Police has accepted the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s investigation into a fleeing driver incident in Auckland on 3 September 2015.
The initial pursuit began when the driver of the stolen vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint on Auckland’s North Shore.
“In this situation, the officers were justified in the initial pursuit of the vehicle and followed correct policy when they abandoned shortly after,” says Superintendent Karyn Malthus, District Commander, Auckland City Police.
“However, a number of the subsequent actions by both police officers in pursuit vehicles and the pursuit controller at the Communications Centre did not comply with fleeing driver policy.
“Police investigate any matter which may be a departure from Police policy. As is standard practice Police reported this incident to the IPCA. In addition, I can confirm that an internal investigation was conducted. Under employment law, NZ Police has the same privacy obligations as any other employer, and the outcome of the internal investigation is not able to be released publicly. What we can advise though is that a number of lessons have been learnt and we continue to provide training and information to our staff to enable them to make better decisions when dealing with a fleeing driver incident.
“Police do note that this incident did not result in a death and or injury of any of the occupants involved and they were apprehended shortly after the pursuit concluded.
“The majority of fleeing driver incidents do comply with the fleeing driver policy. Police constantly review the fleeing driver policy to ensure a continuous improvement approach applies in this policy area, and that our officers have the appropriate guidance to make the right decisions involved in what are demanding and challenging situations.”
Police also note the IPCA’s recommendation in relation to the identification of individuals driving Police vehicles.
“Police have a range of work underway that will not only address this issue, but will allow us to have a greater awareness of where our staff are deployed. We are working through a number of processes that will allow enhanced capability of capturing this information, this would have benefits not only to address matters of this type, but to enhance our efficiencies and service delivery.”
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre