Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Mix one O four nine's three sixty.
Now we know the Northern Territory Police Force were out
in well, they were out in force of course over
the Easter long weekend with multiple high visibility operations across
the Northern Territory. Joining me in the studio is Superintendent
of the Road Policing Division, Rick mcgrae. Good morning to you, Rick.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning Katie. How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Yeah, very well. Now, busy weekend, I'm sure, how did
it all go? Talk us through the operation?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, it was a really busy weekend. But the nice
part about it for the majority of the weekend for
our team in general, it was being busy in a
proactive way. So the team did some amazing work all
throughout the territory in relation to road policing and through
the work that they've done, we had some really good
outcomes with no fatalities over the long weekend, which is
great and to my knowledge, no serious crashes or none
(00:51):
that I've been red, which is very different from a
lot of long weekends in the past.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It is good news. I mean, that was something that
you and I had spoken about last week is we
had both you know, urged people to please take care
on the roads. It seems as though they've actually, you know,
done just that and tried their best to respect each
other and do the right thing on the road. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, and that's the feedback we had throughout the territory.
You know, Look, and credit to the community because it
really is their work on top of you know, our
teams work as well, but without their involvement and having
that positive attitude on our roads, we wouldn't have achieved
those results. So look, I think we had over that
long weekend. We only had one high range drink driver,
which you know, still we don't want that one high
(01:33):
range drink driver, but you know, compared to things in
the past, yeah, that's definitely a much better result.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So talk me through how many RBTs were set up,
you know what exactly what proactive stuff was done.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, so I sort of alluded to it when we
spoke last week. But our primary focus for this long
weekend was out in the rural area where we do
see a lot of our road trauma, and just knowing
the territory and how people like to get away as
soon as the weather changes, that's where we focused on.
So out in the rural area, they and throughout Alice
Springs with the same focus, sixty fifty six random breath
(02:07):
testing stations set up, which is a remarkable effort. And
you've got to appreciate some of the weather that the
teams have to deal with out there standing on the
side of hot road. So that's a really good effort.
And as a result, over five thousand people breath tested
for alcohol. Wow, and one hundred and thirty one drug
tests conducted. So that was a lot of engagements with
the public and getting that message out there.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Yeh, it certainly is. I mean more than five thousand people,
that's a huge number. Were they Like, what were the
numbers like in terms of I know, you said on
the one high range strength driving, how'd you go with
some of the other, you know, the other things that
you obviously are checking people for.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, yep. So all up, there was sixty six people
that were positive for either drugs or alcohol on our road.
So that's it's still too many. But what the appreciative
thing is in these circumstances, that's sixty six occasions where
we're intervened and got those high risk drivers off our roads.
So look, I've got no doubt you know, without that
(03:07):
proactive work from those teams, some of those incidents would
have turned into crashes or potentially fatalities. So that was
really good work to intervene. Probably the biggest things that
we saw over the weekend was still a lot of
people speeding, which we continue to combat, and our guys
pulled over four hundred and close to five hundred cars wow,
just through random apprehensions for either speeding or just random
(03:28):
for breath testing and that. So yeah, ultimately the majority
of people were doing the right thing and enjoying their
weekend responsibly, but there was still some disappointing choices made,
but we had our team on hand to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah. Well, and one of the other things I know,
in addition to all of those random breath testing stations
and all of the proactive work that you've done, well,
you were also in a situation where you were, well
you're involved in apprehending these stolen vehicles. Talk me through
what had happened.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, that's right. The teams that are a remarkable job
with that one. So on the early hours of Sunday morning,
there was three stolen motor vehicles heading south down towards Adelaide,
River and they were joined by another three stolen motor vehicles.
We assume they're working together, but we actually had our
teams out doing some really good proactive work. So unbeknowns
to our offenders, there was teams set up involving the
(04:21):
Road Policing Team, the Dog Operations Unit, the drug squad
and the local local police as well. So they were
able to apprehend five of those six stolen vehicles using
the tiderflation devices. A number of offenders fled and they
apprehended a few, they've identified another. There's still a few outstanding,
(04:42):
but they know who they are and they're actively catching
up with those. So it was just a really good
collaborative effort from all those specialist teams.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
How'd you be have being in a stolen car and
then approaching and thinking, oh police are already here. What
where exactly were you? I mean, I laugh. It's actually
a bloody dangerous situation, but I just think, good job
that they got caught. Where exactly were you? And how
did it kind of unfold?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, So the teams were down in Adelaide River Township
doing some proactive work which we often do down in
that area. Yeah, So in that Vicinity and then once
they become aware of those stolen vehicles, there was a
coordinated response. We have special methodology and how we use
our tiderflation devices. I won't go into that too much,
but yeah, they were able to identify those key areas
(05:26):
and really good execution by them. And then following that up,
the remote police down in Adelaide, River and Bachelor do
a remarkable job. They've got great community connections and as
a result of that, they were able to go around
and identify who the offenders were. And yeah, like I said,
they're being apprehended.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yep. Now yeah, yeah, and so five of those six
stolen cars, one of them still outstanding, is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So yeah, commenced, but that was terminated just due to
the dangerousness. And then further investigations happened and yep, that
was recovered as well.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Stage do we know I'm not sure whether you know
obviously you're in charge of the road policing, but do
we know whether they've all been arrested or what the
situation is with those offenders that.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So Struck Force Trident's got the lead on that investigation.
