Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Matt Hepworth spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue

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Matt Hepworth spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: New data reveals an average of four police officers are
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: assaulted each week in the NT, but the Police Association
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: say that number could actually be a lot higher. To
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  Speaker 1: talk more about it is the ant Police Association president
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  Speaker 1: Paul Mcue. Paul, good morning, very good morning, ready, Paul,
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  Speaker 1: Can you talk us through some of these statistics when
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: it comes to assaults on officers as revealed in estimates
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  Speaker 1: last week.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, obviously it's always a topic of discussion, sadly
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: that our officers on duty out there are being assaulted
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  Speaker 2: at an alarming rate. Really and when we look at the
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  Speaker 2: five year average of around two hundred and forty five
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  Speaker 2: assaults each year on police officers in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 2: it's a shameful statistic when you think about the work
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  Speaker 2: that they're out there doing in the dangers. They put
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  Speaker 2: themselves in front just to serve and protect the community. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, there were some stats read out last week
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  Speaker 2: during estimates. We know, you know, saying that that ninety
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: four a week of being older. We know through some
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: research with our members the figure is likely to be
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  Speaker 2: high than that, given some do go unreported, some that
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  Speaker 2: you could potentially say at the lower end of the scale.
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  Speaker 2: But you know, in our view, any assault should be reported.
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  Speaker 2: Any assault is unacceptable and there needs to be there
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  Speaker 2: needs to be some work done around the sentencing of
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  Speaker 2: people who take it upon themselves to attack one of
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  Speaker 2: our front line.
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  Speaker 1: Paul, why do you think it is that some of
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  Speaker 1: these assaults and officers may be going unreported.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I guess you know when you talk about the
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  Speaker 2: amount of jobs at police attend every single day through
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  Speaker 2: the territory. Let's take domestic violence for example, it's one
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  Speaker 2: of the most dangerous jobs that police can attend. They
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  Speaker 2: are very unpredictable, very emotional, and people's emotions are very
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: much elevated at those types of jobs. You know, our
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  Speaker 2: police attend a roughly sixty seven of those at times
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  Speaker 2: per day in the Northern Territory. I mean, it is
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  Speaker 2: horrenders to think that that's that's the type of work
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: that they have to do each day, and so it
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  Speaker 2: is not uncommon for police, you know, to be punched,
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  Speaker 2: spat at, kicked. You know, people are emotional, they could
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: be on drugs, they could be highly intoxicated, and I
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  Speaker 2: just don't think about their actions at the time. But
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  Speaker 2: I'll tell you what it has a huge impact on
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  Speaker 2: those officers that are subject to those assaults.
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  Speaker 1: Paul, what is the nature of some of these assaults.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, in some cases, are officers being left with
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  Speaker 1: serious or long term injuries.
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  Speaker 2: Very much so. I mean, you know, over the course
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  Speaker 2: of the last few years, we've seen, you know, one
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  Speaker 2: of our members, you know, stabbed in the neck down
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  Speaker 2: there at Jabaru with a screwdriver. We've seen one of
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  Speaker 2: our officers hit by a vehicle when they're just simply
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: going to execute a warrant. And that office is lucky,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: lucky to be alive today, but has long term, you know,
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  Speaker 2: impacts that's going to affect them for the rest of
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  Speaker 2: their life. It can sometimes lead to an officer not
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  Speaker 2: being able to work as a police officer anymore. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: that's their career on and these are some of the
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: effects they're having. I mean, we've been told as recently
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  Speaker 2: as last week, there's one patrol group down there in
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  Speaker 2: Alice Springs is around ten members on that patrol group.
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  Speaker 2: Seven of that particular one group we're assaulted in a
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  Speaker 2: twelve day period to the tune of punching to the face, bidding, kicking,
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  Speaker 2: et cetera. So these are horrendous stats and it's not
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  Speaker 2: acceptable to stand there and say, you know, they're in
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  Speaker 2: a dangerous job, they're going to be assaulded. Well, that's
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  Speaker 2: not good enough. There needs to be a community a
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  Speaker 2: message sent to those who are actually undertaking those assaults.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: When we talk about sending a message to those who do,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, what penalties are currently in place for assaults
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  Speaker 1: on police at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Well, there's no minimum mandatory sentencing. There's no you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's very difficult at times to prove even harm to
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  Speaker 2: an officer and therefore there's no course of action under
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: the Sentencing Act to you know, put offenders inside period
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: of time. They can simply walk out of court essentially
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  Speaker 2: scott free, after undertaking a serious assault on one of
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  Speaker 2: our officers. And we know the government are very keen
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: to talk to us. We've keen to talk to them,
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  Speaker 2: and we've had these discussions and the lead up to
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  Speaker 2: the last election around sentencing for these particular types of
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  Speaker 2: assaults and it's something that we're certainly progressing as quickly
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  Speaker 2: as as we can, and certainly in the new year
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  Speaker 2: will have a proposal for government to look.
