Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about the Palmerston Watch House needing to close last week

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Katie Woolf spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about the Palmerston Watch House needing to close last week · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You are listening two three sixty and well. Joining me
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: on the line right now is the Police Association President
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Paul Mchughue. Good morning to you, Paul.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: Here are you going very well? Paul?
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  Speaker 1: Firstly, I do want to just ask you about, because
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  Speaker 1: it's been raised with us a few times now, the
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: situation with the school based constables and the changes that
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: are coming into play when it comes to those school
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: based constables. I know that we've got a number of
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  Speaker 1: schools who are quite concerned about constables moving out and
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  Speaker 1: auxiliaries moving in.
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  Speaker 3: Where are things that from your perspective.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, obviously it's a very topical issue, isn't it. And
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  Speaker 2: I believe today these school based auxiliaries commence their training
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  Speaker 2: and you know, it's obviously your process that's coming to
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  Speaker 2: play through discussions with education with the Commissioner. We've been
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  Speaker 2: part of those discussions. But of course over the COVID time,
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  Speaker 2: many of those school based constables have been redeployed for
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: extensive periods of time and this will be an interesting
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: test to see how they believe it will work. We
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  Speaker 2: certainly understand there'll be upwards of ten auxiliaries deployed through
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  Speaker 2: the Darwin area only in schools and they'll be supervised
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  Speaker 2: by a sergeant and a constable to deliver programs to schools.
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  Speaker 2: But of course, you know, I guess the test will
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  Speaker 2: come where there might be some instances at schools where
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  Speaker 2: they have to respond to them and we'll see how
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  Speaker 2: that pans out. But it's very much a trial phase
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  Speaker 2: and we'll be monitoring it very closely.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So it is a trial phase. But you
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  Speaker 1: said they're actually commencing that training today, those axiliaries.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I believe there's some axiliaries commencing today doing some
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  Speaker 2: additional training to determine how they'll roll out their duties
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  Speaker 2: at those schools. But of course we've you know, we
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  Speaker 2: made a clear our views in terms of making sure
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  Speaker 2: they're Our primary concern is their safety, they're welfare and
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  Speaker 2: making sure that they have the tools necessary to do
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  Speaker 2: or they're being asked to do so. And we also
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  Speaker 2: need to consider those constables that were doing the job
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  Speaker 2: and making sure they're being looked after and being deployed
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  Speaker 2: to areas that's suitable for them. But obviously it's been
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  Speaker 2: a work in progress and that'll kick off very shortly.
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  Speaker 2: But no doubt there will be concerns from schools, and
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  Speaker 2: we'll be keen to obviously monitor the role out.
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  Speaker 3: Do you think it can work?
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  Speaker 2: Look, we're obviously primarily concerned with the role they're going
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  Speaker 2: to be undertaking and making sure they've got the appropriate training,
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  Speaker 2: the actual supervision and skills and mentoring to be able
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  Speaker 2: to do that role. Of course, they're our members and
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  Speaker 2: we will wasting them through that process, but you've got
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  Speaker 2: to make sure. What we don't want to see is
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  Speaker 2: a lack of mentoring, a lack of supervision and them
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  Speaker 2: being essentially left to fend for themselves in a role
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  Speaker 2: they've never done before. So we'll be very keen to
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  Speaker 2: see how it works, and obviously making sure they have
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  Speaker 2: the appropriate tools to do it well.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be keeping it very close on that, and I
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  Speaker 1: know that we've already got schools in contact with us
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  Speaker 1: this morning who are really worried about these changes. Now, Paul,
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  Speaker 1: I know that so that obviously you had your recent survey.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: The Police Association conducted that recent survey and there was
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  Speaker 1: some fairly startling facts in there in the sense that
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  Speaker 1: you know, we've got officers either looking as or have
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  Speaker 1: applied to leave the force here in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: and head into state. How would you say things are
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  Speaker 1: tracking at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Obviously there were sixty percent of the respondents in
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  Speaker 2: our surveys that they considered applying or had applied for
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  Speaker 2: job outside the NT police force. Now that's on top
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  Speaker 2: of seventy seven police percent of police believing there's not
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  Speaker 2: enough and eighty eight percent concern with the attrition rate,
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  Speaker 2: which obviously haven't slowed up. We're talking about at the
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  Speaker 2: moment thirteen a month departing the police force. Now, all
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  Speaker 2: of that adds up to a very concerning point from
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  Speaker 2: our perspective. And this isn't to startle people. This is
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  Speaker 2: to make sure we've got enough police and experience in
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  Speaker 2: our organization. And some of the quotes back in our
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  Speaker 2: survey people feel disposable and we don't want that to
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  Speaker 2: be the case. What we want to make sure has
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  Speaker 2: got enough seniority in the police force. But right now,
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  Speaker 2: clearly according to our survey, they are quite concerned with
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  Speaker 2: the amount of people leaving, quite concerned there's not enough
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  Speaker 2: police to do the job. And they've made it clear why,
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  Speaker 2: and that is that they're feeling unsupported at the top
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  Speaker 2: level of the police force. Now, I know many of
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  Speaker 2: those senior officers work extremely hard, but this is the
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  Speaker 2: feeling of the membership. It's our job to actually portray
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  Speaker 2: that feeling. It's not our job to point fingers, but
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  Speaker 2: it's our job, a responsibility on behalf of our members
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  Speaker 2: to say what the problems are and by gossing over
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  Speaker 2: those problems isn't helping anyone. And they are the stats, Paul.