They are property crime team. So a number of the
offenders have been arrested. A lot of the others have
been identified, but there is still a few outstanding. So
if anyone's got any information in relation to that, would
love them to contact us via crime stoppers.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, definitely get in contact with the Northern Territory Police
or crime Stoppers. Just lastly, I know that I will.
In addition to all of the work that the traffic
police or the road operations have done over the weekend,
there was another There was also I believe a bit
of targeting of the transportation of dangerous drugs and weapons
and other illegal items. How did that go?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, so that was that other operation that was happening
down in Adelaide River. So that was what that team was
doing down there, and that's something that people could expect
to see throughout the rest.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
They actually apprehended five dangerous cars by the sounds of it.
What else did they find? What else did they get? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, look, they had some really good results. A media
release came out in relation to that yesterday, which goes
into detail on the police website, so people can go
in and have a look at that. But yeah, like
I said, those proactive operations can really happen when we
can be proactive and the community do the right thing,
allowing us to focus our resources on some of those
(07:25):
sort of areas, and.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It is a really good thing. I mean, I think
that that's what the public want to see as well.
They like to see the police out there proactively policing.
I know you might not like it if you get
yourself a speeding fine, but it is really good to
see the police out there able to do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And look, that's the reality of it is because like,
for example, the results we had over this weekend where
we didn't have those serious crashes or fatalities. You know,
those incidents take up a lot of resources. So when
we can avoid those incidents and be proactive, we are
able to focus on a lot of those key areas.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah. Absolutely well, Superintendent of Road Policing, Rick mcgrae. Lovely
to speak to you this morning. Really appreciate your time.
Thank you very much for joining.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Us, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Thank you
You are listening to Mix one O four nine's three sixty.
Now we know the Northern Territory Police Force were out
in well, they were out in force of course over
the Easter long weekend with multiple high visibility operations across
the Northern Territory. Joining me in the studio is Superintendent
of the Road Policing Division, Rick mcgrae. Good morning to you, Rick.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning Katie. How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Yeah, very well. Now, busy weekend, I'm sure, how did
it all go? Talk us through the operation?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, it was a really busy weekend. But the nice
part about it for the majority of the weekend for
our team in general, it was being busy in a
proactive way. So the team did some amazing work all
throughout the territory in relation to road policing and through
the work that they've done, we had some really good
outcomes with no fatalities over the long weekend, which is
great and to my knowledge, no serious crashes or none
(00:51):
that I've been red, which is very different from a
lot of long weekends in the past.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It is good news. I mean, that was something that
you and I had spoken about last week is we
had both you know, urged people to please take care
on the roads. It seems as though they've actually, you know,
done just that and tried their best to respect each
other and do the right thing on the road. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, and that's the feedback we had throughout the territory.
You know, Look, and credit to the community because it
really is their work on top of you know, our
teams work as well, but without their involvement and having
that positive attitude on our roads, we wouldn't have achieved
those results. So look, I think we had over that
long weekend. We only had one high range drink driver,
which you know, still we don't want that one high
(01:33):
range drink driver, but you know, compared to things in
the past, yeah, that's definitely a much better result.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So talk me through how many RBTs were set up,
you know what exactly what proactive stuff was done.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, so I sort of alluded to it when we
spoke last week. But our primary focus for this long
weekend was out in the rural area where we do
see a lot of our road trauma, and just knowing
the territory and how people like to get away as
soon as the weather changes, that's where we focused on.
So out in the rural area, they and throughout Alice
Springs with the same focus, sixty fifty six random breath
(02:07):
testing stations set up, which is a remarkable effort. And
you've got to appreciate some of the weather that the
teams have to deal with out there standing on the
side of hot road. So that's a really good effort.
And as a result, over five thousand people breath tested
for alcohol. Wow, and one hundred and thirty one drug
tests conducted. So that was a lot of engagements with
the public and getting that message out there.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Yeh, it certainly is. I mean more than five thousand people,
that's a huge number. Were they Like, what were the
numbers like in terms of I know, you said on
the one high range strength driving, how'd you go with
some of the other, you know, the other things that
you obviously are checking people for.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, yep. So all up, there was sixty six people
that were positive for either drugs or alcohol on our road.
