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Speaker 1: You are listening to Mix one O four point nine

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Speaker 1: and it's just on nine thirty. Now. If you're listening

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Speaker 1: to the show yesterday, well you would have been a

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Speaker 1: bit concern to hear that the President of the Police Association,

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Speaker 1: Paul McHugh said that there had been occasions over the

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Speaker 1: last week or so when the Palmerston Watchhouse had been

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Speaker 1: closed due to a lack of resourcing. Now I will

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Speaker 1: just play a bit of that audio for you if

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Speaker 1: you miss the show yesterday. Sources have told us that

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Speaker 1: there has been issues with manning the watchouse out in Palmerston.

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Speaker 1: Have we got enough police? How are things going?

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Speaker 2: We don't have enough people to do the job. You know,

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Speaker 2: we're talking about the additional workload of COVID that's had

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Speaker 2: a massive increase to the workload of our officers and

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Speaker 2: that is definitely having an impact. Yet we don't seem

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Speaker 2: to see the same concern from government around the fact

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Speaker 2: that they don't believe there's enough, so they keep saying

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Speaker 2: we've got more than enough.

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Speaker 1: Paul. Is the 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: It could be through illness, it could be through simply

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Speaker 2: not having enough to do the job, and that to

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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 us 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.

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Speaker 2: That's correct. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me in the studio to tell us more

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Speaker 1: about the situation is the commander of the Darwin Region,

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Speaker 1: Matt HOLLANDB. Good morning to you, Matt.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Good morning, Kadian, Good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Matt. Have we got a situation here where the Palmerston

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Speaker 1: Watchhouse has had to be closed at different times due

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Speaker 1: to a lack of staffing.

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Speaker 3: Look, Katie, we did close it on two occasions that

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Speaker 3: I can remember in the last week or two. We

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Speaker 3: make decisions about resource deployments and resource allocation every day,

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Speaker 3: and obviously we rostered people to work in the watchhouse

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Speaker 3: on those On the particular day that Paul was referring to,

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Speaker 3: a member booked off sick. But the Darwin Watchhouse we

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Speaker 3: had two people in custody, and the Palmerston Watchhouse we

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Speaker 3: had no people in custody, so you know, we had

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Speaker 3: we had options. We we could have taken a patrol

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Speaker 3: off the road to staff an empty watchhouse. We could

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Speaker 3: have called a member on duty to work at an

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Speaker 3: empty watchhouse, or we could have closed one hot watchhouse

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Speaker 3: and redeployed the two people two remaining people in the

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Speaker 3: watchhouse to operational duty. So it was a non peak time.

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Speaker 3: We wouldn't do that overnight. It was a day shift.

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Speaker 3: There was no people to supervise, so it was it

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Speaker 3: was a logical rational resource allocation decision.

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Speaker 1: Does it show a lack of resilience within our system

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Speaker 1: if we have one person call in sick and you've

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Speaker 1: got to close the watchhouse?

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Speaker 3: People booking off sick in the watchhouse is not It's

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Speaker 3: not an everyday occurrence, so we don't roster a redundancy

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Speaker 3: for that purpose. But having said that, we do have

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Speaker 3: the ability to redeploy people from other areas. And as

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Speaker 3: I say, on this particular day there was nobody to supervise.

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Speaker 3: It's a bit like having a hospital with no patience.

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Speaker 3: So on that particular shift, we actually put another patrol

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Speaker 3: on the road because we were able to do that

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Speaker 3: with because there was nobody's supervised in that watchhouse.

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Speaker 1: So in your opinion, I guess as the commander of

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Speaker 1: the Darwin Region, you saw that as being a better

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Speaker 1: use of those police resources to make sure that you've

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Speaker 1: got people out on the road rather than having someone

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Speaker 1: sit there when there's no one in the watchhouse. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: And look, we have finite resources and we have an

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Speaker 3: obligation to the community to deploy them the best way

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Speaker 3: we can, and that was a good resource deployment on

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Speaker 3: that shift. Bearing in mind that there was nobody in

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Speaker 3: there and it was a non peak time.

