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Katie Woolf spoke with Police Association Paul McCue · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Follow Katie Wolf and three sixty online at mixed one
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  Speaker 1: O four nine dot com dot au.
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  Speaker 2: Joining us live on the line. Police Association President Paul Mchue,
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  Speaker 2: Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: Paul, Good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: How are you not too bad?
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  Speaker 2: Paul? Can I firstly ask Alice Springs? How are our
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  Speaker 2: officers going down there from your perspective?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, it's always a challenge down there, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: I Mean, you know, it's very much under the spotlight
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  Speaker 1: in terms of crime and also youth crime and the
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  Speaker 1: effects that having on the town itself. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: one thing I can assure everybody is, you know, our
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  Speaker 1: members are working tirelessly down there to you know, they
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  Speaker 1: do everything they can. I mean they're very restricted obviously
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  Speaker 1: in terms of what they can and can't do, and
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  Speaker 1: you know they're certainly working their backsides off to try
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  Speaker 1: and do what they can and get to jobs as
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  Speaker 1: quickly as they can to help the community. But of
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  Speaker 1: course it's you know, just can't be up to them.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, they're doing it tough, but a lot of
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  Speaker 1: hard work going in down there by our members. Paul.
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  Speaker 3: Are they under resource there or are there enough in Alice?
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  Speaker 3: From what you're hearing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, obviously it's been a difficult year in terms of additional,
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  Speaker 1: yet again additional responsibilities onto the shoulders of our police officers.
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  Speaker 1: Analysis no different and across the territory generally with the
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  Speaker 1: COVID response and obviously you know, further spotlight being put
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  Speaker 1: on all the youth crimes. So you know, look there,
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  Speaker 1: you know, when you talk about numbers and what's required,
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  Speaker 1: it's a really interesting discussion to have a look at
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  Speaker 1: in terms of, you know, the requirements or the expectations
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  Speaker 1: of what police have to do on a day to
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  Speaker 1: day basis and do they have enough on the front line. Well,
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  Speaker 1: that's a really important question to have a look at
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  Speaker 1: and something that really needs to be investigated.
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  Speaker 3: Paul, I know that that.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously, those borders and policemanning those border checkpoints on our
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  Speaker 2: roads has been something that stretched our resources. It was
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  Speaker 2: announced on Monday or towards the end of last week actually,
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  Speaker 2: but we had the Chief Minister on the show on
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  Speaker 2: Monday saying that police would be removed from those borders immediately.
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  Speaker 2: Has that happened from your perspective and has that made
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  Speaker 2: a difference.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, certainly my understanding is those borders have been
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  Speaker 1: shut down now and those resources back into the major centers,
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  Speaker 1: which is a welcome boost to those areas. And obviously,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it tied up quite a few police. There's
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  Speaker 1: still obviously a focus on COVID and you know, still
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  Speaker 1: people tied up in that response generally, but of course
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  Speaker 1: on the borders. It's allowed those members to come back
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  Speaker 1: into town and obviously go back into other duties, which
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  Speaker 1: has been well overdue.
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  Speaker 2: Now let's talk about these watch houses. I know that
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  Speaker 2: the watch house in Palmerston is operational. We heard from
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  Speaker 2: Hospitality into Alex Bruce was on the show yesterday and said,
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  Speaker 2: maybe it is time for the one in Darwin to reopen.
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  Speaker 2: Is that dun watch house still closed at this point.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, certainly our understanding it's still closed. Obviously, it's
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  Speaker 1: you know, with the resource is coming back into town
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  Speaker 1: with with you know, obviously there's been a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a focus on response times and the reasoning why that
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  Speaker 1: watchhouse is still closed. And obviously we've had staff from
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  Speaker 1: the watchhouse tied up and how it springs and other areas,
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  Speaker 1: and really from our perspective, it's certainly our preference to
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  Speaker 1: have that watchhouse up and running I mean, we don't
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  Speaker 1: want to see police having to spend an hour an
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  Speaker 1: hour and a half heating out of Palmerston to drop
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  Speaker 1: a prisoner off and come back into the CVD. And
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  Speaker 1: we had that reverse effect when there was no watchhouse
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  Speaker 1: obviously in Palmerston. And we will pleased with that new
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  Speaker 1: station opened obviously now with the DAL and the watchhouse
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  Speaker 1: closes having the other effect, and we want to see
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  Speaker 1: it back open for sure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. From an operational perspective, what kind of impact does
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  Speaker 2: it have?
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  Speaker 3: You mentioned then that travel time.
