24 November 2022
The Northern Territory Police Association (NTPA) supports the Police Commissioner’s decision to send an additional 45 officers to Alice Springs to support our Southern members and deal with spiralling crime – including an escalation in offenders deliberately targeting police – but this situation is a direct result of poor policy from the Fyles Labor Government.
NTPA Senior Vice President, Lisa Bayliss, says we barely have enough staff to do our core business.
“This action is extraordinary, but necessary, and will have a significant impact on our frontline. Siphoning officers from the frontline across the NT, to boost resources in Central Australia, is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
“These additional police will have been pulled from essential frontline and support service areas. That means our already stretched workforce will have to plug the gaps in those areas, which will include an increase in overtime to cover shifts.
“Yesterday in Parliament, the Chief Minister trumpeted the fact Labor has increased the police budget by 36 percent, but we would argue a significant amount of that increase is being spent on overtime, because we simply don’t have enough police to do the jobs expected of them by this Government.
“In 2019/20 the police overtime spend was $14.7 million, and from July 2020 to Mach 2021, the overtime spend was $14.3 million1.
“Unfortunately, the additional boots on the ground in Alice Springs won’t necessarily stop the offending happening. There is a section of society that doesn’t have any respect for police, which is evident by the escalation in deliberate targeting of police during serious offending.
“The boost in police resources won’t address the root cause of offending – that should be up to other Government and non-Government agencies.
“Until there is an appropriate focus, funding and programs to intervene and stop crime before it happens, the burden of dealing with escalating crime, violence and harm will continue to fall on the shoulders of our exhausted members,” said Mrs Bayliss.
1 Source: https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1014979/AQON-5-7.pdf
ENDS
Please direct all media enquiries to NTPA Communications Officer, Kyrrie Blenkinsop +61 (0) 499 017 654 or media@ntpa.com.au
The Northern Territory Police Association (NTPA) is the industrial voice of all members of the Northern Territory Police Force. Read more via www.ntpa.com.au or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NTPoliceAssociation
