Lia’s law & order: Cops make their case

By ERWIN CHLANDA

The new Chief Minister wasted no time getting down to what she called “the number one issue”: Law and order.

Only hours after her impressive election win, Lia Finocchiaro met with Police Commissioner Michael Murphy in what may have been a tense encounter.

Earlier this month, when she was still the Leader of the Opposition, she said: “The CLP acknowledges the Commissioner’s apology [to the Aboriginal people] but understands this is not the focus for frontline police officers who are dealing with ever escalating violent crime and anti-social behaviour on a daily basis.”

A media statement after Sunday’s meeting did not reveal a lot except that there will be controversial minimum sentencing provisions for assaulting frontline workers.

Ms Finocchiaro also said: “Work is underway to ensure Declan’s Law and other measures including criminalising bail breaches, electronic monitoring for people on bail, ram raid legislation, reducing the criminal age of responsibility” in the first week of Parliament.

The conversation between the commissioner and his new boss – Ms Finocchiaro is also the Police Minister – is likely to have included issues raised by Nathan Finn (at right), president of the Police Association, at its annual meeting on the eve of the elections.

“The Joint Emergency Communications Centre is overwhelmed with demand for an emergency police response,” he said.

“It’s estimated there were almost 200,000 triple-0 calls in the last financial year. That’s a 13% increase. Recently, the agency was forced to issue a call for volunteers to cover overtime shifts.” 

Mr Finn was scathing about the use of police officers at bottle shops: “Our members have been clear: They want to be out there, helping people who require an immediate police response – but it’s hard to do that when you’re stuck in a bottle shop, turning away drunks.”

He addressing Brent Potter, still the Minister: “Why do you keep ignoring our members – and the experts? Instead of ensuring licensees take responsibility for their own compliance and security services, you’re more concerned with keeping alcohol retailers happy than supporting police.

“Your Government has chosen to spend millions of dollars on private security guards to patrol the streets, while at the same time we have frontline police officers standing out the front of bottle shops as security guards. You’ve got your priorities all wrong and the community is suffering.”

Mr Finn described police officers “our greatest strength and our greatest asset” and welcomed the funding commitment for additional 200 officers but said he remained “concerned the Police College currently lacks the necessary staff, infrastructure, and accommodation to support this level of recruitment, placing “significant pressure” on the college forcing the postponement of internal courses to accommodate new recruits”.

Mr Potter had informed him in May that the police attrition rate was 6.1%, “a surprising drop from over 9% the previous financial year.

“However, he admitted that the figure he was using excluded retirements, dismissals, and terminations.

“I requested clarification on how these figures were calculated and was promised a response by the end of the day,” said Mr Finn.

“Despite repeated follow-ups, including phone calls and emails to the Minister, three months have passed, and I’m still waiting. This prompted the NTPA to conduct its own analysis, resulting in a higher attrition rate.

“Instead of providing us with the information as requested, the Minister has publicly alleged I falsified the attrition rate for the NTPA’s betterment.

“Noting that is a serious allegation – Minister, I invite you to explain your comments. Alternatively, you can withdraw them, and apologise.”

Mr Potter was in the meeting audience on Friday night.

Mr Finn claimed the current work conditions were forming a vicious cycle: “The lack of a fatigue management policy, safe minimum staffing levels, or single officer duties, combined with record levels of crime, leads to burnout.

“Burnout then results in sick leave, which causes workplace absences and forces members to undertake overtime.”

At March 31, the police overtime expenditure was $15.2m 170,347 hours which is an increase of 7% on the previous year, Mr Finn said.

“Members have been loud and clear in consecutive surveys: poor quality housing, lack of staff and little respite is why they don’t want to go bush.

“The Kelly Review recommended a long-term remote infrastructure investment of $192m. That recommendation was accepted by Government in principle, but whittled down to $125m over five years.”

The association’s demand is notwithstanding the per-capita level of numbers: The NT has 2.7 times more police than the nation.

In 2023, there were 372 assaults on police, “kicked, punched, spat at, belted with rocks and iron bars, threatened or stabbed with sharp edged weapons. That’s a 45% increase compared with the previous year.

“Despite strong maximum penalties for assaults on police, it’s the Sentencing Act which lets police down, time and time again.

“Other employees in Australia have access to tribunals where the appeal process is completely independent of the employer. That is what our members should have access to – a process that members can have confidence in, not an appeal process controlled by the Respondent.”

On the bright side, Aboriginal Community Police Officers (ACPOs), after years of lobbying for requests to clearly identify their roles and responsibilities “just two days ago, the department formalised a framework for this this to occur, and is providing a clear career pathway for ACPOs to transition to Constable”.

PHOTO at top: Ms Finocchiaro with police officers, pictured in June 2024. All images from Police News, the quarterly magazine of the association.