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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine three

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Speaker 1: sixty Now you did just hear from the police Minister

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Speaker 1: Nicole Madison and joining us on the line right now.

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Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul Mchughue, Good morning to you, Paul.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Kennie.

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Speaker 1: Paul. We've been speaking very comprehensively over the last week

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Speaker 1: or for months really about the situation when it comes

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Speaker 1: to crime in Alice Springs. From your perspective, how's the

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Speaker 1: morale of our officers in Alice.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, look, they're still doing a tough down there,

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Speaker 2: but I mean, you know, some pretty horrific footage we

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Speaker 2: saw there the other night on the Current Affair Report,

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Speaker 2: and sadly, you know, that's an all too common occurrence

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Speaker 2: for our officers. I mean, we saw just how dangerous

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Speaker 2: that situation was and how you know, hopelessly underman they

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Speaker 2: were in that situation, and you know, we were just

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Speaker 2: very fortunate, you know, not just a member of the public,

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Speaker 2: but one of our officers didn't get severely injured in

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Speaker 2: that incident. So that is really unfortunately, some of the

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Speaker 2: issues going on down there at the moment. We as

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Speaker 2: as you say, we have spoken about this a lot

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Speaker 2: We talk about resourcing down there a lot, and you know,

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Speaker 2: they're doing it tough, but wow, they're incredible down there.

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Speaker 2: They just they just roll the slees up and get

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Speaker 2: on with it. But it doesn't mean we can't support

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Speaker 2: them in other ways.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly what I asked the Police Minister earlier

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Speaker 1: this morning. You know, do we need to look at

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Speaker 1: legislative changes here? I think the wider community really do

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Speaker 1: feel as though the police do a tremendous job. So then,

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Speaker 1: you know, do we have all the legislative requirements in

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Speaker 1: place to actually support the work that they're doing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right, and I think you know, when we

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Speaker 2: look at youth for example, we've spoken about this before

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Speaker 2: around you know, what are the reasons they're on the

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Speaker 2: streets at night? Why are they there too? You know,

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Speaker 2: far too often it's the police that have to deal

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Speaker 2: with the outcomes of that, and often it's because it

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Speaker 2: seems to be a safer environment, believe it or not,

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Speaker 2: than their home environment. And that's a huge issue that

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Speaker 2: the government need to look at. But of course there's

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Speaker 2: the other issue that people seem to be forgetting it.

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Speaker 2: One of the major drivers of crime and violence in

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Speaker 2: our community is alcohol and the amount of excessive consumption

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Speaker 2: of alcohol that's in the community. And we saw through

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Speaker 2: the COVID lockdown the enormous impact that turning off the tap,

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Speaker 2: so to speak, had in the reduction of violence, including

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Speaker 2: domestic violence. And if we're not looking at that and saying, well,

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Speaker 2: there's a bit of a blueprint to say we need

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Speaker 2: to do something, we can. It just takes a lot

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Speaker 2: of courage to actually make those decisions.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think we've got you know, we all

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Speaker 1: understand it's so complex here in the Northern Territory. But

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Speaker 1: I feel as though, you know, at the moment, the

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Speaker 1: government is talking generational change, and they're always talking generational change,

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Speaker 1: but we actually need to do something right now to

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Speaker 1: try to have a bit of a stop gap in

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Speaker 1: the way that things are unfolding. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Look, I don't think anyone denies the fact we need

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Speaker 2: to look at generational change, and I think obviously government

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Speaker 2: speaks about that and I think people need to listen

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Speaker 2: to that. But I think you can't wait generational change

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Speaker 2: right now. There are major issues and obviously that's the

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Speaker 2: pressure point. What are they going to do in the

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Speaker 2: short term? You can't just have a long term goal

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Speaker 2: without actually having some short term outcomes that are going

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Speaker 2: to make a bit of a difference as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been a pretty horrific situation I think out

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Speaker 1: of Alice. We have learned as well on Monday from

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, that twenty nine new recruits

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Speaker 1: are going to be sent to Alice Springs. I believe

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Speaker 1: there's been eleven of the Aboriginal Community Police officers who

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Speaker 1: will be heading down that way as well, and eleven auxiliaries.