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Speaker 1: There will certainly be some people listening thinking, gee have

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Speaker 1: we got you know, like, is our Are we so

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Speaker 1: understaffed within the police at the moment that we can't

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Speaker 1: sort of call somebody else in to man the watchhouse?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Look, you know, over time, you know, we have

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Speaker 3: a responsibility of the community to spend our money properly,

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Speaker 3: and so you know, calling out somebody on overtime to

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Speaker 3: to supervise an empty watchhouse wasn't the good would not

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Speaker 3: have been a good decision. So there was people available,

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Speaker 3: we just would have had to have redeployed them from

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Speaker 3: other duties. And at the time, you know, weighing up

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Speaker 3: the assessing the risks, the best option was to close

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Speaker 3: the watchhouse for that shift.

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Speaker 1: So to anybody out there listening in the community this morning,

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Speaker 1: who's maybe thinking, you know, this isn't ideal or have

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Speaker 1: we got a lack of police, what is your message

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Speaker 1: to them?

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Speaker 3: Look, it's not perfect, but again, we were here to

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Speaker 3: protect the community, serve and protect the community, and on

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Speaker 3: this particular shift we did that better than we would

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Speaker 3: have ordinarily done it because we were able to put

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Speaker 3: another patrol on the road.

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Speaker 1: Is it something that happens regularly in terms.

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Speaker 3: Of closing the watchhouse, No, no, it is fairly unusual.

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Speaker 3: We'd never do it overnight on a night shift, which

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Speaker 3: is our peak peak business time. But on this particular day,

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Speaker 3: and there's actually two days that we've done on those

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Speaker 3: particular days, there was there was not the need for

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Speaker 3: the demand for custody or services. So you know, it

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Speaker 3: was a good decision.

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Speaker 1: So from your perspective, no cause.

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Speaker 3: For alarm, No, not in terms of the watch house. No,

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Speaker 3: it's an operational decision. And as I say, we make

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Speaker 3: lots and lots of decisions every day on what people

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Speaker 3: will be doing and where they will be working.

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Speaker 1: I guess more broadly, you know, Paul McHugh had said

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Speaker 1: to us that you know that obviously that was one

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Speaker 1: aspect of the story, but that there is a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure on the police and that our officers are

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Speaker 1: juggling a lot at the moment, particularly with COVID as well.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure that that's something that you know, you've experienced

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Speaker 1: in terms of doing the rosters and making sure that

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Speaker 1: you've got god officers doing you know, doing all the

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Speaker 1: jobs that they're required to do, but with those additional

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Speaker 1: expectations in terms of the borders and and COVID expectations.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, Katie. Look, COVID has turned everyone's world upside down,

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Speaker 3: and you know there is a you know, community emotion

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Speaker 3: about you know, we're all fearful and apprehensive and doing

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Speaker 3: the right thing twelve months ago and now it's it's

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Speaker 3: a case of let's just get it over and done with.

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Speaker 3: And I think we all feel that way and police

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Speaker 3: force is no different. But you know, we do have

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Speaker 3: people dedicated to COVID. As you know, we're also rapidly recruiting.

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Speaker 3: So we've we've lent some people to the college to

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Speaker 3: help out with that course. And you know, into the future,

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Speaker 3: we're going to have to look at our leave management

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Speaker 3: as well, because we did have a leave cap last year,

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Speaker 3: and so leave becomes a contingent liability from a management perspective,

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Speaker 3: and you know, we're going to have to work to

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Speaker 3: reduce that contingent liability over the next couple of years.

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Speaker 1: So making sure that people are able to have their

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Speaker 1: leave and able to have their holidays.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, and also reducing our leave liability bearing in

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Speaker 3: mind that you know, people couldn't take leave as much

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Speaker 3: leave as they wanted last year because of the demand

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Speaker 3: for services. So yeah, it's a challenge into the future.

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Speaker 1: Now, I do want to ask because we know that

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Speaker 1: there was a number of break ins on Sunday night

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Speaker 1: and early yesterday morning. We spoke to Shelley, the owner

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Speaker 1: out there at zicicole i GA. She had said that,

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Speaker 1: you know, they'd seen in vision in their security vision

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Speaker 1: young people or what looked like young people get out

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Speaker 1: of a car I believe allegedly threatened the security guard

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Speaker 1: with a hammer. Matt, where is that investigation at firstly.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I think we've connected that particular crime to

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Speaker 3: a crime spree which you know and you've obviously reported

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Speaker 3: on Fay Bay. I think it's the same people, right.

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Speaker 3: We actually have some fairly positive leads and we're looking

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Speaker 3: for at least two people at the moment, so watch

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Speaker 3: this space.

