Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Police Association President Paul McCue says exhausted police officers are being spread "dangerously thin" with Covid responsibilities

Transcript

Police Association President Paul McCue says exhausted police officers are being spread "dangerously thin" with Covid responsibilities · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line right now from the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Police Association, I have got Paul McHugh.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 3: Paul, Good morning, Katie, welcome back.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks mate, good to have you back on the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: show for the year. And no doubt, no doubt it's
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: going to be a busy one mate. It's an issue
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: that we have certainly well documented on this show. Our
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: police understrained juggling those everyday duties while also managing COVID
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: nineteen responsibilities. Now you pend an opinion piece in the
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  Speaker 1: Sunday Territory and saying that exhausted officers are being spread
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  Speaker 1: dangerously thin as the burden of COVID nineteen enforcement adds
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: extra menal stress to the Northern Territory's depleted ranks.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Paul Water offices telling you at the moment.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, obviously, you know, no doubt they've done a
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  Speaker 3: mountain of work. I know, obviously a management team and
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: all the way through to the boots on the ground
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  Speaker 3: that are out there responding to job. They have been
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: working a huge amount of hours, multiple shifts of overtime,
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  Speaker 3: away from their families and they're just physically and mentally
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  Speaker 3: exhausted and they're fatigued, and you know, we're now so
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  Speaker 3: thin on the ground. At times we can only get
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  Speaker 3: one van of course, you know, whether it be Alis
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  Speaker 3: or Darwin or Palmerston. And at many times sergeants and
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  Speaker 3: senior sergeants are helping in those vans to make up
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  Speaker 3: a cruise. So you know, that's no fault of theirs,
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  Speaker 3: there's no fault of the supervisors. It's simply the reality
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  Speaker 3: on the ground right now. And I think you know,
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  Speaker 3: the piece in the paper on the weekend was just
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  Speaker 3: simply to say, well, you know, this is not sustainable.
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  Speaker 3: This isn't a sustainable model of policing. You know, the
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  Speaker 3: community day to day policing is still is still there.
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  Speaker 3: We know the crime stats are up and people expect
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  Speaker 3: our police to be able to respond in a timely manner.
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  Speaker 3: But right now they're so thin. Of course that's impacted.
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  Speaker 1: I did speak to the Assistant Commissioner, Travis Woods yesterday
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  Speaker 1: and I asked him that question about whether there is
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  Speaker 1: just one patrol unit out on the road at any
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  Speaker 1: one time. He said that there is certainly capacity there
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: to be able to, you know, to get more officers
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  Speaker 1: out when required. But I guess the concern here is
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  Speaker 1: Paul like fundamentally, what people listening this morning want to
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  Speaker 1: know is is community safety being jeopardized in any way
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  Speaker 1: at this point in time because our offices are spread thin.
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  Speaker 3: Look, you know, that is I guess a major concern
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  Speaker 3: for a lot of the community out there. But of course,
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  Speaker 3: you know, when when an incident happens, you know an
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  Speaker 3: assistant Commission is absolutely right, there are other patrols, you know,
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  Speaker 3: whether it be in other sectors. We're talking primarily dah
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: and of course there but you know, if they're waiting
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  Speaker 3: in line at the Palmerston Watchhouse to lodge a person
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  Speaker 3: in custody, they are there for several hours. They're off
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  Speaker 3: the road, they're away from the CBD, or they're away
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: from the northern suburbs. So the less patrols you have
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  Speaker 3: per shift, the less opportunity there is to make sure
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  Speaker 3: the resourcing at the right levels to make sure the
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  Speaker 3: members safety is protected as well as the communities. And
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  Speaker 3: I guess you know, the feedback we're certainly receiving is
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  Speaker 3: that is that is certainly a concern and you know,
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  Speaker 3: no doubt with with you know, upwards of one hundred
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  Speaker 3: police tied up with COVID work. That is absolutely taking
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  Speaker 3: its toll.
