High-speed police car chases double in SA
EXCLUSIVE: Teenage car thieves linked to a horrific smash on the Southern Expressway are among a surging number of hoons leading police on high-speed chases.
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TEEN car thieves linked to a horrific smash on the Southern Expressway are among a surging number of hoons leading police on high-speed chases.
The Advertiser can reveal police pursuits on South Australian roads have almost doubled in the past three years — from 325 in 2012/13 to 606 last year.
Five teenagers charged over the chase through Adelaide’s suburbs appeared in court on Tuesday and two received a severe dressing-down from a magistrate who described their behaviour as “stupid” and “selfish” and “brazen”.
Magistrate Luke Davis told one of the teenagers “you need to wake up to yourself” as he refused to consider any form of bail.
He later told another teenager accused of being part of the gang of teenage car thieves “I’m just stunned you’re expecting to get out on bail — get real”.
Police are investigating links between the crash at Bedford Park, which left three people hospitalised, and street racing before it was pursued by officers.
Monday’s chase comes just two months after a mother of two was killed when teenagers led police on a pursuit in a stolen ute allegedly travelling at 160km/h along the Southern Expressway at Bedford Park.
The pursuit was terminated before the crash.
But Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the 606 pursuits for 2015-16 — almost two a day — needed to be put in context.
“The level of driving does vary from the most abhorrent, stupid driving behaviour we could possibly imagine to people who simply refuse to stop travelling at the speed limit,” he said.
“There’s a need to understand the context as well so when you see the raw number, it can be cause for alarm and we’re certainly not saying that pursuits are not an issue of concern.
“But we need to consider the context and understand the variations.”
Mr Stevens said the incident on the Southern Expressway on Monday did not involve a police pursuit.
“They were two cars that are allegedly drag racing — there were no police vehicles involved in that.
“There’s this suggestion we need to have a public debate about whether or not we can justify pursuits.
“My point is that there are people out there that will engage in highly dangerous driving behaviour, regardless of whether police are there or not.
“It’s been said that a car is simply a one-tonne bullet and if you’re going to discharge a firearm down Rundle Mall and expect that you’re going to do so without injuring someone, you’re a fool.
“If you get in a car and drive at incredibly dangerous speeds and break all of the road rules, you’re also a fool.”
Police Minister Peter Malinauskas warned that the as risk of road deaths or injuries increased during the Festive season and that hoon drivers would “feel the full force of our laws”.
“It’s senseless to add reckless driving into the mix, putting the lives of innocent people at risk,” he said.
Figures show SA Police were involved in 606 pursuits which led to 51 crashes and nine injuries in the most recent financial year.
That was up from 557 pursuits for the previous year, while in 2013/14, there were 490 high-speed chases and 325 in 2012/13.
Motor Accident Commission spokeswoman Megan Cree said high-speed pursuits were caused by a reckless few who made intentional choices.
“There was absolutely no excuse for putting the safety of other innocent people at risk,” she said.
Premier Jay Weatherill said the behaviour was “awful”.
“The people that actually engage in this behaviour are not only putting their own lives at risk,” he said.
“People are innocently going about their daily lives and then having their lives put at risk and in some cases maimed, and we hope no worse.”
SA Police Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said as recent crashes and tragedies had highlighted behaviour that leads to pursuits pose risks to innocent road users, offenders and police.
“The decision by a police officer to pursue, or not to pursue, is never taken lightly and is a difficult one which rightly attracts widespread public attention and scrutiny,” she said.
“Engaging in a pursuit is one of the most dangerous tasks a police officer can undertake and therefore the safety of the public is always our primary concern, ahead of apprehension or an arrest.”
The owner of the stolen black Mercedes involved in Monday’s pursuit said it was “a bit of a shock” to learn his car may have been involved in a serious crash.
The western suburbs man, who did not want to be named, praised the efforts of the police in catching criminals.
“The police are pretty good and they have everything they need (to catch criminals),” he said.
“If they (criminals) think they can get away with it, they are totally wrong.”
Victims of Crime Commissioner Michael O’Connell said police pursuits represent a very small part of policing.
“Yet it is evident from the recent tragedies result in high — arguably unacceptable — levels of death and injury to innocent people,” he said.
“Police, who make the decision to pursue under stress with adrenaline pumping, too often also suffer road trauma.
“Two central questions ought to be the focus of debate: whether the human toll is warranted; and whether high speed pursuits make our roads safer for those who abide by the law.”
In 2012, Deputy Coroner Anthony Schapel criticised police in relation to the lack of guidance about pursuits.
He recommended police avoid high-speed chases if there was an unfounded assumption the pursued vehicle was stolen, or the occupants were engaged in illegal activity, and if the driver of the pursued vehicle was impaired by alcohol or drugs.
At the time, SA Police said it would not adopt a no-pursuit policy.
Coroner Mark Johns and Deputy Coroner Anthony Schapel did not want to comment.
Convicted criminal Raymond Jones was on Tuesday night on the run after ramming a police car in Craigmore, in Adelaide’s north.
Police allege Jones, who was on home detention for assault, drove his Ford Falcon into a patrol car at 1.20pm.
— with Elizabeth Henson
Numbers of police pursuits
2015-16: 606
2014-15: 557
2013-14: 490
2012-13: 325
*Source: SA Police
Two months on our reckless roads
Tuesday
A police car was rammed in a pursuit at Craigmore. The chase started on Yorktown Rd before the car driven by convicted criminal Raymond Jones rammed police at Bower Rd.
December 5
A stolen black Mercedes led police on a two-hour pursuit from the southern suburbs to Dry Creek. Two men fled in a stolen Nissan before it crashed into a ditch in Edinburgh. A link between the chase and a crash on the Southern Expressway crash is being investigated.
November 30
A stolen car led police on a chase from Woodville North to Renown Park, where the car was found abandoned. The car was spiked on Torrens Rd, Woodville North.
November 28
Following a domestic dispute at Cumberland Park, a man allegedly abducted his ex-partner and children and led police on a chase through South Plympton, Port Adelaide and Rundle Mall before being stopped in Hindley St. The driver, Damien Hall, was shot by police.
November 17
Two people were arrested after leading police on a pursuit from North Adelaide and crashing into a police car in College Park.
November 15
Police pursued a woman from Elizabeth South to Hillier before her car was found abandoned at Kudla. She ran off on foot before being found. The police helicopter was involved in tracking the vehicle.
November 15
A stolen car was pursued by police from Whiteparish Rd, Elizabeth North, before the vehicle travelled through a reserve. It was found abandoned on Rockbourne St.
November 13
A woman in a stolen car was pursued from Allenby Gardens, until she crashed into a Stobie police at Holbrooks Rd and Armour Ave, Underdale.
November 10
Police arrested a man and a woman after a two-hour pursuit of stolen car from Monteith, until it eventually stopped in Lameroo. The car’s tyres were spiked several times but the vehicle failed to stop.
October 22
A man was pursued by police through One Tree Hill before his tyres were spiked and he crashed into a patrol car in Elizabeth North. Nobody was injured in the pursuit.
October 19
Police pursued a car on Commercial Rd, Salisbury, before it crashed into another vehicle, killing 74-year-old Ethel Boyce. Police said the pursuit had been called off before the crash.
October 6
Mother Nicole Tucker was killed when her car was hit by a stolen ute in which teenagers had led police on a pursuit while allegedly travelling at 160km/h along the Southern Expressway at Bedford Park. The ute was driven by a 15-year-old boy who has since pleaded guilty to the crash.