Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker says he’s recently visited several remote communities and officers are now more confident in his leadership

Transcript

Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker says he’s recently visited several remote communities and officers are now more confident in his leadership · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: There is no doubt that it's been a massive year
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory Police, a year which has not
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: been with our controversy and numerous issues across the board.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now is the Northern
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker. Good morning to you, Commissioner. Firstly,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: a couple of incidents well from overnight. I might go
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: firstly to the fact that we do know that a
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: man attempted to sexually assault a child during broad daylight
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: in Palmerston earlier this week. I understand that that offender
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: has now been located, not only.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Located, but also arrested, so they're currently in our custody
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: and we'll go through the conclusion of our investigation phase
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: with that particular individual. But a lot of dedicated work
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: that went across the form of our frontline responding, our
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: investigation teams on the ground, working with their forensics teams
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: and being able to affect that arrest this morning. Equally,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: we've had our team working with the victim and their family,
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: a lot of support that we've been able to arrange
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: with them, putting him into contact with relevant services and
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: making sure that they're going to Boka and be able
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: to move into their future as well.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Now, I know some people have been questioning why when
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: the incident happened at two thirty on Wednesday, the public
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: weren't notified until yesterday at about eleven o'clock.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: In the morning.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Why was there such a big sort of time gap
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: between then, that's at.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: The discretion of the investigators to understand what's the best
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: practice for them. One of the most primary things that
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: they have to understand and consider is the risk to
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: the community, particularly for any inference that it might be
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: stranger danger related and the like. That's the assessment that
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: they made. We will have a look at that through
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the course of things, but they do know that our
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: primary focus is to try and ensure that the community
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: are aware when it's appropriate, and certainly not to jeopardize
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: any criminal investigation.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess when you talk about that risk to
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: the community, particularly when that person was still at large,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: that's why a lot of people would be wondering why
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: the community wasn't notified.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: And again that comes down to the call for the investigators.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: I should add that investigators tend to know a lot
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: more information than ordinarily we would do. We don't tend
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: to lean into the investigations will allow them to do that.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Now. Unfortunately, another situation overnight where police were targeted by
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: members of the community, this time in What Air. I
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: believe that a female officer was injured after I think
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: having rocks thrown at her.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, correct, really disappointing behavior. Last nights, her officers responded
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: to a call that her person had been injured with
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: an axe. They went there, a large group from an
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: opposing group of family had arrived there, up to one
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: hundred and fifty on reported, and as they were trying
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: to engage, they started to be thrown to projectiles and rocks.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: One of those rocks struck our officer to the face
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: t sentimentally laceration. I also out to go to the
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: clinic to have that treated and glued back, and then incredibly,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: her and her partner returned to the location to continue
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: to engage with the victim and provide support to the victim.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: I've been in touch with that officer and heard a
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: message back from her this morning because obviously she's been.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: Resting, has a sore head.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: But again, just incredible work for that whole team out
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: at What Air and really disappointing behavior. So my team
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: well aware that I'm expecting the community are going to
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: bring those offenders to the police station today.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: So you are expecting that they're going to be bought,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: that the community is actually going to bring them there.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Correct, that's what we've bust and I'm expecting that we'll
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: get that cooperation.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: It must be a worry for you, as you as
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: the leader of the police force, to see a situation
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: where obviously that's unfolded last night. We know that we'd
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: had a few situations in recent weeks where we've literally
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: had vehicles driven at the police.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: Some of it is just disgusting behavior.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: It is, there's no defense to it, and it's all
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: individual behavior. Now, the harsh reality is there's always underlying
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: social issues that have caused these offenders to do the
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: behaviors that they do. It doesn't make it defensible, but
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: highlights that the police are ultimately at the end who
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: are having to be out there at twenty four to
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: seven to be able to deal with this. We're on
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: the front line, we're wearing it. My people are being
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: exposed to some of these behaviors. Disappoints me no end
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: to see that this sort of behavior goes on, and
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: that's why I'm merging that community of whatever to stand
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: up and bring those people forward.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Does it make it harder for police to be able
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: to do their jobs when they are being subjected to
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: that kind of behavior and in some cases it seems
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: like it's a lack of respect.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: I think there's a number of factors to it.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: I think respect, unfortunately, is one that people might ordinarily
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: make when.
