Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Superintendent James O’Brien says a new police operation has been launched to tackle property across Wadeye and Darwin

Transcript

Superintendent James O’Brien says a new police operation has been launched to tackle property across Wadeye and Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now is the acting
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  Speaker 1: commander for the Darwin Region with the Northern Territory Police,
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  Speaker 1: James O'Brien. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning. Now, James,
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  Speaker 1: the crime stats that were indeed released on Friday, they
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  Speaker 1: make for some pretty sort of I guess no one's
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  Speaker 1: overly surprised, I think with some of those crime statistics,
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  Speaker 1: particularly those people that do call into the show at
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  Speaker 1: different times. But when you look at things like Darwin,
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  Speaker 1: we know the commercial break in Drows seventy six point
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  Speaker 1: four to seven percent. Your motor vehicle theft was up
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  Speaker 1: thirty seven point five seven percent, house break in Drows
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  Speaker 1: as well thirty eight point eight two percent. There were
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  Speaker 1: some areas as well where things have gone down. But
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  Speaker 1: from your perspective, you know what is what are some
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  Speaker 1: of the contributing factors at this point?
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  Speaker 2: Well, Katie, I think as your listeners would know what.
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  Speaker 2: I've had a bit of unrest over the past, you know,
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  Speaker 2: however long some of that has caused a displacement of
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  Speaker 2: some people up here into Darwin, and that's for an
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  Speaker 2: array of reasons. It could be housing, it could just
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  Speaker 2: be that they want access to alcohol and those types
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  Speaker 2: of things. What we have seen though is that and
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  Speaker 2: as your listeners have heard in the media, is that
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  Speaker 2: when we do make arrest, we do release that yes
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  Speaker 2: they are from what Air. And so what we're doing
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  Speaker 2: at the moment is we've launched Operation Tan, which is
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  Speaker 2: going to concentrate on that specific demographic. So what we're
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  Speaker 2: going to be doing is a whole raft of things
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  Speaker 2: across Darwin and what Air. For instance, as everybody knows,
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  Speaker 2: our Trident staff, our property crime staff all over our
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  Speaker 2: property crime offenders and they do some really fantastic work.
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  Speaker 2: I was looking at their figures for the previous week
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  Speaker 2: and they did some fantastic work. And so what we're
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  Speaker 2: going to do is send a staff member down there
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  Speaker 2: to assist what Air with all of the property crime,
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  Speaker 2: so that we're going to have a bit of a
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  Speaker 2: Trident feel down there for the next four odd weeks.
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  Speaker 1: So what's that operation called Taran Tarn so Operation TAN.
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  Speaker 1: So it's really going to be looking at some of
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  Speaker 1: those issues that we've got because James, we've had, like
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  Speaker 1: we've had quite a few callers ring in at different times.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, one of them we'd spoken to last
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  Speaker 1: week who'd had his vehicle stolen here in Darwin then obviously,
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  Speaker 1: you know, taken out to what Air allegedly and then
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  Speaker 1: allegedly stolen from the police compound as well. Is that
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  Speaker 1: vehicle theft something that's becoming a little bit more common
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  Speaker 1: or a greater concern for the Territory Police at the moment,
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  Speaker 1: particularly in terms of those cars being taken to what Air.
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  Speaker 2: I think any vehicle theft is obviously of great concern,
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  Speaker 2: especially when you know we're having commercial premises broken into
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  Speaker 2: and ram rated with those vehicles. It is obviously a concern,
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  Speaker 2: and that's that's why we're sending somebody down there from
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  Speaker 2: Trident obviously to have a look. And like I say,
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  Speaker 2: there is an array of a whole hip of the
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  Speaker 2: things that are happening in the background. Your listeners may
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  Speaker 2: hear that we have a Darwin, Palmerston Litchfield Intero Agency
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  Speaker 2: Tasking and Coordination Group. There's also what I work in
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  Speaker 2: group as well. So we as police work very closely
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  Speaker 2: with our partner agencies on a daily basis and at
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  Speaker 2: the very operational level, so not just at the executive
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  Speaker 2: level where we coordinate and unblocks and roadblocks for people.
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  Speaker 2: What we do there was every single day. We've got
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  Speaker 2: our staff working with people like Larakia. So one of
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  Speaker 2: the initiatives that we're looking at is engaging what I
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  Speaker 2: elders with Larakia to try and work with those displaced
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  Speaker 2: people here in dark Do.
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  Speaker 1: We know how many displaced people we do have in
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  Speaker 1: Darwin at the moment from what those.
