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Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine dot com for all

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Speaker 1: the latest news and information. Now three sixty with Katie Wolf.

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Speaker 1: Everyone is listening Mix one oh four point nine one

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Speaker 1: hundred percent ant.

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Speaker 2: Well, as you know, it is Budget Day and at

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Speaker 2: eleven am this morning, we will take you live to

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Speaker 2: Parliament House as that budget is delivered and hopefully we'll

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Speaker 2: get much further detail about where exactly we're placed at

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Speaker 2: this point in time when it comes to our debt

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Speaker 2: and deficit and how the Northern Territory government plans to

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Speaker 2: manage that debt. But we also know that this week

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Speaker 2: is going to be an incredibly important week when it

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Speaker 2: comes to the legislation to combat the issues that we're

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Speaker 2: seeing with youth crime in the Northern Territory. And we

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Speaker 2: have just heard about fifteen minutes ago from the Leader

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Speaker 2: of Government Business Natasha Files that they are going to

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Speaker 2: pass on urgency the legislation in this area. So joining

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Speaker 2: us on the line to talk further about this is

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Speaker 2: the Police Association President Paul mcain you. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 1: Paul.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Paul.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure if you heard that interview with the

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Speaker 2: Minister for Health and also Leader of Government Business and

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Speaker 2: attach to Fhiles, but she has confirmed that it will

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Speaker 2: pass on urgency, this legislation during these May settings.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I've just had to listen there and obviously positive

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Speaker 3: news to hear that it will pass. Obviously, you know,

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Speaker 3: we've had no real correspondence from the government in terms

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Speaker 3: of what that looks like. But you know, certainly we

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Speaker 3: know they've been listening to some of our members on

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Speaker 3: the ground around some of the changes, the important changes

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Speaker 3: that need to be made, and you know, obviously we'll

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Speaker 3: find out soon enough what that is. But you know,

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Speaker 3: we certainly understand there's been some negative commentary in relation

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Speaker 3: to some of these changes. But let's not forget you know,

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Speaker 3: these these short term options and changes to perhaps bail

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Speaker 3: laws and the Justice Act. You are really there so

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Speaker 3: please can keep people, say, from crime, and obviously that

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Speaker 3: can work in partnership with some longer term generational changes.

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Speaker 3: But but right now, the community suffering, the police need

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Speaker 3: that need those changes urgently.

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Speaker 2: Paul, what are the police saying to you at this

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Speaker 2: point in time, you know, on this eve of that

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Speaker 2: legislation being introduced, how important is it?

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Speaker 3: Well, it's critical really, I mean we know that in

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Speaker 3: our view, the pendulum certainly swung way too far in

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Speaker 3: terms of the balance that that needs to be taken

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Speaker 3: in terms of protecting victims and understanding that that the

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Speaker 3: offenders need options as well to rehabilitate. But when you

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Speaker 3: look at you know, maybe just over one hundred young offenders,

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Speaker 3: for example, in our community committing fifty percent of our crimes,

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Speaker 3: and half of those offenders are already on baral. I

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Speaker 3: mean it's those repeat offenders that that are so critical

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Speaker 3: to be perhaps taken off the streets on a more

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Speaker 3: regular basis to give some relief to police and obviously

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Speaker 3: you know, the community itself. And it's not saying that

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Speaker 3: there won't be other options available, but you can't have

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Speaker 3: a system where people are effectively, you know, walking free

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Speaker 3: every time they commit a crime. I mean, it's just,

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Speaker 3: it's just it can't remain that way.

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Speaker 2: Paul, Do you think it's disingenuous when the discussion starts

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Speaker 2: that that you know that the plan is to lock

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Speaker 2: all kids up.

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Speaker 3: Look, I don't think that's the plan at all. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I think you've got to you've got to have a

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Speaker 3: look and say, you know, what's been working, what's not

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Speaker 3: been working, the rights of victims of crime. You know,

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Speaker 3: some are being traumatized and suffered life changing physical and

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Speaker 3: psychological injuries in another horrendous assault take place now Springs,

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Speaker 3: just yesterday. I mean, these these are things people cannot forget.

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Speaker 3: And we know we don't want young people in committing crimes,

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Speaker 3: and we don't want young people in detention. But the

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Speaker 3: bigger picture is why are they out on the streets.

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Speaker 3: Why are they simply out there roaming the streets committing crimes.

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Speaker 3: Often it's because it's safe for them being at home.