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: They're sober and of sea and mind.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: We're certainly, unfortunately seeing a significant rise in the consumption
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: of spirits as opposed to beer and the like, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: that subsequent behavior has seen far more harm across their community.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: And we're again at the front end of that and
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: dealing with that, but also the rise of mental health.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: It's very, very prominent, and we're responding to a whole
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: lot of those things, which is really disappointing.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: When you talk about that alcohol issues. We know that
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: the ending of the Stronger Future's legislation happened recently. I mean,
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: have you seen an increase in some ofhol those alcohol
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: field issues.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, by the end of the year, we'll loom onto
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: six months since that's occurred. That'll give us a reasonable
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: line of sight to determine what trends we may have seen.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Certainly we are seeing presence of more public drinking in
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: some of the places that we hadn't seen for quite
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: a while. Does give a bit of an indication that
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: there's some secondary supply issues going on. But you know,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: with our current demand, particularly on our family and domestic
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: violence resource, it's incredible. We responded to ninety seven family
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: domestic violence calls across the Northern Territory in the last
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: twenty four hours.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: We only had nine.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Reports of unlawful entries. So that's how significant the demand
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: is on our resources.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: Sorry, ninety seven in twenty four hours.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: Well, how do you deal with that?
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Well, we do, and therein lies part of what we've
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: got to start exploring. Now, many of those family domestic
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: violence related matters can constitute arguments and the like, but
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: we know unfortunately those things can escalate very quickly and
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: harm can arise as a result. So we've got significant
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: policy and procedure we have to follow. Unfortunately, there's been
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: multiple deaths in the Northern Territory over a long period
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: of time related to family and domestic violence. Four of
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: those deaths are a subject of a cranial that's been
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: joined together in the middle of next year, and we're
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: trying to prepare some broader concepts and ideas on how
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: police can be best supported to try and address that.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Well, I know even today there is obviously other No
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: More March which is happening. I believe it's inside Cashua
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Square kicking off about eleven forty five. It is such
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: a scourge on us here in the Northern Territory, the
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: issues that we've got with domestic violence, and I mean
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: then the work that the police have to do is
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: really at the pointy end of that issue. But is
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: there enough being done before it reaches that point?
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Well, I think that's the big issue that we've got
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: to try and understand as a collective is how do
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: we get in front of these social issues. You know,
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: we have the lowest incidence of welfare dependency in the
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory. We saw that things that arose once those
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: double payments in COVID came through switch from beer and
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: wine to spirits and then unfortunate when that money disappeared,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: we saw a switch to hand sanitizer being consumed and
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: all the broader social issues that arise from it. All
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: these youth we deal with, they come from both broken
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: family backgrounds and the like. So there's a collective effort
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: that we've got to keep trying to do as a community.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: But the police are certainly front and center and that
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: demand environment is there for all to see.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: One of the areas that we have seen some real
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: issues is Alice. It is something that we've spoken about
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: a lot on this show. We've had a lot of
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: people call through from Alice Springs. Police have indeed surged
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: in Central Australia locals, so they've seen a real change
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: in the behavior there with the police. With that increased
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: police presence, Commissioner, how long are those additional police going
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to stay there?
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: We searched forty five extra down there that included our
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: mounted patrol, included resources from some of the neighboring remote
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: communities down there, but also from Darwin area, from some
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: of our other work areas and work units. To the
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: credit of all of those officers, they put their hands
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: up straight away.
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: Some were sleeping in their.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Own beds that morning and by that evening they were
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: on the beat down in Alice Springs, helping the front
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: line down there and helping that community to try and
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: turn things around. Currently, the operation runs to the fourteenth.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: It was already's pre plan that we're going to have
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: an operation leading into the summer of Alice Springs.
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: That's very standard for us.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: I've got a graduation tonight and we've got sixteen additional
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: resources who are being permanently based down into Alice Springs
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: early next week, who have graduated or have already been
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: here for six months, so they'll have a good surge
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: of resource in going into the Christmas period. We won't
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: be withdrawing those resources until we're satisfied that we've got
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: some good recalibration having occurred in that community.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: So over the Christmas period in Aura Springs there will
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: be at least sixteen additional.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: Place we've been deployed down there.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: Why didn't we send them in earlier?
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: The truth of it is the resource pressures, and I've
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: just highlighted to you when we're dealing with ninety seven
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: family domestic violence issues. It's not exclusive to our springs.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: It's across all parts of the Northern Territory. Certainly our
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: northern remote communities have been quite pressurized in recent times
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: as well. Catherine has had a spike an activity, significant
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: number of people living rough and increasing the overcrowding problem
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: through Catherine. So it's not a case that I've got
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: a luxury of significant resources that i can just move
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: where the problem is. For every action that we take,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: unfortunately we're seeing a displacement effect. But the point with
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Ola Springs was twelve year olds continually trying to play.
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: The game in the CBD.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: We needed to make sure that that was as safe
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: as it could reasonly be and to try and sort
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: of take the temperature out of things. And it looks
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: like it's been very effective while having been able to
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: send those resources, but it does come across to other areas.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, you said then twelve year old sort of
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: playing the game, and I know that that's something we've
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: spoken about again across the board right around the territory.