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  Speaker 3: Figures are really difficult, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's difficult to count the people who are
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  Speaker 2: out rough sleeping or are out you know, in some
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  Speaker 2: of the units that are probably over occupied here in
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  Speaker 2: Darwen due to that displacement. But we are working with
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  Speaker 2: people like Housing at the moment with some units that
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  Speaker 2: they've got.
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  Speaker 3: We're working with.
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  Speaker 2: Transit Safety, publicastic Safety, Larakia. I looked at their figures
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  Speaker 2: this morning and their return to country to what Air
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  Speaker 2: was quite good, and I think that they're progressing really
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  Speaker 2: well with their patrol statistics as well.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any idea on those numbers, like with
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  Speaker 1: the return to country through Larakia.
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  Speaker 3: The ones I saw this morning was just for the
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  Speaker 3: previous week from memory, and please, I.
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  Speaker 2: Would have to go back to the actual paperwork, it
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  Speaker 2: was twelve gone back and so I mean for a
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  Speaker 2: community of what that's pretty significant for us.
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  Speaker 1: Now in terms of those cars being stolen, do you
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  Speaker 1: have any idea of the number of cars that have
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  Speaker 1: been stolen from Darwin and taken out.
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  Speaker 2: Toward air No, Look, I don't have those figures to hand,
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  Speaker 2: and that's probably something that our tried and staff member
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  Speaker 2: once they're out there, we could probably look at getting
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  Speaker 2: some figures around that to really get a bit more
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  Speaker 2: of that number crunching and intelligence coming in for us
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  Speaker 2: to work with.
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  Speaker 1: Don't just go back to the crime stats. Obviously, the
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  Speaker 1: situation in Darwin when it comes to commercial breakings also
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  Speaker 1: your house break ins, they're pretty concerning what work and
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  Speaker 1: also in Palmerston. I know that you're obviously the commander,
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  Speaker 1: the acting commander for the Darwin region, so probably can't
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  Speaker 1: go in as in depth in terms of Catherine and
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  Speaker 1: Alla Springs, but what work is being done in sort
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  Speaker 1: of Darwin, Palmerston and the greater Darwin region when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to some of those commercial break ins and house
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  Speaker 1: breakings that we're.
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  Speaker 2: Saying, Well, like a highlighted before Katie with the ITCG,
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  Speaker 2: we work with our partner agencies, especially with the youth,
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  Speaker 2: not only Darwin, Palmerston Litchfield based youth, but also those
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  Speaker 2: displaced youth that come to Darwin. And I can say
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  Speaker 2: that the Trident youth arrest figures are higher than the
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  Speaker 2: adult figures, so that in and of itself tends to
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  Speaker 2: suggest to us that we need to work with youth
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  Speaker 2: a lot more closely. Territory families and communities, we.
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  Speaker 3: Work very closely with them.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously, we've got our EMD monitoring on board, so there
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  Speaker 2: is an array of things that we do behind the
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  Speaker 2: scenes that probably the public don't see. I suppose one
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  Speaker 2: thing I can say is that in my time in policing,
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  Speaker 2: we've had some gos at working collaboratively across agencies, with
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  Speaker 2: government and non government, and in my twenty eight years,
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  Speaker 2: this is probably the most I've seen and it's working
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  Speaker 2: really well.
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  Speaker 3: Obviously, anything can be improved.
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  Speaker 2: But I see that all the agencies working together at
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  Speaker 2: the moment, and I can see that at some point
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  Speaker 2: we will definitely make some progress.
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  Speaker 1: Well. That is going to be good for our listeners
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  Speaker 1: to hear that everybody is working very collaboratively, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: hopefully we'll see that progress. But so what you'd said
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  Speaker 1: there when it comes to those arrests from stripeforce strident,
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  Speaker 1: they were higher among youth offenders.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, that is correct.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, just to ask as well, I know that a
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  Speaker 1: listener has been in contact with us on the phone line,
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  Speaker 1: I believe, asking can we clarify that the increase that
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about obviously with those crime stats that we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about the year, it's year on year, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: So we're obviously comparing this quarter to last year.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, that's right.
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  Speaker 2: So if you look at it, it goes from September
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  Speaker 2: to August. So the ones that were just released September
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  Speaker 2: August in twenty twenty one as compared to September to August,
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  Speaker 2: you know that twenty twenty two. And that's the actual
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  Speaker 2: twelve month period that we're looking at.
