Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerry Wooden Morning's podcast from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be Police Minister. Marke Mitchell joins us now, good.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Morning, Good morning, Cairie.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Not really a good morning though, is it?
Speaker 4 (00:19):
Well as a good body for me, I'm meeting with
all my leadership teapers from Saint John's Ambulance and there's
a great chance to hear what they having to deal
with and thank them for the outstanding job they're doing.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What about the police? Come on, this is not good enough?
Speaker 4 (00:33):
So basically the police are doing a very good job
on retail crime. Is the incoming government, we focused on
violent retail crime and we're starting.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
To see a reduction on that.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
We know that there's a much bigger issue, and we
know there's a lot more work to do around retail
crime as a whole and that shoplifting and shrinkage.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
We're working right.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Across all the stakeholder groups, so there's some really good
progress being made. I just want to assure everyone that
the police will respond if they have. For example, in
my town of Aria, if there's a shoplifter there that
gets caught shoplifting and they call the police, then of
course the police will always prioritize in terms of you know,
(01:13):
they have their own way of prioritizing calls in terms.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Of whether there's risk to human life. But they will attend.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
And my expectation is, and the government's expectation is is
that that will not change, is that they will as
long as they have got resources available, they'll be able
to attend these jobs.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, what's the directive then.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, that's an internal memo and that is operational for police.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
And I think police have got more to say on
that and will be clarifying it themselves. But my expectations.
The Police Minister has been very clear that yes, I
don't interfere with their prioritization.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I don't interfere with how they prioritize deployment to jobs.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
But the expectation is that every crime that is committed,
if they have resources available, there will be a response.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I mean, because basically that is saying I can walk
out of my local supermarket with four hundred and ninety
nine dollars worth of goods and my trolley if I've
got the gold to do it.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Yes, and let me be clear that that is not
the case, so there will be a police response.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
We've definitely moving. We're working really.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Closely with the retail sector facial recognition as well, and
truly on the radar now.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
It's been very effective in the trial that's been rolled out.
We've got our retail crime unit that's doing outstanding work.
We've got some centers of excellence like two and Gismond
who have been very effective and hitting retail crime, both
violent and nonviolent retail crime. It's on our radar.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
It's one of my expectations to the Commission that we
continue to get on.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Top of the situation. We know we've got a lot more,
a lot of work to do.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
We know that it's a tsunami coming at us, but
I just want to be very clear that no, don't
think that you can go out there and shoplift anything
under the value of five hundred. There will be a
police response, especially if the offender is able to be identified,
if there's CCTV cameras or some sort of hard evidence
that the police are able to follow up on.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
This is what you were saying before the election, and
this is what people needed to hear. Yeah, that there
would be a line drawn in the sand that people
who are doing it tough are sick and tired of
seeing people get away with fevering, with taking stuff that
doesn't belong to them. And it's galling, especially when people
are doing it tough to see others stick to fingers
(03:22):
at them and stick two fingers at the community. And
that's what you said would change, and you did talk tough,
and you campaign heavily on it, and then you see
this directive and it just.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
It's I listen, I agree with you. Complete it's not
even talking tough.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
It's just saying that as a country, we've got to
have consequences that match the seriousnes of the offending and
by the way, attention to even the small and the
minor crime, and that that can help with some of
the more serious stuff as well. We are doing that.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
We look, we did face some real challenges. Obviously.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
The police have taken on a whole lot of roles
that other agencies should be doing. We're trying to manage
them away from that in a really in a careful way,
in an intelligent way, so that they have got more
resources to be able to respond to their call business.
And we're starting to see some success in that. There's
a look, like I said to you, the police are
doing an outstanding job. I'm really proud of the job
(04:14):
that they're doing. This was an internal memo that was
somehow got a hold of through the OIA has created
a bit of confusion. I'm trying to clarify this now.
From a government perspective, is that all crime is crime,
and there is and a police response is expected. The
police maintain operational control in terms of how they prioritize.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
That, and that's natural. They've always done that, They've done
that for decades. But there's a big focus on retail crime.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, I mean, nobody would expect them to leave the
scene of a crime where somebody had been assaulted or
murdered or what have you, to go and pick up
somebody who's taken a couple of vapes. I totally get that,
but it's just so disappointing. It's so shades of Poto Williams.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And listen.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
So that's and that is exactly why I'm being very
clear and providing the reassurance that you know the wording.
I think the police themselves have been very clear that
the wording could have been better around that memo. But
I'm telling you now, even if I speak to my
local police or the police that I get to see
every day around the country. If a shopkeeper rings them
and says, we've got a we've got a shoplifter here.
Can you please come down and help us, they'll go
(05:20):
down and they'll help, depending on what the prioritizations are.
If they're out a violent domestic where they've got victims,
then of course they're going to have to deal with that,
but they'll always they'll always get back to them and
nothing's going to change. Yes, we've got a tsunami of
this coming at us. Yes police have got limited resources,
but they do a fantastic job with the resources that
they've got. And I want to reassure everyone that's certainly
(05:42):
from a gunment perspective, every crime is a crime and
deserves a response.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Can you go all trumpy and on it and say
there will be no threshold at which crime will be investigated.
It's wondering what the towers of government are you. Can
you call in that nice mister Chambers and say, listen, Nate,
we do not put a threshold on crime.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, so I can what I can do as I
can deliver my letter of expectation to the Commission. It
was very clear around what we were going to do
and what the government wanted to see happen around retail crime.
He has got complete operational independence and that is right.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
That should be like that.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
You shouldn't have politicians interfering and trying to tell commissioners
what they should do with their staff and where they
should be.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
We are fully aligned on this. The commissioner agrees with me. One.
We're very lucky. We've got an outstanding commissioner. We've got
a very good police force.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
We're working right across the whole sector with all stakeholders,
and we're making some really good, positive forward progress.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Will you go back to those now Saint John's people
and tell them very much? And I expect to see
some really clear because I'm as far as I'm saying,
that directive's pretty clear, like it's, you know, crystal clear.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah. I think that.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
I think it was like there's directives, there's multiple directors
going out all the time through police. I think that
there was Probably the police would probably agree that it
was poorly worded and they just need to be some
clarity around that.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Certainly is the police minister.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
I'm trying to provide some real clarity around it now
and give the public assense that that the police will respond.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Thank you very much, Minister that is Police Minister Mark
Mitchell calling in, thank you very much, and await with
breathless anticipation the Police executive clarification on the directive.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
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