Top cop’s own PR

By ERWIN CHLANDA

The Territory police chief is continuing his campaign he launched at the Garma Festival of apologising to Indigenous people.

Ever since the event ended on August 5, every police media release has been prefaced with this: "An apology to Aboriginal Territorians. I, Michael Murphy (pictured), Commissioner of the Northern Territory Police am deeply sorry to all Aboriginal Territorians, for the past harms and injustices caused by members of the Northern Territory Police." And so on. See above.

The Police Association, from which Mr Murphy has now resigned, has made it clear that the members under his command who have not inflicted harm nor injustices upon Aboriginal Territorians are unimpressed.

Meanwhile the police media section, which puts out the releases, is giving Mr Murphy's personal propaganda more attention than dealing with media enquiries.

The News sent this email to PFES.Media@pfes.nt.gov.au on July 12:

"The commissioner said yesterday that during the curfew that ended yesterday some children were taken by the police to a 'responsible adult'.

"Without mentioning names nor locations, how many children were dealt with in this way; in each case describe the circumstances of the adult and the location; has there been a follow-up by the police; what has the child been doing since he or she was apprehended; what are the ongoing arrangements for the child.

"If the arrangements are linked to Families or another government organisation or an NGO, please let me know who to speak with.

"Also, with respect to the violent disturbance in Bath Street on July 10: Was the police aware that it was likely to happen? Does the police cultivate a network of contacts in the town camps and the multitude of Aboriginal organisations who are likely to have information about community, family, tribal tensions?"

We doubled up on both issues through the new portal for police media requests – yet no response at all.

The portal includes the ridiculous mandate that no response deadline of less than two hours is accepted. Mobile numbers go straight to voice mail but there is no reply. The News is now investigating without collaboration from the police the vexed issue of adults "responsible" for children committing crimes that have destroyed, together with social media, the reputation of the town, halving the number of tourists and doubling the number of homes for sale.