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  Speaker 3: And I suppose to Katie, we can't deny that.
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  Speaker 2: The fact too that if you're looking at offenses against
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  Speaker 2: the person, the stats there were quite.
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  Speaker 1: Good, they've gone down a bit.
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  Speaker 2: That is exactly right, and especially for Palmston, as I
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  Speaker 2: highlighted last week, the sexual offenses there are down thirty
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  Speaker 2: three percent, you know, which is some great work not
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  Speaker 2: only by our Domestic and Family Violence Unite, you know
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  Speaker 2: that division in crime, but also our Strikeforce leer staff
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  Speaker 2: who are working very closely with them and other agencies
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  Speaker 2: to try and reduce them.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, I think any of those, any of those
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  Speaker 1: areas with the crime is going down, is certainly something
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  Speaker 1: that the community happy to hear. Hey, I know, over
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  Speaker 1: the weekend, I'm not sure if you've got any further
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  Speaker 1: detail on this, but over the weekend I did see
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  Speaker 1: that there were reports that there was an incident at
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  Speaker 1: a daw And service station where reportedly there was somebody
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  Speaker 1: threatened with an axe, a knife, and also a baseball
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  Speaker 1: bat wielded by a group of youths. I understand that
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  Speaker 1: the police have actually apprehended those three years that revolved.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have much further detail on that one or.
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  Speaker 3: No, I don't.
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  Speaker 2: I did get a brief on that this morning that
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  Speaker 2: they had been arrested, and I believe I read somewhere
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  Speaker 2: that they had been remanded in custody. Now, whether it
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  Speaker 2: was all three or two of them, please don't quote
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  Speaker 2: me on that.
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  Speaker 3: I would have to go back and read the report.
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  Speaker 1: Now I will go back. We'll see what we can
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  Speaker 1: find out as well. And it does look as though
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  Speaker 1: there was another incident a man unfortunately in a situation
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  Speaker 1: where it ended up in a bit of a scuffle
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  Speaker 1: while his bike was allegedly trying to be stolen, youths
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  Speaker 1: threatening him with violence over the weekend retreated. I'm not
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  Speaker 1: sure if there's much of an update on that one
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  Speaker 1: or anything else that's gone on from over the weekend.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I don't have much of an update on
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  Speaker 3: that one, Katie. That's probably one that I'll have to
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  Speaker 3: look into.
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  Speaker 2: I think the word youth is being bandied around quite
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  Speaker 2: a bit, and just as you read out in those
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  Speaker 2: two and that's really something that we need to work
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  Speaker 2: on collectively and we need to not so much divert
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  Speaker 2: but we need to find other things for these youth
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  Speaker 2: to do rather than breaking in cars, breaking in the houses,
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  Speaker 2: commercial premises, that sort of thing. We need some type
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  Speaker 2: of activity out there for them and that's something that
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  Speaker 2: obviously will work with our partner agencies with.
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  Speaker 1: So it sounds so as though it's quite a focus
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  Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory Police at the moment. You know,
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  Speaker 1: from what you'd said, there has been more arrests from
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  Speaker 1: trident when it comes to those youth offenders, and like
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  Speaker 1: you'd touched on, I've said the word youth a lot
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  Speaker 1: of times throughout this interview. So it is a concern.
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  Speaker 1: That's something that the police are really trying to work
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  Speaker 1: with those other groups to try to see a reduction
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  Speaker 1: in that type of crime.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie, Absolutely, Well, let's hope.
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  Speaker 1: So, hey, I know that the police are working really hard.
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  Speaker 1: I know that we get a lot of support for
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Police on this show, and yeah, I
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  Speaker 1: hope that we are able to see a decrease in
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  Speaker 1: some of the crime that we're experiencing around the place
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  Speaker 1: because it's having such an impact for so many people.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, it is, Katie, and really at the forefront of
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  Speaker 2: our minds as police, as the victims. Obviously they spend
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  Speaker 2: a lot of cash with their insurance fixing up broken windows,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the loss of property, and that's just it's
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  Speaker 2: deplorable behavior, it really is. Yeah, And I can't stress
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  Speaker 2: that enough. And it's something that I know that our
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  Speaker 2: police officers every day on the front line are working
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  Speaker 2: hard to try and stop it or reduce it as
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  Speaker 2: much as we can.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Northern Territory Police Acting Commander for the Darwin Region
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  Speaker 1: James O'Brien, good to catch up with you this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for your time
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  Speaker 3: And you too, Katie, thank you you