Road Accidents Involving Police Vehicles (Hansard, 6 April 2004)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the police have to strike a balance between responding promptly to emergencies and apprehending offenders, and ensuring the safety of the public.
Last month the Association of Chief Police Officers launched new guidance for the management of pursuits, and we welcome this. It is designed to help to ensure that pursuits can be resolved quickly and safely for everyone involved. The guidance fully recognises that there may be occasions when it is better to discontinue a pursuit on the grounds of public safety.

Lord Berkeley
My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend for that Answer. He will be aware from a Written Answer that I received on 15 March that in the past five years 90 people have been killed and 765 injured in these accidents. Does he agree that possibly the more serious concern is the difference between the records of different police forces? For example, in Thames Valley three people were killed and 14 were seriously injured in the five-year period whereas in South Wales the figure was nil. Does my noble friend agree that the best practice that is clearly undertaken by some police forces should be spread nationwide as quickly as possible?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, there are very many reasons for differences in the accident rates of different police forces. I, of course, agree with and acknowledge the point that my noble friend makes about the spread of good practice across the country. For that reason we very much welcome ACPO's recent publication which we hope will further raise standards in this area. It is worth adding that there has been a very welcome decline in the number of deaths and injuries resulting from pursuits and emergency responses. In the year before last fatalities were down 8 per cent, serious injuries were down 37 per cent and slight injuries were down 36 per cent; so there are improvements. Clearly, the ACPO guidance will help the police service nationally to build on that and develop it further.

§ Baroness Scott of Needham Market
My Lords, does the noble Lord accept that for the victims and families 1712 of people involved in such accidents the fact that the police are attending an emergency is of very little consolation? What are the procedures for investigating the causes of these accidents? That is not, and should not be, done in the spirit of a witch-hunt, but should be carried out in order to ensure that where compensation is an issue it is awarded as quickly as possible and that the reasons for such accidents are investigated thoroughly and can be put right.

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, following an incident of this kind there is a proper procedure for investigation. When a police vehicle is involved in a fatal road traffic accident the force will voluntarily refer the matter to the Police Complaints Authority, now the Independent Police Complaints Authority, and a full investigation will be undertaken. It is usually the expectation that an experienced traffic investigator, normally from another force, will be part of the investigation team and a report is then sent to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether any personnel from the police service should be prosecuted. Of course, a report is made to Her Majesty's Coroner who will hold a public inquest, so there is a very full and thorough procedure. But of course the noble Baroness is right; nothing can put back what has been done and it is very tragic when people die as a result of these dangerous pursuits.

§ Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, are there not real difficulties in determining the cause of these accidents? Are the Government prepared to give consideration to the introduction of no-fault liability along the lines advocated in the Pearson report that was published some time ago?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I do not think that we would want necessarily to go along that course. It is important that the police have full opportunity to undertake a pursuit where public safety is threatened and where a serious crime is perhaps being investigated or where the police arc endeavouring to get to an emergency in very difficult circumstances. I certainly understand the point that the noble Lord makes but I think that we have to be very careful in pursuing that particular course.

§ Lord Faulkner of Worcester
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that it is essential that the ACPO guidelines to which he referred in his first Answer are adopted and implemented by all forces and that they should have the effect of rules which all police forces must follow? Does he also agree that when police pursuits take place, only the most highly trained police drivers should be involved and that the pursuit should be controlled by a senior officer in a control centre who can, if necessary, call off the pursuit if the danger to the public increases?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, with regard to the first point, ACPO published guidance in full 1713 consultation with the Police Complaints Authority following its investigation of serious road traffic incidents involving fatal pursuit. It is expected that that guidance will be adhered to and, of course, the control and command centre will want to be in continual contact with the police officers involved in the pursuit. By its very nature, a pursuit involves a fast-changing set of circumstances, and it will be understood that police officers must have a degree of operational freedom in making a judgment about what they see in front of them when pursuing another vehicle.

§ Lord Ackner
My Lords, in how many cases does the police authority admit liability on a civil basis, or do all cases have to go to court for civil liability to be determined?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I am not aware that figures relating to civil liability are kept by police authorities. However, I shall investigate that point and write to the noble and learned Lord.

§ Viscount Falkland
My Lords, if the noble Lord has the statistics before him, can he tell us how many accidents have as their root cause poor maintenance? Further, can he tell us whether there has been any evidence of a drop in the standard of maintenance of police vehicles where PFIs have been put in place and where maintenance is contracted out rather than carried out in-house?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the statistics are detailed but they do not have the level of detail which the noble Viscount seeks. I am not aware of any particular problems relating to the standard of care and maintenance of police vehicles, which remains very high. I am certainly not aware of any difficulties arising from those services being subject to outside or external contracts through the PFI route.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, has the noble Lord taken into account the comments and suggestions made in the debate that I initiated on this subject, particularly with regard to false alarms which cause police cars to be driven at great speed through red traffic lights? I think that the situation has greatly improved since then, but I hope that the noble Lord has taken account of that debate.

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I am sure that we will have taken very careful account of what the noble Lord said during that debate. I am drawn to agree with him that there has been much reflection on this very serious issue. For that reason, I was delighted to be able to report that there has been a significant reduction in the number of fatalities, serious injuries and slight injuries over the past few years. With the ACPO guidance in place, we want to see that improvement continue.