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Speaker 3: There's so much alcohol in our in our community. It's

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Speaker 3: making the home environment so unsafe for young people. They

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Speaker 3: end up on the streets and then up getting hooked

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Speaker 3: up in this horrible crime wave. And that's just got

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Speaker 3: to be the bigger picture we look at. But victims

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Speaker 3: can't be forgotten in this argument.

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Speaker 2: Paul, what are you going to be looking out for

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Speaker 2: in this legislation when it is introduced into parliament tomorrow.

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Speaker 3: Obviously we're very keen in terms of the repeat offenders.

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Speaker 3: We're very keen to say, you know, and those serious offenses,

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Speaker 3: those offenses that are committed at night, for example, while

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Speaker 3: people are home, those serious assaults on police those serious

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Speaker 3: assaults on members of the community, Those sorts of offenses

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Speaker 3: cannot be subject to a presumption for bail. They must

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Speaker 3: be presumed against. And then obviously that then invokes should

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Speaker 3: be a greater responsibility on people like the territory, families

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Speaker 3: and those other agencies to come in and deal with

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Speaker 3: those young people in a more holistic way rather than

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Speaker 3: just put them back on the streets and away they

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Speaker 3: go again get hooked up in more crimes. So that's

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Speaker 3: really critical. And the other one, Katie, is of course

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Speaker 3: in terms of police when they deal with young young

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Speaker 3: people and their ability to interview those young people in

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Speaker 3: terms of finding out whether they may have been a

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Speaker 3: part of a crime that's occurred. The Youth Justice Act

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Speaker 3: certainly needs reviewing, and I know our members have provided

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Speaker 3: that feedback as we have to government.

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Speaker 2: All right, well, it's going to be interesting to see

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Speaker 2: exactly what is in that legislation, that proposed legislation, And

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Speaker 2: like we always say, the devil is going to be

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Speaker 2: in the detail. Paul, can I just ask you briefly

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Speaker 2: there has been more reporting of police leaving the force

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Speaker 2: and those attrition rates. How are our numbers looking at

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Speaker 2: this point in time. And how's that police morale?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously it's tough when you see so many people leaving,

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Speaker 3: and I mean, you know, we know the Commissioner has

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Speaker 3: got a very active recruitment campaign on the moment. There's

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Speaker 3: lots of recruits in training, so in terms of covering

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Speaker 3: that attrition rate, that's still keeping pace. But what we're

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Speaker 3: concerned about, obviously is that level of experience walking out

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Speaker 3: the door. And we've got a lot of young, comfortable,

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Speaker 3: brand new constables heading down the track to Alice, Catherine

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Speaker 3: and Tenant, and you know that's something that we're monitoring.

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Speaker 3: We've spoken about that before and you know, something will

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Speaker 3: be very much speaking with the commission and his senior

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Speaker 3: executive over.

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Speaker 2: Paul, how are those numbers looking over the last month

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Speaker 2: or so? Have we lost many more of our police officers?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Look, I think in the last month Katie, it was

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Speaker 3: upwards of twenty twenty two or twenty three officers, ranging

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Speaker 3: from obviously constables, sergeants down to auxiliaries and average on

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Speaker 3: community police officers. So you know we're still sitting around

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Speaker 3: that ten a month at this stage on average, and

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Speaker 3: sorry ten of at ten of fortnite and obviously that's

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Speaker 3: quite a concern for us.

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Speaker 2: Just very belief. Briefly, this is something that Leafanocchiaro, the

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Speaker 2: opposition leader, had raised just a little while ago, and

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Speaker 2: that is the police commissioner obviously running Howard Springs and

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Speaker 2: also managing a crime crisis. Is it too much to

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Speaker 2: ask for him to do both of those things.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, he's obviously the territory controller, and I know obviously

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Speaker 3: has two deputy commissioners that effectively manage the police force

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Speaker 3: on his behalf. But of course, you know, we'd like

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Speaker 3: to We know COVID's not going away. We know it's

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Speaker 3: here for a long time to come and and sort

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Speaker 3: of interesting to see the impact that has on him

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Speaker 3: in his role, but certainly from our perspective at this

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Speaker 3: point in time, you know, we are dealing heavily with

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Speaker 3: our deputy commissioners and we'll see the long term effects

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Speaker 3: of him being the territory controller.

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Speaker 2: Well, Paul mcue, it's always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 2: We appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Thanks Katie Cheers.

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Speaker 2: Police Association President Paul mckeue, there