Police Association of SA seeks urgent clarification after no consultation by SA Police on Alice Springs deployment

The deployment of 20 SA Police officers has come under fire, with the police union engaging lawyers after being left in the dark on the move.

• Overseas cops flock to join SA Police

The deployment of South Australian police officers to Alice Springs has sparked concerns, with the state’s police union seeking urgent clarification about SA Police’s decision to send cops into the country’s “crime hot spot” without consultation.

This week Police Commissioner Grant Stevens agreed to send 20 officers to the Central Australia town after a request from the Territory’s top cop to alleviate pressure on the force caused by a strict youth curfew and an influx of people from the APY Lands.

It comes as NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler flagged the 14-day curfew, which was due to expire next week, could be extended.

Lawyers for the union on Friday wrote to Mr Stevens seeking clarification on several details of the cross-border agreement, including what the officers would be paid, what shifts they would work, how long they would be deployed for and where they would be housed.

Police Association of South Australia president Mark Carroll said he was unaware of the deployment until contacted by the Sunday Mail for comment and had not been consulted by SA Police, which he said was “extraordinary”.

Police Association of South Australia president Mark Carroll said it was “extraordinary” SA Police had not consulted the union before agreeing to deploy officers to Alice Springs. Picture: Supplied

“There are many industrial issues that run off a deployment such as this and until these industrial issues are satisfied, we cannot in good conscience support any deployment to the Northern Territory until these very real industrial and legal issues are clarified,” Mr Carroll said.

Under the agreement, 10 officers, who will be sworn in as special constables next week, will be posted to Alice Springs for a week from next Wednesday before being replaced by 10 new uniform officers to complete general duties.

The deployment of 20 valuable officers comes despite SA Police being forced to look overseas to fill crippling shortages of frontline operational roles and its APY Lands section operating at two-thirds capacity.

Under the Police Act, Mr Stevens has the authority to deploy officers anywhere in the country but Mr Carroll said he would not support the deployment to the “crime hot spot of Australia” without being consulted.

“SAPOL has not entered into any negotiation or consultation with PASA on this issue.

“There are numerous industrial issues and workers compensation issues that run off a deployment such as this.”

Mr Carroll said if clarification was not received by midday Monday, notice of an industrial dispute would be lodged.

South Australian police officers will be deployed to Alice Springs from next Wednesday to help alleviate pressure on NT Police resources. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Chief Superintendent John De Candia said SA Police was committed to working with the union to resolve any issues.

“We certainly are now committed to working with the Police Association to provide them with the information that they requested of us late yesterday and we’ll certainly do that by the timelines that they’ve given us,” he said.

He said the deployment would not affect any current police operations, with “no problems” securing 20 volunteers from the State Operations Support Branch to fill the roles.

“It’s something they regularly do,” he said.

“They’re accustomed to travelling, they’re accustomed to staying in different locations, often at short notice so it’s no surprise whatsoever they’ve had no problems at all in filling these two deployments of members.

Superintendent De Candia said Mr Stevens had “no obligation to consult with the Police Association in relation to the deployment of members”.

Mr Carroll said SA Police’s decision not to consult the union represented a “draconian view” of the issue.

“It’s not hard to pick up a phone and enter into meaningful and constructive dialogue,” he said.

“We would expect SAPOL to act accordingly.”