Out of the 3.5 million vehicle stops New Zealand Police officers make every year, approximately 3,800 become fleeing driver events. While these events only represent a very small proportion (0.1%) of vehicle stops, drivers who fail to stop for Police and subsequently undertake high risk driving behaviour increase the risk of serious injury or death to themselves and the public.
Since July 2017, the Independent Police Conduct Authority and New Zealand Police have been jointly undertaking a thematic review of fleeing driving events. The purpose of the review is to better understand the fleeing driver environment and Police management of these events.
The report was intended to be finalised and made publicly available in late 2018, but because of the complexity of the issues and the need for careful analysis, the report is now expected to be finalised in February 2019.