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Speaker 1: We're talking over fifty new well over fifty more resources. Paul,

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Speaker 1: do you have concerns about that sort of leaving as

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Speaker 1: short in other areas or do you think that that's

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Speaker 1: needed to replace some of the staff that have left.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, obviously, you know it's primarily driven because of attrition,

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Speaker 2: and obviously you know they're replacing people that have either

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Speaker 2: transferred out or designed from the organization. So we've actually

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Speaker 2: got a graduation tomorrow. Only twelve of those are heading

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Speaker 2: to Alice Springs is my understanding, not twenty nine. So

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Speaker 2: there is another graduation next month. So maybe that's where

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Speaker 2: the chievementess is getting mixed up figures, But there are

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Speaker 2: twelve off the squad tomorrow heading down there, and then

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Speaker 2: obviously there's auxiliaries and Aboriginal community police officers as well.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, look it is a concern because obviously you

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Speaker 2: know when there's an operation come from other areas that

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Speaker 2: they're not additional, so you know, it is obviously impacting

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Speaker 2: other areas across the agency.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's move along because there is quite a

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Speaker 1: bit to unpack this morning. We know that the watchhouse

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Speaker 1: in Darwin has now reopened. This is something that you

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Speaker 1: and I have spoken about before. Good news for people

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Speaker 1: closer to town and good news I would suspect when

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Speaker 1: it comes to those response times when you have an

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Speaker 1: incident near the city.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it is and obviously we've been advocating for

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Speaker 2: that to open for a long time. And you know,

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Speaker 2: the more time our officers have in the actual sector

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Speaker 2: they're are assigned to and that is the day and

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Speaker 2: CBD in surround, then the better for the community and

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Speaker 2: the more proactive work they can do in preventing crime.

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Speaker 2: And so it was a no brainer. Obviously it was

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Speaker 2: a resource issue. They've found the resources and that's reopen

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Speaker 2: and we're very supportive of that.

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Speaker 1: Paul. Throughout the week, I've also spoken about the fact

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Speaker 1: that some people have contacted us with concerns about our

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Speaker 1: police resources, ie our wonderful officers, you know, working in

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Speaker 1: places like the airport through the management of COVID and

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Speaker 1: other areas trying to manage COVID when really plenty of

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Speaker 1: people are now seeing COVID as more of a health response.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that we need to have a bit

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Speaker 1: of a relook at this.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, obviously that's an operational matter for the Commissioner.

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Speaker 2: I mean, they determined they need police at the airport

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Speaker 2: for example, and how it springs. But you know, obviously

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Speaker 2: we'd prefer to have those officers out doing other work.

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Speaker 2: You've got enormous amounts of shortages on the front line,

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Speaker 2: and whilst you've got them tied up at the airport,

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Speaker 2: they can't do those other duties. So our position is

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Speaker 2: that is, you know, obviously we prefer them out doing

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Speaker 2: doing the general duties and other works. So that's something

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Speaker 2: for the Commissioner though, and obviously we keep keeping contact

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Speaker 2: with him and the deputies over that.

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Speaker 1: Issue now, Paul. I'm also earlier in the week we've

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Speaker 1: learned of a sentence which has been handed down to

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Speaker 1: a young territory woman who I understand bush a police officer.

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Speaker 1: You guys have really condemned that sentence and said that

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Speaker 1: it really isn't tough enough.

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Speaker 2: Well it's not. I mean, you know, imagine you go

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Speaker 2: to work. You obviously, police get the soul of their

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Speaker 2: own and forty five times a year they're the known

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Speaker 2: ones that we know about. Here we've got an instance

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Speaker 2: and it's happening far too often. We're seeing more and

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Speaker 2: more people getting a result bitten, spat at and those

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Speaker 2: sorts of offenses are abhorrent, and you know, we would

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Speaker 2: have liked to have seen a far tougher sentence in

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Speaker 2: relation to send a message to the community that this

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Speaker 2: is not good enough. Those officers have to go through

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Speaker 2: a series of testing to make sure they haven't picked

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Speaker 2: up a horrible disease out of this, and yet this

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Speaker 2: person's walked away with a community a sentence. It's not

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Speaker 2: good enough. And we've certainly been speaking to the minister

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Speaker 2: about this and we'll be doing so again on the

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Speaker 2: back of this sentence.

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Speaker 1: Paul, I do just want to ask you there's been

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Speaker 1: criticism this week of the Northern Territory Police for not

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Speaker 1: releasing information sooner about the alleged s trape of a

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Speaker 1: three year old boy in Karama. I mean, do you

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Speaker 1: think that the public has a right to know about

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Speaker 1: instances like that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, obviously, you know, I'm assuming the public just

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Speaker 2: one consistency, and I guess they're questioning the delay in that,

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Speaker 2: and obviously that's our commander Dial I think came on

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Speaker 2: the other day and explain that that is. Obviously we

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Speaker 2: don't have control over their media release protocols, but of

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Speaker 2: course I think the community can insistency and that's all

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Speaker 2: they want, So that'll be for the police to explain,

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Speaker 2: no doubt.

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Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul mcewe. I always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for chatting with us today.

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Speaker 2: Good onion, Thanks Cattie, thank you.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one O four point nine's three

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Speaker 1: sixty