6.1 Road Policing

Question 1

What is the overriding principle in regards to urgent duty driving?

Answer 1

The overarching principle is that public and police employee safety takes precedence over the necessity to undertake urgent duty driving.

No duty is so urgent that it requires the public or police to be placed at unjustified risk.

Question 2

When must warning devices be used when conducting urgent duty driving?

Answer 2

Police must use red and blue flashing lights and sirens at all times while undertaking urgent duty driving unless a tactical approach is used.

Question 3

What is a tactical approach?

Answer 3

Urgent duty driving without the lights and sirens activated. This increases risks to the safety of Police and public. Therefore, using a tactical approach is the exception rather than the rule.

Question 4

Situations when you would use a tactical approach include:

Answer 4

• Approaching the scene of a serious crime in progress
• Attending a report of a suicidal person

Any tactical approach must be proportional to the incident. A tactical approach whilst exceeding the speed limit can only be used in justifiable circumstances.

Question 5

Is there a defence for proceeding against traffic signals or through intersections without lights and sirens activated?

Answer 5

No

Question 6

What are the main things an Officer who is pursuing a vehicle (or managing the pursuit) need to be aware of?

Answer 6

• The key objective is to resolve the fleeing driver pursuit as quickly as possible using the least amount of of force in the circumstances is the key objective.
• An inquiry phase is preferred over a fleeing driver pursuit where possible.
• Public and police employee safety takes precedence over the immediate apprehension of a fleeing driver

Question 7

Who can abandon a pursuit?

Answer 7

The lead or secondary vehicle drivers or their passengers or the pursuit controller.

Question 8

What is the overarching principle in terms of a fleeing driver incident?

Answer 8

The overarching principle is that public and police employee safety takes precedence over the immediate apprehension of a fleeing driver.

Question 9

What should other Police vehicles (excluding lead or secondary vehicles) do during a pursuit?

Answer 9

• Must not actively participate in the fleeing driver pursuit or respond unless they are preparing tactical options, undertaking a temporary road closure, collecting intelligence or are responding to a pursuit controller direction that could assist in safely stopping the fleeing driver.
• Must cease all non essential communication
• Must not follow behind the pursuit unless directed or approved to do so by the pursuit controller

note: a dog unit where tactically desirable may be in addition to the lead and secondary vehicle

Question 10

What steps do you take following a direction (or decision) to abandon a pursuit?

Answer 10

• Acknowledge any direction to abandon the pursuit
• Immediately reduce speed to increase distance
• Deactivate lights and sirens ONLY once below speed limit
• Stop when safe to do so and advise comms of location and that you are stationary
• Commence inquiry phase

Question 11

Who can conduct a non-compliant vehicle stop?

Answer 11

AOS or STG members who are trained

Question 12

What legislation is relevant to a fleeing driver pursuit?

Answer 12

Sec 114 Land Transport -
A constable in a vehicle following another vehicle by displaying flashing blue and red lights or sounding a siren, to require the driver of the other vehicle to stop

Sec 9 Search and Surveillance-
Empowers a constable to stop a vehicle if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is unlawfully at large or has committed an offence punishable by imprisonment, and believes the person is in that vehicle.

Question 13

Land Transport Rule 2004 - Rule 5.3 provides a defence for police for speeding if…

Answer 13

• The vehicle was being used by a constable engaged in urgent duty driving and compliance with the speed limit would likely prevent execution of the officers duty
• The vehicle was an emergency vehicle being used in an emergency and was operating a red beacon or siren or both

Police must reduce speed to 20km/hr when proceeding through an intersection

Question 14

Does Sec 114 permit police to stop a vehicle for any reason at all (eg to stop vehicle to interview passenger)?

Answer 14

No

Sec 114 (previously Sec66) does not give police unrestricted rights to interfere with the activities of the citizen.

Case law:
In regards to wanting to speak to the passenger, as the constables were not concerned with any aspect of the Land Transport Act, they could not rely on the powers of Sec 66 (114)

Question 15

Section 114 - officer requirements

Answer 15

The officer must be in uniform, or wearing a distinctive cap, hat or helmet, with a badge of authority affixed to it or be using flashing blue or blue and red flashing lights and sound a siren when stopping a vehicle.

Question 16

Section 35 (Policing Act 2008) - Closing of roads

Answer 16

A constable may temporarily close to traffic, any road or part of a road leading to or from the vicinity of a place, if the constable has reasonable cause to believe that

• Public disorder exists or is imminent
• Danger to a member of the public exists or may be reasonably expected at that place
• An offence punishable by 10 years imprisonment has been committed or discovered at or near the place

Traffic means all or any traffic (including pedestrians).

Temporarily means for a period reasonable in the circumstances

Question 17

Meaning of a road pursuant to Section 35?

