Stop Prioritising Offenders over Innocent Lives

Reform NSW Police Pursuit Policy to Protect Our Community

In NSW, when a criminal flees police in a stolen car and starts driving dangerously, officers are forced to back off. The pursuit ends. But the danger doesn't.

The offender keeps driving at lethal speed — now with no police presence to track, contain, or stop them. Innocent families, motorcyclists, and pedestrians are left in the path of a speeding criminal who just learned the easiest escape trick in the book:

Drive dangerously enough, and police must let you go.
The Deadly Flaw in Current Policy
NSW Police pursuit policy was designed to reduce risk. Instead, it has created a perverse incentive that criminals now exploit:

●      Offenders know that aggressive driving forces police to disengage

●      Word spreads,  youth car theft groups teach each other the trick

●      Police are left watching stolen vehicles disappear into traffic

●      The community bears the risk that should belong to the offender

This policy doesn't remove danger, it transfers it from the criminal to innocent people.

Innocent Lives Already Lost
Skye Sassine (2009)

19-month-old Skye was killed when a stolen vehicle being pursued crashed into her family's car. Her death led to "Skye's Law", but it only increased penalties. It didn't give police the tools to stop pursuits before they turn deadly.

Daniel McNamara (2025)

Daniel was a motorcyclist near Gunnedah. He had nothing to do with any pursuit. He simply crossed paths with a stolen vehicle fleeing police, and paid with his life.

These are not isolated cases. Innocent Australians continue to die because current policy leaves them unprotected.

What We're Asking For
We're not calling for reckless force. We're calling for what already works overseas:

Controlled pursuit-ending techniques: Like the PIT manoeuvre (US) and TEPAC methods (UK) trained, calculated interventions that end pursuits quickly and reduce prolonged high-speed chases.

Proper training and authorisation: Only specially trained officers, following clear protocols, with appropriate oversight.

Legal clarity for officers: When an officer follows authorised training to protect the public, they shouldn't face career-ending uncertainty for doing their job.

We Call On the NSW Government To:

1.     Urgently review NSW Police pursuit policy

2.     Authorise controlled pursuit-ending techniques for trained officers

3.     Prioritise community safety over offender welfare

The question is simple,  should policy protect the person fleeing in a stolen car, or the innocent family driving home?

Sign now. Demand reform. Protect innocent lives.