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: When you talk about some.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: Of the issues that we've got with youths, You've mentioned
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: some of the reasons, some of the causes for those
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: youths being out on the streets, But we now also
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: know that the age of criminal responsibility has obviously been
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: raised to fourteen operationally. Does that make it more difficult
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: for your officers to then be dealing with young people
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: under the age of criminal responsibility.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: We're working with territory families to understand exactly what we
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: can do with those individuals when we come across them.
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: The simple fact of the matter is.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: We need to be able to know how we can
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: engage relevant services with these youths when we come across them.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: It's no great secret we're coming across them at two
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: am in the morning, three am in the morning, sometimes
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: in supermarkets, in people's residences, in people's yards. So if
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: they're under the age of twelve, we want to be
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: able to know categorically how do we put pass that
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: child on because clearly I would suggest at that time
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: of the night and in the circumstances we find them,
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: they're a child in need of care.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Well, and this is the whole point, you know, has
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: that been worked through then in terms of if you
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: let's say there's a child on the streets at twelve
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: o'clock at night that has engaged in behavior that ordinarily well,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: that nobody deems okay, you know, whether it's the theft
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: of a vehicle or break an entry. So them at
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: this point, what do the police do do they have
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: to call territory families.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: And that's you know, once the legislation comes in for
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: that age. But clearly we deal with offenders already that
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: are under the age of ten, and we have those issues.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: So we're always trying to work to our first priorities.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: How do we cease the recurrence of offending of that
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: particular youth. How do we make sure the relevant services
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: have been activated now that that age group is intended
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: to change. That's what we're working with Territory families to
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: understand the very scenarios that we're confronting and.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: How do we best do that.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Because of course our demand environment, as I've just spoken about,
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: particularly with family and domestic violence, continues to come through,
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: so those calls are waiting for us to respond. I
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: can't afford to have a van tied up looking after
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: a child for three or four hours because nobody else
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: is on the ground to look after them.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: Well, absolutely not.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: If you're in a situation where there's ninety seven domestic
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: violence incidents that you're trying to get out to in
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: a twenty four hour period, I would suggest that the
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: police have got some more pressing issues to deal with.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Correct But again for our community and where these issues
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: are at the moment. Yeah, the frequency which we have
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: youth out and about at those hours is of concern.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: So when do you anticipate that you'll sort of have
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: the answers to those questions logistically in terms of how.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: They'll be dealt with.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Well, it's going to continue over the course of the
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Christmas period, So the teams are on deck, still working
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: through what that all looks like and shapes up like
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: the policies and procedures will come to the fore for
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: when the legislation ultimately comes into force.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Now, Commissioner, we know that morale of the police force
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: has been a big issue this year. That Police Association
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: survey that obviously happened early in the year was scathing
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: of morale and also of your leadership. Do you feel
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: that things have gotten better significantly.
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: I've been very fortunate.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: I've been able to travel in the last couple of
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: weeks ago and visit many of our people. I've been
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: out to a number of our remote communities, out to
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: Nullen Boy, Catherine Tenant Creek, Alice Springs, overnighting engagement with people.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Certainly in Upswing, they're starting to provide feedback that they
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: now understand what's been going on a lot of the
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: information they're now seeing through, which is really pleasing. This
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: is information they're providing to me and they're quite bored
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: about where we're going. And certainly we all know we
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: want the cronial inquest over and done with. There's significant
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: lessons in there for us, but we've done a heck
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: of a lot of work to try and get in
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: advance of that, so that by the time twenty twenty
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: three rolls along, we're on an upswing to really try
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: and see a brighter future for everyone.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: In the territory.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: So you're saying that rank and file officers are saying
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: to you that they're more confident in the work that
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: you're doing.
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: Correct. Yep.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Now I do want to ask, how are those police
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: numbers looking at the moment?
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah, good sir.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Our last pay was sixteen hundred and forty fte our
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: establishments it's at fifteen hundred and eighty eight, so we're
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: well above those numbers at the moment. We'll always eb
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: and flow with our numbers, but we've never fallen between
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: below fifteen eighty eight, which is the benchmark that I
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: have to try and keep a gas in my view
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: to make sure that I've got appropriate resourcing available on
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: the ground. So it does come at a budgetary costs
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: for me, but it's one that I do on behalf
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: of the.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Community how many are off on leave, because I know
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: that's been a contentious issue as well throughout the year,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: having a juggle people that maybe didn't get leave throughout
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: covert and now catching up on.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: It, or on sick leave or on long term sick leave.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: We invariably try and have a perimeter of about twenty
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: percent at any given time on recreation leave and long
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: service leave. And then of course you have the emergent
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: issues where people have to go away unexpectedly. We can
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: average at any given point in time between twenty five
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: to thirty percent of our resources being unavailable, but we
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: try and factor that in with effective rostering and trying
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: to make sure that we're balancing it by limiting how
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: many we approve at any given point in time so
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: that there is some redundancy in the case of emergencies
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: where people just simply.