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  Speaker 1: Do we have enough police on you know, like in
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  Speaker 1: the force right now? I know that sources have told
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  Speaker 1: us that that there has been issues with manning the
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  Speaker 1: watchhouse out in Palmerston.
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  Speaker 3: Have we got enough police? How are things going.
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  Speaker 1: Well?
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  Speaker 2: Obviously it's you know, it's a real concern. When I've
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  Speaker 2: been doing a lot of travel in the last couple
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  Speaker 2: of weeks to our major centers outside of Darwin. We've
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  Speaker 2: got to have a couple of meetings within the Dalen
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  Speaker 2: area and the major obviously is the fact we don't
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  Speaker 2: have enough people to do the job. Now. People, it's
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  Speaker 2: interesting point, k when you actually go and talk to
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  Speaker 2: the stations, they say, look, if we just were able
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  Speaker 2: to keep the people on our rosters, we would actually
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  Speaker 2: have enough to go out and do the job being
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  Speaker 2: asked of us. But the problem is they keep getting
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  Speaker 2: taken to be gre deployed into other areas and that
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  Speaker 2: goes across the board, General Duties, crime and many other sections.
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  Speaker 2: So you know we're talking about the additional workload of COVID.
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  Speaker 2: We know that that's had a massive increase to the
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  Speaker 2: workload of our officers and that is definitely having an impact.
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  Speaker 2: Yet we don't seem to see the same concern from
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  Speaker 2: government around the fact that they don't believe there's enough.
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  Speaker 2: They keep saying we've got more than enough, We've got
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  Speaker 2: more than ever before, but that's not reflecting in the
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  Speaker 2: feedback we're getting and that's a major concern.
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  Speaker 1: Paul Easy Palmerston Police Station Watchhouse operating as normal.
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  Speaker 2: I believe it is at the moment. I believe there's
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  Speaker 2: been occasions over the last week or so where they've
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  Speaker 2: had to close that watchhouse because of lack of staffing.
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  Speaker 2: Now that could be through illness, it could be through
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  Speaker 2: simply not having enough to do the job. But when
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  Speaker 2: we're in a situation when we're looking at closing down
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  Speaker 2: important facilities such as that running some of our remote
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  Speaker 2: stations that reduce numbers, and of course many of our
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  Speaker 2: general duties frontline and crime areas that significantly reduced numbers.
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  Speaker 2: It clearly says we don't have enough and that's a
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  Speaker 2: major concern for us when you look at what's coming
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  Speaker 2: in the next of of six to twelve months with COVID.
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  Speaker 1: So we have had a situation, or we've had occasions
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  Speaker 1: over the last week or so where the Palmerston Watchhouse
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  Speaker 1: has not been operational, that's correct, Yeah, over what kind
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  Speaker 1: of period of time?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, I don't specifically know, as I said, it
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  Speaker 2: could be a shift or two, but I do know
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  Speaker 2: typically that had to close down because of a lack
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  Speaker 2: of resourcing. Now you know that doesn't mean there wasn't
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  Speaker 2: a watchhouse facility operating. We do know the daal On
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  Speaker 2: Watchhouse is open as well at the moment. What that
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  Speaker 2: means is all those officers who generally use Palmerston will
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  Speaker 2: have to then come back into dah and do to
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  Speaker 2: place their prisoners in the watchhouse down there. So it
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  Speaker 2: has a severe impact on the capabilities of the front
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  Speaker 2: line enough to operate it on that particular occasion.
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  Speaker 3: Worry is that from your perspective.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we don't want to ever see that. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: we know for a fact that many of our facilities,
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  Speaker 2: many of the Watchhouse, the front line, is reliant totally
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  Speaker 2: on overtime at certain times, and that's a concern because
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  Speaker 2: certainly when you look at some of the comments in
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  Speaker 2: our server that have been direct from the membership, they
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  Speaker 2: simply say they're tired, their families are tired. We keep
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  Speaker 2: getting more and more work piled on us, and these
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  Speaker 2: is a quote the expectation will keep doing. Eventually we'll
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  Speaker 2: get the breaking point, and we know that's actually happening,
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  Speaker 2: and that is a major concern for us. And I'm
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  Speaker 2: not trying to be alarmist. I'm just simply saying, as
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  Speaker 2: we know with other frontline agencies, they're all struggling and
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  Speaker 2: the government needs to be aware of that and we
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  Speaker 2: need to have a plan for that well.
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  Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul McHugh, I always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 3: Mate, Thank you very.
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  Speaker 1: Much for having a chat with us this morning, and
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  Speaker 1: we will talk to you again very soon.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Gatie, Thank you