Citation

Cliff DM. Proc. Australas. Road Safety Res. Policing Educ. Conf. 2003; 7(2): 175-182.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, copyright holder varies, Publisher Monash University)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Rural areas have disproportionate levels of road trauma due to the types of roads, vehicles, and driver behaviours found in farming regions. This environment also presents particular difficulties for road policing, as small numbers of officers must cover large areas and carry out enforcement action against drivers who are often known to them personally. These types of challenges are faced by a number of New Zealand Police Districts. In one of these, the Southern District, New Zealand Police have implemented an integrated approach to enhance road-policing activities. This approach has prioritised improved crash reporting and individual officer performance monitoring, providing a solid basis for intelligence based deployment according to risk. The latter has included focused intelligence activities on specific problem areas such as rural drink driving. Staff motivation and training strategies tailored to the rural environment have also been implemented, which has enabled the adoption of research-based enforcement tactics focusing on speeding, restraints, and intersection enforcement.