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Speaker 1: So well, that's good to hear that. Obviously the police

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Speaker 1: working really quickly. But yeah, we do know that it

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Speaker 1: was the Zicolea I ga. We also got told the

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Speaker 1: cool spot there at Fanny Bay, the bakery there at

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Speaker 1: Fanny Bay. I'm not sure whether there were other businesses

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Speaker 1: at Fanny Bay, but it is just I guess the

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Speaker 1: heartbreaking thing is the impulse on those businesses and the

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Speaker 1: ongoing impulst, you know, for people that are breaking in

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Speaker 1: for a bloody tip jar. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Look, you know, my sympathies go to those and our

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Speaker 3: thoughts go to those businesses. I know the Shelly Lay

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Speaker 3: she's been a repeat victim. We've visited her on a

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Speaker 3: number of occasions, and you know, we've since deployed a

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Speaker 3: CCTV trailer to assist with the security at Zacholi. But again,

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Speaker 3: you know, it was a small spree and obviously they're

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Speaker 3: very public crimes and it does affect people's perception of crime,

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Speaker 3: and we're working pretty hard to nip this one in

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Speaker 3: the but as soon as we can, Matt, do you.

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Speaker 1: Know if we'd also had reports yesterday on the show

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Speaker 1: that's the stone house I believe in the city it

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Speaker 1: had bottles of wine stolen and the deck bar I

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Speaker 1: think it also had some damage as well. Do you

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Speaker 1: believe that they're related to or are they separate ones?

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Speaker 3: Look, they're separate. We I think the depth may have

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Speaker 3: been done again last night and we've got somebody in

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Speaker 3: custody for that, and so you know, as far as

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Speaker 3: we can tell, they were our itinerants that we're looking

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Speaker 3: for alcohol. But it's kind of unusual to get too

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Speaker 3: series on the same no ye, So yeah, it's certainly

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Speaker 3: not helpful and doesn't help people's perceptions of crime.

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Speaker 1: So the ones in the city believed to be separate

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Speaker 1: to the ones that happened in Fanny Bay and also

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Speaker 1: out there in Palmerston. But what do we think, Like,

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Speaker 1: I know you can't go into a huge amount of detail,

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Speaker 1: and there's still an investigation underway, but do we think

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Speaker 1: that someone stolen a car and then gone or you know,

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Speaker 1: like sort of done the rounds.

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Speaker 3: In the Zakoli and Fanny Boy one. Yeah, that's that's

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Speaker 3: that's what we're working on at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So two people that you've got a very close

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Speaker 1: eye on at this point and hoping they.

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Speaker 3: Keeping looking for Yeah, we don't have an on them yet,

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Speaker 3: but we will.

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Speaker 1: You're looking for them? Is there anything? So I guess

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Speaker 1: a call out to our listeners, is there anything in

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Speaker 1: particular we need or that we're chasing him for? On?

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Speaker 3: Look, if community is our eyes and ears, so you know,

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Speaker 3: you know your neighborhood. Do you know what's not right

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Speaker 3: in your neighborhood? And if you if you come across

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Speaker 3: something that's not right, give us a call. And the

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Speaker 3: other thing is that you know this is not victim

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Speaker 3: blaming in any way, shape or form, but just please

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Speaker 3: take care of your own personal security in terms of

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Speaker 3: locking your house at night time, and please please please

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Speaker 3: don't leave your car keys on the kitchen bench or

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Speaker 3: somewhere obvious in your house in the in the if

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Speaker 3: you're unfortunate enough to have an intruder on your premises.

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Speaker 3: But again, it's not about victim blaming. You know, your

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Speaker 3: home is your castle, but it's just be security aware.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, be mindful that there are people out there who

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Speaker 1: are prepared to get inside your home and try and

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Speaker 1: find your keys, so don't make it easy for them.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. And look, you know that's one thing that we

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Speaker 3: want to try and you know, we want to get

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Speaker 3: ahead of the game in terms of preventing crime as

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Speaker 3: opposed to responding to it. But that is a key

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Speaker 3: thing as to how the community can help us is

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Speaker 3: to not make it easy for the naughty the bad

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Speaker 3: few that are out there.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Matt hollandby the commander of the Darwin Region,

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Speaker 1: we really appreciate your time this morning and I'm sure

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Speaker 1: we'll talk to you again. So always a pleasure, Katie,

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Speaker 1: thank you,