So that's it's still too many. But what the appreciative
thing is in these circumstances, that's sixty six occasions where
we're intervened and got those high risk drivers off our roads.
So look, I've got no doubt you know, without that
(03:07):
proactive work from those teams, some of those incidents would
have turned into crashes or potentially fatalities. So that was
really good work to intervene. Probably the biggest things that
we saw over the weekend was still a lot of
people speeding, which we continue to combat, and our guys
pulled over four hundred and close to five hundred cars wow,
just through random apprehensions for either speeding or just random
(03:28):
for breath testing and that. So yeah, ultimately the majority
of people were doing the right thing and enjoying their
weekend responsibly, but there was still some disappointing choices made,
but we had our team on hand to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah. Well, and one of the other things I know,
in addition to all of those random breath testing stations
and all of the proactive work that you've done, well,
you were also in a situation where you were, well
you're involved in apprehending these stolen vehicles. Talk me through
what had happened.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, that's right. The teams that are a remarkable job
with that one. So on the early hours of Sunday morning,
there was three stolen motor vehicles heading south down towards Adelaide,
River and they were joined by another three stolen motor vehicles.
We assume they're working together, but we actually had our
teams out doing some really good proactive work. So unbeknowns
to our offenders, there was teams set up involving the
(04:21):
Road Policing Team, the Dog Operations Unit, the drug squad
and the local local police as well. So they were
able to apprehend five of those six stolen vehicles using
the tiderflation devices. A number of offenders fled and they
apprehended a few, they've identified another. There's still a few outstanding,
(04:42):
but they know who they are and they're actively catching
up with those. So it was just a really good
collaborative effort from all those specialist teams.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
How'd you be have being in a stolen car and
then approaching and thinking, oh police are already here. What
where exactly were you? I mean, I laugh. It's actually
a bloody dangerous situation, but I just think, good job
that they got caught. Where exactly were you? And how
did it kind of unfold?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, So the teams were down in Adelaide River Township
doing some proactive work which we often do down in
that area. Yeah, So in that Vicinity and then once
they become aware of those stolen vehicles, there was a
coordinated response. We have special methodology and how we use
our tiderflation devices. I won't go into that too much,
but yeah, they were able to identify those key areas
(05:26):
and really good execution by them. And then following that up,
the remote police down in Adelaide, River and Bachelor do
a remarkable job. They've got great community connections and as
a result of that, they were able to go around
and identify who the offenders were. And yeah, like I said,
they're being apprehended.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yep. Now yeah, yeah, and so five of those six
stolen cars, one of them still outstanding, is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So yeah, commenced, but that was terminated just due to
the dangerousness. And then further investigations happened and yep, that
was recovered as well.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Stage do we know I'm not sure whether you know
obviously you're in charge of the road policing, but do
we know whether they've all been arrested or what the
situation is with those offenders that.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So Struck Force Trident's got the lead on that investigation.
They are property crime team. So a number of the
offenders have been arrested. A lot of the others have
been identified, but there is still a few outstanding. So
if anyone's got any information in relation to that, would
love them to contact us via crime stoppers.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, definitely get in contact with the Northern Territory Police
or crime Stoppers. Just lastly, I know that I will.
In addition to all of the work that the traffic
police or the road operations have done over the weekend,
there was another There was also I believe a bit
of targeting of the transportation of dangerous drugs and weapons
and other illegal items. How did that go?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, so that was that other operation that was happening
down in Adelaide River. So that was what that team was
doing down there, and that's something that people could expect
to see throughout the rest.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
They actually apprehended five dangerous cars by the sounds of it.
What else did they find? What else did they get? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, look, they had some really good results. A media
release came out in relation to that yesterday, which goes
into detail on the police website, so people can go
in and have a look at that. But yeah, like
I said, those proactive operations can really happen when we
can be proactive and the community do the right thing,
allowing us to focus our resources on some of those
(07:25):
sort of areas, and.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It is a really good thing. I mean, I think
that that's what the public want to see as well.
They like to see the police out there proactively policing.
I know you might not like it if you get
yourself a speeding fine, but it is really good to
see the police out there able to do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And look, that's the reality of it is because like,
for example, the results we had over this weekend where
we didn't have those serious crashes or fatalities. You know,
those incidents take up a lot of resources. So when
we can avoid those incidents and be proactive, we are
able to focus on a lot of those key areas.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah. Absolutely well, Superintendent of Road Policing, Rick mcgrae. Lovely
to speak to you this morning. Really appreciate your time.
Thank you very much for joining.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Us, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Thank you
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