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  Speaker 1: Look, it's a huge impact. I mean, you know, you know,
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  Speaker 1: coupled with with not having enough people on the front line, generally,
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  Speaker 1: you know, you get an arrest, and depending on what
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  Speaker 1: sort of arrest that is, you know, those offices can
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  Speaker 1: be off the road for hours and part of that
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  Speaker 1: is having to take them all the way to Palmerston
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  Speaker 1: and process those prisoners out there. So it has a
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  Speaker 1: huge impact on the ability for obviously please to respond
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  Speaker 1: to jobs in the CBD. And I think you're left
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  Speaker 1: where I think you've got to come back to that,
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  Speaker 1: to that focus about how many people are on the
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  Speaker 1: front line and is it enough?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And you know, by the sounds of things. Do
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  Speaker 2: we need more people on the front line?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well I think kay when you look at obviously
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  Speaker 1: there's been some evidence produced over the years. We've had
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  Speaker 1: two reviews done by former Queensland Commissioner O'Sullivan in two
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  Speaker 1: thousand and three twenty twelve, which made some pretty conclusive
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  Speaker 1: comments in terms of adequately resourcing the general duties frontline
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  Speaker 1: and it should be a high priority. And that really
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  Speaker 1: did also touch on the fact that that was due
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  Speaker 1: to some unexpected acceptable response times at the time. And
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  Speaker 1: when I'm talking about what sort of numbers are required,
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  Speaker 1: well it's all there in black and white. You know,
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  Speaker 1: they're talking about up with the five vans per shift
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  Speaker 1: on busy nights and that's in our springs and in Darwen.
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  Speaker 1: So you know, if that's not being achieved, and we
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  Speaker 1: know it's not, why is it not? And if we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about back to basics, that needs to be a focus.
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  Speaker 2: So, Paul, twenty twelve is that when that last review happened.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, twenty twelve was there last the second O seven
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  Speaker 1: review into police resourcing and you know, efficiency and operational capabilities,
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  Speaker 1: and you know the review did recommend at the time
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  Speaker 1: in twenty twelve. You know, based on some unacceptable response
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  Speaker 1: times at that frontline need to be boost needed to
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  Speaker 1: be boosted, and needed to have additional resources. And as
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  Speaker 1: I said, that was for Darwen Casu and a Parmerston
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  Speaker 1: and Alice Springs. And right now we know that they're
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  Speaker 1: struggling to even get two vans on the road, and
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  Speaker 1: we've spoken about that several times. This recommendation from some
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  Speaker 1: nine years ago, now eight or nine years ago is saying,
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  Speaker 1: you know, Darwen on a busy night, busy shift, should
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  Speaker 1: have five vans, our Springs should have six or seven.
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  Speaker 1: So if we're not meeting those recommendations, what's the point
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  Speaker 1: of these reviews if we're just going to ignore that evidence.
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  Speaker 3: So, Paul, is it.
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  Speaker 2: Time for another review or is that just going to
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  Speaker 2: slow things down?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I know the Commissioner obviously has been
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  Speaker 1: in the job a little while. Now strategy is back
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  Speaker 1: to basics, and of course there's no more back to
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  Speaker 1: basics in having enough people on the front line to
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  Speaker 1: not only respond to jobs, but to do some proactive
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  Speaker 1: work in terms of making sure they're out there detecting
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  Speaker 1: crime or people that are perhaps intoxicated and need to
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  Speaker 1: be cared for. You know, there is simply no capability
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  Speaker 1: or very little capability for that right now, given the
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  Speaker 1: lack of resources on that front line. So in terms
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  Speaker 1: of another review, well, well that's a question probably for
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  Speaker 1: the Minister and the commissioner, but certainly from our perspective
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  Speaker 1: there's been too already and those review recommendations have not
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  Speaker 1: been adhered to. So why not.
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  Speaker 2: Paul if you I mean, we know the Police Association
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  Speaker 2: represents I think is it ninety eight percent of thee
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  Speaker 2: or ninety nine percent.
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  Speaker 3: Of the police force.
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  Speaker 2: If you could you know, if you could tell us
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  Speaker 2: in one sentence, are the police force happy at the moment?
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  Speaker 3: Or you know, is there some work to be done here?
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  Speaker 1: It certainly work to be done. I mean, obviously it's
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  Speaker 1: challenging when you turn up to work and you may
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  Speaker 1: be the only van there's a general duties I'm talking about,
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  Speaker 1: or even in the crime section, if you are the
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  Speaker 1: only response crew that night and and you're desperate to
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  Speaker 1: get people in an overtime, it affects you physically, mentally,
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  Speaker 1: it drains you. And if you don't have enough support
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  Speaker 1: in your workplace in terms of enough fans on the road,
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  Speaker 1: to help you out that shift. It affects you over time,
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  Speaker 1: so it's definitely a problem at the moment, and that
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  Speaker 1: really boils down and is not having the troops out
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  Speaker 1: there to help each other each and every shift. And
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  Speaker 1: I do want to point out our shifts sergeants and
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  Speaker 1: our watch commanders, and they are working their backsides to
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  Speaker 1: make this work, often at times jumping in a van
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  Speaker 1: themselves just to make up a crew. That is not
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  Speaker 1: effective policing and not long term sustainable policing, and that's
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  Speaker 1: certainly something that needs to be addressed well.
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  Speaker 2: Police Association President Paul mchue, I always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks so much for talking with me this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Gattie ch