NT Police union calls for support in ‘gruelling’ Covid fight

The men and women of the NT Police have been Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s first port of call to enforce Covid-19 and vaccine mandate restrictions over a gruelling two-years.

THE men and women of the NT Police have been Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s first port of call to enforce Covid-19 and vaccine mandate restrictions over a gruelling two-years.

There are no signs of it slowing down.

The Territory’s police have manned check points on the South Australian, Western Australian and Queensland borders, issued fines to those who refuse to comply with public health orders and taken the brunt of the anger of protestors, been spat on and abused in the name of keeping Territorian’s safe.

Our frontline police have been exposed to the pandemic’s harshest realities so the public aren’t.

The tireless work of NT police officers during the Covid pandemic has come at a cost, to them and their families, and continues to do so, Northern Territory Police Association President Paul McCue says. Picture: Che Chorley

Their tireless work has come at a cost, to them and their families, and continues to do so today.

At the peak of the lockdowns 150 police were assigned to Covid-19 duties. That figure remains high, but eventually, something must give.

The NT Police attrition rate has nearly doubled from 4.53 per cent in 2019/20 to 8.51 per cent in 2020/21 during the pandemic.

Hundreds of years of policing experience has left the force under the pressure of the never-ending and ever-expanding duties placed upon them.

Our 2021 member survey tells us more than 80 per cent of police have experienced an increase in duties since the pandemic began.

The toll is rising on the mental health and wellbeing of our members.

Those additional duties are taking frontline police away from their core day to day policing requirements 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To add even more pressure, the latest crime statistics show assaults, domestic violence, alcohol related assault, commercial and house break-ins, car thefts and property damage have all increased Territory-wide.

The numbers of police resources on the ground are finite and with deployment to Covid-19 tasks it leaves a shortfall in other areas.

The pressure is so great on police management to simply find a police uniform they have resorted to deploying Police Auxiliaries into Constable roles as part of Covid-19 response.

One has to ask, what is next?

This is a clear admission we simply do not have enough Constables to do what is being asked and is a legacy of the failure of government to recruit Constables for an entire year prior to the last election.

So, who suffers?

From left, NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker, Police Minister Nicole Manison and NTPA President Paul McCue ... Mr McCue says the toll is rising on the mental health and wellbeing of NT police officers. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The Northern Territory Police Association receive increasing complaints from members about only one patrol car being available on shift, or a huge reduction in detectives available to be deployed.

This is not the supervisors’ fault; their numbers are simply being stripped and sent to all parts of the Territory.

It is not uncommon for one patrol car to be on a shift for an entire sector, such as Darwin CBD.

That is not acceptable for the public, who should rightly expect police to come when they are called. Importantly, it is not acceptable for the safety of our members. Their safety is being compromised.

Who will come if a member calls for back up or when they come under attack?

When members get called to Covid-19 duties resourcing in your suburbs and towns is severely impacted. Our officers are doing all they can, going above and beyond, there simply is not enough of them.

Mr Gunner has pledged throughout the pandemic he will keep Territorian’s safe. Is having one general duties car on the road for 45,000 northern suburbs residents keeping them safe at night?

The 2003 & 2012 O’Sullivan review into police resourcing recommended a significant boost to minimum staffing levels for General Duties. The recommendations continue to be ignored ten years later.

What will it take?

The imbalance in priorities needs to be addressed urgently as our police are still being asked to perform the same duties required prior to the introduction of the vaccine.

Do we need police on borders when Covid positive, but asymptomatic workers are allowed to return to the workplace?

The reality is the enormity of the Covid-19 tasks has proved why the Gunner Government and the public need our Police, more than ever and need to do anything they can to keep them.

■ PAUL McCUE is the NT Police Association president