Inquest into the death of Andrew Stark

Case Number: 2022/280628

Findings Date: 24 November 2023

Magistrate: Erin Kennedy

CORONIAL LAW | police pursuit; death in police operation; decision to initiate police pursuit; relevance of seriousness of offending; conduct of driving; Safe Driving Policy (SDP)

Responses

Recommendations

The Commissioner of the NSW Police Force

1. That consideration be given to making amendments to the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) Safe Driving Policy (2019 v9.2) [SDP] in the following (or similar) terms:

a) Paragraph 7-2-1 of the SDP be amended to replace the words "community and police" with the words "community, police and the offender".

b) A new paragraph be inserted in the SDP between paragraphs 7-2-1 and 7-2-2 as follows:

a. In weighing the need to immediately apprehend the offender, matters to be taken into account include:

• The seriousness of the offence for which the police were initially attempting to stop the vehicle, and in particular;

o the need to engage in the pursuit of a vehicle in relation to a road traffic offence without evidence that another offence, being of a serious nature, is likely to have been committed

o in relation to offences other than road traffic matters, whether the police are satisfied that a serious risk to the health and safety of a person exists

• the means that may be available to police to apprehend the offender at a later time (for example, the ability to use of a "form of demand" in relation to the registered owner, or where the identity of the driver is known).

c) Current paragraph 7-2-2 of the SDP be amended in the following terms:

• insertion of the words "In weighing the degree of risk to the community, police and the offender" at the commencement of the paragraph; and

• insertion of the additional factor as mater number (iv) under the second dot point:

• uncertainties concerning the offending driver's age, abilities, state of mind, and the roadworthiness and number of occupants of their vehicle

d) Point (d) of paragraph 7-5-1 be amended so that the words "reason for pursuit" are replaced by the words "the offence for which police attempted to stop the vehicle, and any other reason for the pursuit".

2. That training provided by the NSWPF to officers who may become involved in the conduct of pursuits be updated and revised in the following respects:

a) to emphasise that in providing a "reason for pursuit" to VKG operators, what is required is a description of the offence for which the relevant vehicle stop was being attempted;

b) to reinforce the fundamental importance of officers turning their minds to the question of the need to immediately apprehend an offender as part of the weighing exercise under the SOP before initiating or continuing a pursuit, and that in doing so:

i) less serious offences (including most traffic offences) will in general carry a lower necessity to immediately apprehend; and

ii) that other means by which it may be possible to later apprehend the driver (including by utilising the 'form of demand') must be considered.

c) to provide education, based on statistics such as those in the 2013 report of the Australian Institute of Criminology, (Motor vehicle pursuit-related fatalities in Australia, 2000-11) concerning factors such as the extent to which drivers involved in pursuits are affected by drugs and alcohol, age, cultural background, and other characteristics that are frequently common to drivers involved in pursuit fatalities;

d) to discourage officers from making assumptions about the presumed "criminal intent" of drivers based on the mere fact of a failure to stop, and to appreciate the relevance of other factors such as age, mental state, cultural background, inability to pay fines and fear of loss of licence; and

e) to emphasise the need for officers to consider uncertainties concerning the offending driver's age, abilities, state of mind, and the roadworthiness and number of occupants of their vehicle when assessing the danger of initiating or continuing a pursuit.

The Commissioner of the NSW Police Force, the Minister for Police and the Attorney General

3. a) That, with the co-operation of the Commissioner of the NSWPF, research be conducted and a report be produced by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), or another appropriate government agency, preferably one independent of the NSWPF:

b) in order to understand the reasons for the significant increase in the number of pursuits conducted by the NSWPF over the last decade;

c) with a view to proposing measures, including by reference to policies in other Australian jurisdictions, that might be taken to substantially reduce the number of pursuits undertaken by the NSWPF; and

d) that the relevant report be provided to the Minister of Police, the Attorney General and be made publicly available.

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