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: Have to go.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: And so over the Christmas period, are you expecting that
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: there's going to be between twenty five and thirty five
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: percent of the workforce on lead.
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that will be a normal trend line.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: And you can juggle that, Yep.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: Yep, we're planning for it. As I say, certainly for
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: somewhere in other springs. You can see how strategic we've
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: been in respects of our recruiting program. And when they're graduating,
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: it's not by mistake that they're graduating before Christmas, in
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: November and December. They're graduating so that there's always a
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: surge of fresh resources going into these places in advance
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: of those more significant pressure demand periods for us.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Is it a juggle then when you've got sort of
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: new officers coming on board, making sure that you've got
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: like a reasonable amount of experienced officers to be able
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: to show them the way.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's an ongoing challenge. I mean, it goes
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: back to many years ago. We had to recruit accelerated
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: recruits from other police forces because we had a lack
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: of experience. And I think that a number of those
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: police officers who are still with us now we're recruited
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: some twenty years ago using that model. So the issue
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: of having junior staff is not a new one for
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory Police, but a fantastic police force to
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: learn the trade.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: Now, Commissioner, we are fast running out of time.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: But what impact do you think that the pay freeze
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: is having right now? I know that the Association has
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: launched a fairly scathing attack on the Northern Territory government
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: when it comes to the pay freeze. What impact do
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: you think it's having on offices at the moment.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: Oh, there's little doubt.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: I hear it from the offices that they don't feel valued,
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: and that's something that I keep talking to them about.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: I've reassured them that I'm actively engaged with government and
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: with the Commissioner for Public Employment about what I think
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: is an appropriate funding model going forward and what also
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: looks like for our wage increase. I've kept them up
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: to date with the contemporary changes that have occurred in
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: the industrial environments of a number of other jurisdictions and
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: highlighted the fact that there's been significant growth of extra
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: police in many of those many jurisdictions on top of that.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: So what do you reckon that funding model or what
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: do you think that that pay model could look look like?
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: It won't be insignificant.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't think, but of course we've got allow that
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: process to go through. I can't talk specific figures. That's
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: obviously for the commissioner for publican placeant to engage with.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: But I'm certainly doing all I recently can to make
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: sure that the discussion is well informed and reaches an
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: outcome sooner rather than later, so that again my people
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: can really rip into.
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: Twenty twenty three.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: So from what you've said there, you do think that
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: they deserve a pay increase. You've spoken about that with
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: the commissioner, but also you can see that in other
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: states it's meant that they've been able to bolster their numbers.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Correct, My people have worked incredibly hard over the last
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: three years and you know their efforts have been very
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: very significant and the job of being what police officers
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: do frontline, but also my firefighters are going through eb
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: The work that they do is all incredible.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: I think where we've been and certainly you know, reading
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: the play of where people want things to go, our
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: wage increases what people want and I think it's reasonable
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: to request it.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Police Commissioner, we are just about out of time. But
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: what is your message for territorians ahead of Christmas? Like
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: I said earlier. I know it's been a tumultuous year
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: to say the least, but what is your message for
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Territorians for Christmas.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: I don't think it's any great irony that we've just
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: been through a heat wave for an extended period across
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: the territory and it's probably fairly reflective of what twenty
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: twenty two has been. What we can hope for coming
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: into Christmas is that some of the sting goes out
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: of it, and we're doing a lot of operations across
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: the board to try and make sure that that happens.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: But we really want to make sure that every Territorian
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: stays alive and looks after each other and is able
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: to enjoy their time with their loved ones. We know
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: there's going to be a lot of Territorians leaving the
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: territory already. A lot will go by air, but significantly
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: and number will go by road. We want people to
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: be really considered on the roads. Take care, take your time,
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: don't be in a rush. We really don't want to
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: be giving the worst message you can possibly give people
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: at Christmas time, so please stay safe. If you see police,
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: see firefighters out on the raid, our emergency services people.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: Give them a wave, say thanks for twenty twenty two
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: and look forward to working with you in twenty twenty three.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: Well Northern Territory Police Commissioner, Will Police, Fire and Emergency
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Services Commissioner, appreciate your time. Thanks for the time that
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: you've given us throughout.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: The year as well.
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: No worries. Thanks going great Christmas you too,