Answer 17

A road includes:

• motorway
• private way
• private road

Question 18

What must you include in the initial report of a fleeing driver incident to COMMS?

Answer 18

Location
Direction of travel
Fleeing driver description
Reason for pursuit

Question 19

Tell me about the case law around section 119 when freshly pursing onto private property to breath test?

Answer 19

Section 119 LTA places upon the officer in such circumstances an inescapable duty to identify himself and to tell the person pursued and the occupant of the premises that the power of entry is being exercised under the section; the police failed to discharge that duty.

Question 20

Under section 113, LTA 1998, enforcement officers may enforce transport legislation…?

Answer 20

May at any time direct a person to give details when it may lead to the identification of the driver or person in charge of a vehicle, test and examine the vehicle, if it has caused an obstruction, move it, forbid an unlicensed driver and forbid to operate without a TSL.

Question 21

Under section 114, LTA 1998, what powers do enforcement officers have?

Answer 21

Power to stop and require to remain stopped, give details on demand, state if they are the owner, and if not the owner, give the owners name and address and anything else that may identify the owner.

Max 15 mins to establish ID.

Longer if offence identified.

Can K9 for failing to oblige.

Question 22

What power does Section 119, LTA 1998, give Police?

Answer 22

Police may enter if in fresh pursuit, a driver who has, refused to give details, driven dangerously or recklessly, or driven under the influence of drink or drug, to carry out EBA procedures or complete roadside procedures as if the person were sill in a vehicle on a road.
Section 120, LTA 1998, pertains to the arrest of persons for alcohol or drug related offences and assaulting an officer. What does it also include?

Arrest for not completing a CIT test in a satisfactory manner.

Question 23

Section 121 - Enforcement officer may immobilise vehicle, etc, in specified circumstances? What are they?

Answer 23

Believes on reasonable grounds a driver is incapable of having proper control of a vehicle, or fails to undergo a CIT test.

May forbid.

Forbid for up to 12 hours for EBA unless satisfied there is a good reason for shorter.

Direct to drive to a location for rest or load to be rectified.

Take possession of all keys and immobilise vehicle.

Can K9.

Question 24

Tell me about the case law around 114 where the constable just wanted to talk to a passenger and the vehicle failed to stop.

Answer 24

His honour went on to say that as the constables were not concerned with any
aspect of the Transport Act but simply wished to talk to the passenger of the vehicle
they could not rely on their power under s 66/114 to stop the vehicle.

Question 25

Tell me about the case law where cannabis was smelt and found after police allowed the vehicle to travel for 3.8k and then stopped it using 114.

Answer 25

There is a general power to stop vehicles under s 121(1) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 for the purpose of conducting a statutory search if certain prerequisites are met. There is also a power to stop vehicles under s 9 of that Act for the purpose of arresting persons if they are unlawfully at large or have committed an offence punishable by imprisonment.

Staff must ensure that they are familiar with the requirements of these two provisions and their statutory search powers.

It is not lawful to use s 114 of the Land Transport Act 1998 to stop a vehicle for a purpose unrelated to traffic enforcement. Every vehicle stop must be able to be legally justified.

Staff must be clear in their minds what power they are using before stopping a vehicle.

Question 26

Tell me about the case law where two plain clothes officers stopped and talked to suspects without being in uniform or using red and blues. The driver ran off and was charged with this and theft.

Answer 26

The Court held that the procedural requirements of what is now s 114 are not merely technical, and that the failure to observe the elementary requirements of the section meant that the stopping of the vehicle was unlawful, and was an arbitrary detention in breach of section 22 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990. The evidence
resulting from the breach was therefore inadmissible, and both convictions would be quashed.

Question 27

Tell me about the case law where the driver drove off and did not wait for the officer to do a QP and was arrested for failing to remain and failing to stop.

Answer 27

The Court agreed that the statements of principle to be found in Po and other cases: “.. support the proposition that the s 114 power to stop and require a driver to remain stopped may be exercised for reasons that go beyond the obtaining of information of the type referred to in s 114(3) and (5), so long as they are exercised for road transport purposes.”

“The existence or otherwise of any warrant for the arrest of the driver is another line of legitimate inquiry. There is no good reason why a person who is subject to a warrant for arrest for murder should escape detection because an enquiry about the existence of warrants is made after he or she is stopped under s 114. The fact that warrants arising out of road transport offending might exist is a good enough reason to allow inquiries to be made into the existence of any outstanding warrants.”

Question 28

What is a critical incident?

Answer 28

Where:

• Force of the threat of force is involved
• Any person faces the risk of serious harm
• Police are responding to people in the act of committing a crime.

Question 29

What must you do when a pursuit has been abandoned?

Answer 29

• Immediately acknowledge any direction to abandon
• Reduce speed
• Deactivate warning lights
• Stop as soon as it is safe to do so
• Confirm stationary and give location
• Inquiry phase