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  Speaker 1: Now now I know that those border controls were dropped
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  Speaker 1: and those testing requirements for interstate and international travelers are
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: no longer in place. That that happened on Tuesday this week.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that the dropping of those restrictions are
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  Speaker 1: going to have any kind of impact in terms of
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  Speaker 1: the police no longer sort of having to manage those borders.
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  Speaker 2: Is it going to have much of an impact?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, it should do. I mean it should. It
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  Speaker 3: should have an immediate impact. I mean, we want to
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  Speaker 3: see you know, those officers immediately back into general duties
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: and crime and all the other sections they've come from.
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  Speaker 3: Many of our remote communities have been suffering too, and
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  Speaker 3: there's no doubt it should have an immediate impact. But
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  Speaker 3: of course, every time there's a required you know, whether
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: it's bio security measures that come in or you know,
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  Speaker 3: there is a lock in or a lockout and police
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  Speaker 3: are required, that's more boots taken away from from their
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  Speaker 3: day to day and traditional policing duties to covered COVID work.
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  Speaker 3: And that's where the impact has been. Now two years
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  Speaker 3: down the track, you know, it's just at the point
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  Speaker 3: where where you know it is a it is a concern,
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  Speaker 3: and that's a feedback we're getting now.
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  Speaker 1: As I said, I caught up with Travis Wurs yesterday,
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  Speaker 1: the Assistant Commissioner. I did ask him just how many
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  Speaker 1: of those officers were being used on COVID duties.
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  Speaker 2: Take a listen to what he had to say.
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  Speaker 1: If there are one hundred police that are being used
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  Speaker 1: on COVID duties, how can we say that that's not
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  Speaker 1: having an impact on the front line.
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  Speaker 4: I didn't say it wasn't having an impact. I acknowledged
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  Speaker 4: that it's having an impact.
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  Speaker 1: Is community safety being jeopardized because in some cases you
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: may be short staffed.
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  Speaker 4: Look, I don't suggest we're being short stuffed. Every remote
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  Speaker 4: police station staffed, every police station on the territory staff
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  Speaker 4: So when we say short staff I don't accept that
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  Speaker 4: that's the case.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what are officers saying to you at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: Do they feel as though they're short staffed and do
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  Speaker 1: they feel as though this is all having a big impact?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah? Look, I mean absolutely they feel their short staffed.
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  Speaker 3: I mean I understand what mister Wurst is staying there,
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  Speaker 3: but a lot of those shifts you know that are
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  Speaker 3: being staffed ave done so on overtime, and that's been
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  Speaker 3: the case for a long time. And we're talking, you know,
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  Speaker 3: large amounts of overtime being worked and that fatigue level
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  Speaker 3: is through the roof. Now, I guess I could give
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  Speaker 3: you an example, Katie, where I had, you know, after that,
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  Speaker 3: after that opinion piece, a direct feedback from a member
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  Speaker 3: and and and I'll quote their message to me, and
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  Speaker 3: it said government keeps saying they're throwing more money and
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  Speaker 3: it doesn't help the situation on the ground. It's time.
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  Speaker 3: It takes time to actually increase numbers. And we're time.
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  Speaker 3: We don't have members who are stayed are staying, they're tired.
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  Speaker 3: Members who couldn't stand it any longer have left. The
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  Speaker 3: ones that are still here are physically meant, in some
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: cases spiritually depleted, and long term effects for the police
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  Speaker 3: force are what they're concerned about. And you know, when
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  Speaker 3: we're getting that feedback direct from our membership and they're
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  Speaker 3: concerned about what the human cost is, then you know
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  Speaker 3: it's time to stand up and listen.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and then when you look at you know,
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  Speaker 1: at different locations around the territory where it's tough going,
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  Speaker 1: you know, if you didn't have COVID I Alice Springs
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  Speaker 1: where they're going through a.
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  Speaker 2: Really tough patch.
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  Speaker 1: Yet again, by the sounds of it, when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to these concerns around crime, I've no doubt that that's
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  Speaker 1: having a great impact on the force too.
