More than 100 recruits to graduate, join Northern Territory Police in coming months
More than 100 Northern Territory police recruits are set to graduate in the coming months, with the Territory’s top cop encouraging others to sign on and join the force too. Find out when they graduate.
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More than one hundred Northern Territory police recruits are set to graduate in the coming months, with the Territory’s top cop encouraging others to sign on and join the force.
It is understood 27 officers from squad 157 are set to graduate mid-March – with 11 officers from this squad to be deployed to the Red Centre following the departure of 10 South Australian officers earlier this month.
A further 29 officers from squad 158 are expected to graduate in June, marking a significant step in police recruitment numbers in the Territory.
On Friday, 30 officers from squad 159 were sworn in by NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, with another 30 officers from squad 160 expected to start in April.
Mr Murphy said the influx in recruitment numbers was “inspiring”.
“There’s a pretty significant investment there,” he said.
“The Chief Minister (Lia Finocchiaro) listens to the changes we need to be more effective as a police force.”
Mr Murphy said the NT Police attrition rate – meaning the proportion of police officers leaving the force over a certain time period – was at a six-year low.
“Our attrition rate is stable at seven per cent, which is the lowest since 2019, and our recruitment pipeline is still really healthy,” he said.
There had also been a significant drop in Alice Springs cop calls, Mr Murphy said, citing the NT Government’s new bail laws, which have left correctional facilities stifled with overcrowding.
“I was talking to the superintendent down there (Alice Springs); they’ve had 3,000 less calls into the call centre over three weeks, which is pretty impressive.”
“We get about 330,000 calls a year, so that’s a lot of calls.”
“[Less calls] leads to better efficiencies and then there’s less demand on the policing unit so we can respond quicker as well.”
“We’re sort of flipping it as well … we’re starting to see with our proactive efforts that we’ve put an extra 500, 600 people in jail, which allows us to be proactive and we’re more visible.”
Mr Murphy encouraged Territorians who were considering joining the police force to sign on.
“If you’re thinking about law enforcement, it’s never too late to come and join us.”
“It’s important … the community have to look at the police and see themselves”.
“The college is an absolute hive of activity at the moment, and there’s really great people.”
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