See further reporting on a recent deeply disturbing NSW high speed police chase initiated after an illegal u-turn and ending with police crashing into a bus stop outside a child care centre.
The figures obtained by the Greens also show that in the last two years 8 people have died as a result of NSW police pursuits, and 78 have been injured, 14 of who were innocent bystanders.
NSW Greens MP and Spokesperson for Police David Shoebridge said:
“NSW has far and away the most police chases of any state in Australia, and the risks and dangers they create for police, offenders and innocent bystanders are not being properly considered.
“This recent case is a clear illustration of a dangerous and failed policy with NSW police escalating a minor traffic offence of an illegal u-turn into a dangerous high-speed chase that ends with police crashing into a bus stop outside a child care centre.
“Across the world, and across Australia, police forces are winding back on dangerous chases for minor offences and NSW is stubbornly bucking that trend.
“It is deeply disturbing that the majority of NSW police car chases result from what are often minor traffic infringements that then escalate into a serious and life-threatening police pursuit.
“The NSW Police Minister needs to take a good hard look at these figures and explain why NSW police are escalating traffic offences to high speed chases and increasing the risk of serious injury or death to the drivers, passengers, police and innocent bystanders.
“A police pursuit should only be undertaken on the basis of the seriousness of the initial alleged offence, rather than on subsequent traffic violations.
“NSW police are hitting high speeds of up to 187km/h chasing offenders, and this kind of dangerous pursuit should be limited to chasing more serious criminals.
“If a person fails to stop at an RBT then there is good reason to believe they are not sober, so to escalate this to a high speed chase is clearly dangerous.
“With in-car police cameras, polair and comprehensive on-line databases, nine times out of ten traffic offenders, or people who fail to stop at an RBT, can be far more safely and easily arrested by police when they return home than through a high speed chase.
“Instead of a dangerous chase, most times police should be throwing the book at these drivers when they get home.
“NSW can learn a lot from jurisdictions in the US as well as Queensland and Tasmania where police chases are only undertaken to chase serious offenders and not to dangerously pursue someone doing an illegal u-turn.” Mr Shoebridge said.