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  Speaker 3: Oh enormous. I mean, I mean our police you bear
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: the brunt of community anger if it's taking a long
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  Speaker 3: time for police to turn up. And I'm talking also
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  Speaker 3: about you know, those people who aren't for our phones,
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  Speaker 3: our people in communications in the communications center here in Darwin,
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  Speaker 3: they be at the brunt of somebody who's saying I've
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  Speaker 3: rang police and they haven't turned up for exu period
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  Speaker 3: of time. Once they finally turn up, they're the ones
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: on the ground that are copying it. So that is
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: more and more common feedback. And like I said, they
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: are doing everything they can. The supervisors are doing everything
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  Speaker 3: they can. They are just stripped of resources to all
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  Speaker 3: sorts of different different I guess, non traditional roles, and
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  Speaker 3: that's taking its toll on the front line.
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  Speaker 2: Well, before I let you go, I want to ask you.
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  Speaker 1: I know that there was a survey not too far back,
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  Speaker 1: and it's said that more than eighty percent of officers
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  Speaker 1: reported an increase in duties since the start of the pandemic.
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  Speaker 1: What exactly you know did this mean?
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  Speaker 3: So I guess what that essentially means is since the
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  Speaker 3: pandemic began, since all those requirements and measures came in,
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  Speaker 3: lockdowns and lockouts and all those things. You know, it
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  Speaker 3: is unequivocally clear that you know, members of an increase
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  Speaker 3: in their duties overall, whether it be through overtime or
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  Speaker 3: requirements to work on borders out in remote communities, eighty
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: percent of them have experienced an increase. So you know
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  Speaker 3: quite clearly that's and that's not unexpected an emergency that
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  Speaker 3: happens in cyclones, floods, but their short term this is
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: two years in now, and it's having it. It's certainly
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  Speaker 3: taking its toll, and I think that's what we need
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  Speaker 3: to understand.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, Paul, Actually, before I let you go as well,
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  Speaker 1: I know that that obviously the federal election is looming.
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  Speaker 1: We don't know exactly what date it's going to happen,
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  Speaker 1: but what we do know is that we've got a
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  Speaker 1: number of police stations in remote areas around the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory that requires some additional federal funding was my understanding
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  Speaker 1: in order to, you know, to make sure that those
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  Speaker 1: stations are up to the standard that they need to be.
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  Speaker 1: Can you just remind me and our listeners of the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: situation in those remote communities and really what's required.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So there's some federal funding that has been ongoing
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  Speaker 3: for quite a period of time. It has been reducing
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  Speaker 3: year on year, and this year it expires and currently
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  Speaker 3: it funds approximately fifty five police officers to work in
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  Speaker 3: remote communities in Northern Territory. Now, some of that infrastructure
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  Speaker 3: that came in in two thousand and seven, we're talking
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  Speaker 3: about the shipping containers for example, that has been left
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  Speaker 3: as a legacy of that intervention, and that is not funded.
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  Speaker 3: If that's not funded, they need to shut they are
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  Speaker 3: not fit for purpose. And if that funding doesn't flow
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  Speaker 3: through for those officers, will have fifty five less police
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  Speaker 3: in the remote communities and that would be devastating.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it would have a massive impact, I would suspect
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  Speaker 1: for those communities.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely and let the Northern Territory government know this is
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  Speaker 3: a problem. They've known about it for some time. This
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  Speaker 3: isn't you that funding has been reducing year on year
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  Speaker 3: for several years, so they need to have a plan
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  Speaker 3: in place if that funding doesn't flow through, whether it
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: be for the actual people working or the infrastructure, but
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  Speaker 3: they need to have a plan because we can't afford
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: to lose our police out in those communities.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Paul mchu, that sounds like an issue that we're
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: going to be talking a bit more about, I would say,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: over the next couple of weeks or months, depending on
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: when that election gets called. As always, I appreciate your time.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us on the show for the first
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: time this year.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: No worries. Good on you, Cody.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Thank you