Stolen cars 'not worth police chase risk'

When a vehicle speeds away from a Police stop, how are the police to know whether the driver is running because the car is stolen, or because it has a dead body in the boot? Should we allow the perpetrators of any crime to escape because the police aren’t allowed to catch them? Unless there is some way to endow our police with ESP, they need to be supported in their efforts to rid the road of menaces. There are people in our community who have absolute contempt not only for you and your property, but for the safety of your family. Often for an offence that, in this town, attracts little more than a good behavior bond they will happily drive at high speed into oncoming traffic, through red lights and along footpaths. This problem will not be solved by appeasement. An eye to the pathetic sentences handed out to those responsible for the last two Police chase fatalities may serve as an indication as to where the real problem lies, and it isn’t with the Police.

The finding by the review only goes to highlight the creeping dumbing down of the judicial and government processes. It is obvious to any blind freddie with a drinking problem and only four working brain cells that if the unsavoury elements in town were given an inkling that escape from the cops would be as easy as ‘step on it dude’, the ramifications across the broader spectrum of society would end up being much much worse than the occasional and slight risk to life limb and property that the current guidelines entail.

Perhaps in future such reviews need to have the following clause inserted into the terms of reference: “Furthermore, it shall be a requirement that the person conducting this review will firstly have more than three working brain cells and secondly he or she will think beyong his or her initial prejudices and feelings and think of the bigger picture.”

This just highlights that the police just need to review their tactics. Bring on caltrops.

Don’t you people see. If the Police just backed off and let these people go about their daily business there would be a lot less problems.

Yep. The police don’t ‘decide’ to start a pursuit. They assume that by turning on the sirens/christmas lights the idiots they’re trying to pull over will pull over.

Couldn’t have said it better myself Scott.

What I do seem to find funny is they way the baddies who start the pursuit aren’t given anywhere near the same level of grief as the Police who are just trying to do their jobs. Whenever a pursuit goes bad, it always seems to be the Police who are at fault… Do we forget that someone was actually breaking the law… Like i said in my first post… damned if they do, damned if they don’t…

I don’t think there’ll ever be an answer to this debate.

Police forbidden to chase criminals? What sort of a bunch of wankers are running the show in Canberra.

How about these guys instead criticise the judges that continue to grant bail to the desperate and dangerous re-offenders in our society!

I was in WA when that whole debate about stealing/chasing was going on. They said one point in favour of chasing was that often the perps had oustanding warrants for other things, catching two birds with one stone sort of thing. I have no idea how accurate that statement was though.

smack, One would not necessarily need unmarked vehicles. Both marked and unmarked could be used. In both cases, they would need to remain a distance back and hopefully, if the offenders do realize there being followed, they will try to act cool. After all, any speeding or evasive action would only make police more suspicious. But yes, it is certainly not a complete answer. And in the US, it rarely works for the tough and serious crims. But it has been very successful in dealing with drunk drivers and joyriders, situations like the one in which Clea Rose was killed.

DJ, you bring up an interesting point. Immobilisers are great, but has anyone else seen Mr Minit and Key King advertising that they can now replace immobliser keys for major car brands. I have to say this is quite concerning. If it takes a special code and $150 to order one from the company, the chances of someone getting one that can open my car is slim. But depending on how Minit and Key King do it, who knows?

I trust that the police have had enough training to know when it is and isn’t worth the risk

Human beings are completely and utterly shithouse at assessing risks at the best of times. Throw adrenaline, machismo and childhood memories of being Batman into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.