NT Police Association fears coronavirus wave could overwhelm cops
NT POLICE Association president Paul McCue fears an already thin blue line won’t be able to cope if a coronavirus wave hits the Territory.
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NT POLICE Association president Paul McCue fears an already thin blue line won’t be able to cope if a coronavirus wave hits the Territory.
Mr McCue said there wouldn’t be enough officers if they were required to staff biosecurity zones and the Territory’s borders in the event of an outbreak.
“If a wave hit the NT we are going to be understaffed in terms of dealing with the situation,” Mr McCue said.
“If there was an actual COVID wave as an association we have significant concerns to properly respond to a COVID wave and we are struggling to meet demand today let alone if a COVID wave hit.”
He said there were officers who had not had leave for more than 12 months and were burnt out.
“At the moment we have Australian Defence Forces and Australian Federal Police assistance. If that was to (be withdrawn) it would be a dire situation,” he said.
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“The only way these things would be managed is a lot of overtime and that in itself would cause a lot of health issues.”
A police spokeswoman said the AFP would continue to support the thin blue line into next year with the request to extend or bolster any help to be considered.
“There are current discussions being had with the ADF to also maintain their support to the COVID-19 response within the NT,” the spokeswoman said.
“The Territory Emergency Operations Centre have been undertaking extensive planning for COVID-19 outbreaks, and any outbreak will involve a multi-agency response, not just NT Police.”
The spokeswoman said the NT Police Pandemic Response Plan had led to changes in rostering and leave allocation, and the closure of non-frontline functions.
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Police Minister Nicole Manison said there were enough police but recognised the need for extra cops to bolster the frontline.
“That’s why we’re also investing an additional $20m, so we can fast-track recruitment of more police, and also other important positions like Aboriginal liaison officers to support our police because we cannot see an end date to coronavirus,” Ms Manison said.
‘So that’s why we are boosting our police resources, it’s important to recognise that, you know, we might have the numbers but people do need to take leave, sometimes people will get sick and other things will happen in their lives but we do have the resources there.”
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