Goff postures on police chases

Phil Goff's response to the police killing 15 people so far this year in police chases? Increase penalties for people fleeing police! Yeah, that'll make a difference - not. As the Independent Police Conduct Authority pointed out in their report [PDF] on police chases, the typical driver is a stupid, scared teenager who isn't thinking about the consequences of their actions. Increasing penalties will not deter such people, because they are not thinking about them. But it lets Goff posture as "tough on crime", and gets him a few headlines. Meanwhile, the real problem - poor police decisionmaking and a police culture of wanting to punish people for contempt of cop - goes unsolved. Until that is addressed, until the Minister stops supporting the police in their defiance of the IPCA, the bodies will keep piling up.