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