Victorian police pursuits have increased from six to 60 per month, it has been revealed in the wake of the Bourke Street tragedy.
Police have been criticised for not stopping driver Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas, despite tailing him for several hours before he allegedly mowed down pedestrians in Melbourne's CBD last Friday, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
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However, Deputy Commissioner Andrew Crisp said police pursuits had increased 10-fold within the past six months.
"When it comes to pursuits, we know we've seen a change. We introduced changes six months ago, and we know we've gone from five or six pursuits a month to about 60 pursuits a month," Mr Crisp told reporters on Thursday, nearly a week after the deadly attack.
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"Our members make sound decisions, day in and day out, and they will continue to do that."
The Police Association has said police had chances to intercept Mr Gargasoulas, but were directed not to for safety reasons.
Mr Crisp was speaking about the capture of young escapees from the Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre, some of whom led police on high-speed chases in stolen cars, when he was questioned about the force's pursuit policy.
It was the second time this week he defended the pursuit policy, after a four-month-old internal email on intercepting stolen cars was leaked to the media.
The September 13 email written by Mr Crisp and obtained by News Corp stated: "Plan your approach and response when intercepting a stolen or suspect vehicle – time is on your side."
In his response on Wednesday, Mr Crisp said: "To ram a car is an extremely dangerous act ... it's not a smart move. It's not like the movies."
The police pursuit policy was tightened in July 2015, following the deaths of 14 people in chases across the state over five years.
But the new rules came under fire, after two stolen cars that were not pursued later crashed and killed two innocent people in separate incidents. Meanwhile, police on the beat said offenders baited them by speeding away, knowing they would not be chased.
The backlash prompted a further review. Road policing Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer flagged "substantial changes" to the policy in June last year, but said the details would not be released to the public so as not to "educate the criminal element".
Police allege Mr Gargasoulas deliberately drove at pedestrians on Bourke Street about 1.30pm on Friday.
Two victims remain in a critical condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Five patients were in a stable condition on Thursday evening.
At The Alfred hospital five patients remained in a stable condition, after two others were discharged.
Two-year-old Zara Bryant , whose younger brother Zachary was killed in the rampage, and nine-year-old Maggie Hakin, whose older sister Thalia was killed, remained in a stable condition at the Royal Children's Hospital.
Four patients were in a stable condition at St Vincent's Hospital.