NT Police’s Accelerated Recruitment Program graduates posted to Alice Springs, Katherine

A group of individuals with hardened experience in law enforcement are on their way to NT outback towns after completing a special program aimed at bringing interstate and overseas coppers to the Territory.

Police Commissioner Michael Murphy taking a selfie with the July graduating class of the Accelerated Recruitment Program. Picture: Supplied.

The streets of Alice Springs and Katherine will be inheriting the entirety of the NT Police Force’s latest graduating class, as the government ramps up its efforts to secure the two outback towns.

On Thursday afternoon, 14 individuals with a background in law enforcement graduated from the Accelerated Recruitment Program.

NT Police confirmed that eight graduates received a posting order to Alice Springs, with the remaining six committed to Katherine.

The latest cohort of police graduates brings the total number of new officers to 77 in the past month.

Police Minister Brent Potter interacting with graduates. Picture: Supplied.

Police Minister Brent Potter said the NT Police’s newest members would bring relief to their new locations.

“It is exceptional to see 14 experienced officers joining the Northern Territory Police through the Accelerated Recruitment Program, adding a wealth of policing knowledge into our regions,” he said.

“Police officers are on call, every second of everyday, they do a tough job, and the Lawler Labor government is supporting them through a record budget boost of $570 million.”

The injection of the new officers follows July’s massive cohort of graduates, in which more than 60 newly sworn-in cops marched out of the Police College.

There will be more cops on the streets of Alice Springs and Katherine. Picture: Gera Kazakov.

The poaching of Kiwi internationals in particular follows Mr Potter’s pledge to bring more New Zealand professionals seeking a new life in Australia.

“We see a lot of New Zealand police officers, and I do apologise to New Zealand, we’ve taken a lot of them through the Accelerate Recruitment Program and I’ll take a lot more if they want to come,” he told the NT News in April.

“We know that we pay better and we’ve never not had enough applicants to positions.

“I suspect (New Zealand recruitment) will increase – they’ve got a great pay packet, they get to serve in some of the best locations across Australia and they get to, arguably, serve the best people being Territorians.”