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

Sec 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

Sec 35 policing act - 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).

Road includes motorway, private road, private way

Temporarily means for a period reasonable in the circumstances

Question 17

Meaning of a road pursuant to Sec 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

What is urgent duty driving?

Answer 19

Urgent duty driving is when an enforcement officer on duty is driving above the speed limit or the natural flow of traffic, and may not be complying with certain traffic rules and is:

• responding to a critical incident
• gathering evidence of an alleged offence
• apprehending an offender for a traffic or criminal offence
• apprehending a fleeing driver
• providing security to and facilitating the movement of, an official motorcade as part of an operation (as established in the relevant Operation Orders)
• engaged in activities approved by the Commissioner in writing.

Question 20

Section 121 – Enforcement officer may immobilise vehicle, etc, in specified circumstance

When can you forbid for 12 hours

Answer 20

Either—
(i) a person who is for the time being in charge of a motor vehicle,
because of his or her physical or mental condition (however arising),—

• is incapable of having proper control of the vehicle; or
• does not complete a compulsory impairment test in a manner satisfactory to an enforcement officer, who is trained to give the test, when required to do so by an enforcement officer under section 71A; or
• fails or refuses to undergo a compulsory impairment test when required to do so under section 71A; or]

The enforcement officer may—
(a) Forbid that person to drive a motor vehicle for such period as the enforcement officer specifies:
(b) Direct the person to drive the vehicle to a specified place where the driver may obtain rest, or where the load on the vehicle or other conditions make it appropriate that the driver should drive to that place:
(c) Take possession of all ignition or other keys of the vehicle, and for that
purpose require that person to deliver up immediately all such keys:
(d) Take such steps as may be necessary to render the vehicle immobile or to remove it to a place where it does not constitute a traffic hazard.

Question 21

Law Notes

Answer 21

You cannot use 114 solely to talk to a passenger.

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.

there is no general power to stop motor vehicles outside the clear statutory powers. CIB and other non-uniform members should take particular note of the procedural requirements relating to identification contained in section 114 if future decisions similar to this are to be avoided.

Section 114 permits any uniformed enforcement officer to stop a vehicle by use of lights or a siren (s 114(2)). The driver must remain stopped as long as reasonably required for completion of the exercise of any powers conferred or duties imposed on the enforcement officer

There is no suggestion that the police entered pursuant to an implied licence; the police car appears to have been in hot pursuit; viewed objectively, the pursuit down the drive and the preventing of P entering his house occurred on the strength of s 119 Land Transport Act 1998 (“LTA”), which Parliament clearly intended to be available in such circumstances; however s 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