14 September 2021
REF NUMBER: IR-01-21-26319
Ashley Stewart
[FYI request #16537 email]
Dear Ashley,
I refer to your Official Information Act 1982 request dated 27 August 2021 for information
relating to fleeing driver incidents.
Specifically, you requested:
Around December 2020 Police changed their pursuit policy. My questions in
relation to this are:
1. For 2 years prior to the change, how many pursuits/fleeing driver
incidents were there?
2. Of these incidents, what percentage resulted in the driver being
identified?
3. Of these incidents, how many resulted in serious crashes?
4. Since the change in policy, how many pursuit/fleeing driver incidents
have there been?
5. Of these incidents, what percentage resulted in the driver being
identified?
6. Of these incidents, how many resulted in serious crashes?
Please see the table below. Data for the 2021 calendar year is supplied to the 31st of
August.
Incidents of fleeing drivers are recorded in the Fleeing Driver Notification Database. A
notification is completed after a fleeing driver event has ended, regardless of whether a
pursuit occurred or not.
Information about the total number of offenders that were recorded as being identified
when the fleeing driver notification was created has been included. Please note, this
number includes incidents where the offender was known prior to the event or was
identified following enquiries made shortly after the event concluded. It does not include
offenders identified after the notification had been submitted and the investigation has
commenced.
Police National Headquarters 180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wel ington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
I have also included the number of court proceedings for failing to stop offences in each
year. Note, this does not include investigations that have not yet been resolved. This also
includes offences dealt with by way of alternative resolutions.
Calendar
Fleeing Offenders Offenders
Court
Court
Year
Driver
Identified
Proceedings
Notifications
Identified
Percent Proceedings
Percent
2017
3796
2190
58%
2876
76%
2018
4095
2358
58%
3108
76%
2019
4863
2639
54%
3425
70%
2020
4846
2427
50%
3368
69%
2021
4287
1513
35%
1805
42%
Police also regularly publishes data about the number of recorded fleeing driver incidents,
including how many of those resulted in crashes and serious injuries on our website. The
latest information is available for download from:
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-
us/publication/road-policing-driver-offence-data-january-2009-march-2021
I trust this answers your request. If you are not satisfied with the with the way I have
responded to your request you have the right, under section 28(3) of the OIA, to ask the
Ombudsman to review my decisions.
Yours sincerely
Superintendent Steve Greally
Director: National Road Policing Centre