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  Speaker 1: At that'll be a certainly good to say. And what
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  Speaker 1: has the legislation been like? Is this long overdue or
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  Speaker 1: is it something that the government have addressed gradually over
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: the years. I mean, when's the last time we saw
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  Speaker 1: changes around this space for penalties on assaults on officers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, it hasn't been a long It's been far
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  Speaker 2: too long, we should say. You know, we've had other
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  Speaker 2: jurisdictions around the country, such as Western Australian Victoria take
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  Speaker 2: the lead in this space where they have implemented some
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  Speaker 2: tough penalties in terms of sentencing for assaults on their
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  Speaker 2: police officers, and we certainly can team for the government
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: to look at that and see whether that's appropriate in
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. When you talk about a police officer
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  Speaker 2: putting up with an assault, you know, I mean, let's
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  Speaker 2: face it, it's almost every single day out there, then
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  Speaker 2: there needs to be a strong message and that does obviously,
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  Speaker 2: you know, talk about police, it's also our ambulance officers
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  Speaker 2: and doctors and nurses and so forth. They're all often
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  Speaker 2: subject to these arendous assaults.
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  Speaker 1: Col do you think these assaults are having an effect
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  Speaker 1: on recruitment efforts?
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  Speaker 2: Look? Look, I minus and it's still strong. They're going
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  Speaker 2: out and obviously getting plenty of interest in recruitment. But
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  Speaker 2: it's the length of time police are spending in the
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  Speaker 2: job these days which is a real concern. You know.
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  Speaker 2: It's our understanding that the length of service for a
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: police officers down or around six or seven years. That's it,
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  Speaker 2: that's all we're seeing. I think police are coming into
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  Speaker 2: the role. They they're bright eyed, bushy tailed, and they
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: want to get into it and then they soon find
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  Speaker 2: a WESA. A video posted recently online two of a
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  Speaker 2: horrendous assult on two of our officers down there, analyis
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: you know, the female officer had a hair pull pulled
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  Speaker 2: to the ground punched. You know, it doesn't take a
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  Speaker 2: lot of those for members to start saying, well is
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  Speaker 2: this job? Is this the job for me? I'm not
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  Speaker 2: important as a community's punching bag and I'm not going
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  Speaker 2: to put up with it, So we don't you know
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  Speaker 2: that length of service is a real concern, Paul.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: I know that's a conversation you've been having. We talk
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  Speaker 1: about length of service and attrition rates both on air
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  Speaker 1: with Katie and the Police Minister for probably the best
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: part of six months or so. Now what's been the
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: outcome of those conversations. Is there any hope that I
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  Speaker 1: guess putting in place tougher penalties on assaults for offices
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  Speaker 1: would go some way to addressing some of those issues
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: around attrition rates. But how have those conversations been with
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  Speaker 1: the police minister?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, they've been positive. Obviously, we're doing some of
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  Speaker 2: our own work at the moment in terms of the
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: reasons police are leaving the job. Where we're touching base
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  Speaker 2: with some of those officers who have left already to
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  Speaker 2: get get some of the reasons. Some have been quite
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: frank and honest about their views of how things are
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  Speaker 2: going in the police force at the moment, and we
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  Speaker 2: want to get some of that good statistical data together
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  Speaker 2: to sit down with the Minister and the commissioner and say, well,
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  Speaker 2: you know, this attrition rates high, here's some of the reasons,
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  Speaker 2: and let's see how you're going to address it, because
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  Speaker 2: it's a concern at the moment.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Just finally, Paul at Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker says police
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: have identified the ring leaders in a youth crime spree
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  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs. From your understanding, is that the case
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  Speaker 1: and will this hopefully go go a long way to
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  Speaker 1: quell some of those issues we're seeing in the town
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  Speaker 1: at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, obviously Strike Force VIPA down there has done
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  Speaker 2: an incredible job to the tune of it's been up
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  Speaker 2: and running for a couple of months now. You know,
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  Speaker 2: one hundred and fifteen youths apprehended, and as the Commission's
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  Speaker 2: pointed out, some of those obviously ring leaders that have
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  Speaker 2: been multiple offending on multiple occasions, and you know, it
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  Speaker 2: just really takes the great work that the rest of
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  Speaker 2: the police down there have been doing for years really
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  Speaker 2: around this youth issue and youth crime issue, and hopefully
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  Speaker 2: we'll see some positive effects of some of those ring
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  Speaker 2: leaders being remanded and being brought before the courts of
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  Speaker 2: some of the horrendous crimes they're doing. Because the community
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  Speaker 2: feels unsafe and there needs to be consequences, as the
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  Speaker 2: government keep pointing out, there needs to be actual consequences
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  Speaker 2: for those doing those unlawful actions.
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  Speaker 1: How our officers feeling in Nalla Springs and I guess
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  Speaker 1: in Darwin as well. It's right across the territory coming
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  Speaker 1: into the school holiday period of time where we do
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  Speaker 1: traditionally see peaks, particularly around youth crime. How are officers feeling.
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  Speaker 2: That they're tired. I'll be quite frank, they're tired. They've
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  Speaker 2: had a huge year in terms of the response to
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  Speaker 2: COVID and the requirements you know, of what's been required
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: just to keep border checkpoints in place. They've had multiple
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: officers have had to cancel a lot of their leave,
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  Speaker 2: in fact all of it at times over the Christmas
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  Speaker 2: New Year period. They don't get to spend it with
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  Speaker 2: their family. They don't get to go away and spend
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: it like some other people do. And it's a real
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  Speaker 2: shame because they've put in the hard yards. They're professional lot,
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  Speaker 2: they do a great job and they're just really tired
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  Speaker 2: at the moment and some of them need a break
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  Speaker 2: sooner rather than later.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's anyone who needs a break at the end
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  Speaker 1: of this year, to be anti police officers, I centainly
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  Speaker 1: had that comes sooner rather than later for them. Anti
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  Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul mcew will have to leave it there.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning. That's
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: the Anti Police Association President Paul mcewe.
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  Speaker 2: There