November 11, 2025 • 16 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We know that the Northern Territory Police have now rested
a fourteen year old and a seventeen year old male
following that violent incident in Alice Springs on Monday afternoon.
Just after midday, police received several reports of a man
armed with a machete in the food court at Ibrinya
shopping center. Now, the incident's made headlines around the nation
with that shocking vision being shared. It is believed that
(00:23):
it followed an earlier disturbance, and detectives from Strikeforce Viper
arrested that pair yesterday. Now, the Northern Territory Police Commissioner
Martin Dole joins me in the studio. Good morning, Commissioner,
Good morning Katie, thanks so much for your time this morning. Now, Commissioner,
this incident, it's straw national attention. It's pretty shocking to
think that someone would be well, the witness described sort
(00:46):
of hacking at another with a machete while people are
buying lunch in the food court. What was your reaction
when you'd learned what it unfolded?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, look, thanks Katie. Look what I said following Monday's incident.
But it can't be conveyed too often. What we saw
on that video is appalling. A violent, deliberate attack carried
out in a public space in front of families and
children going about their day. This type of behavior is
completely unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
It's totally unacceptable, and it's bloody frightening, you know, to
think that there's people inside that shopping center grabbing their lunch,
going about their day to day business, and people to
run in And I mean, when you look at that vision,
it's not a kitchen knife like it looks like a
massive machete.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, Katie, it's completely unacceptable. And what I just want
to tell the public is that the men and women
of the Norn Territory Police Force are committed to identifying
and arresting offenders that commit offenses like this. And just
let me be clear, those who think that they can
behave like this in our towns will be held to account.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Tell me, it's been reported that two off duty police
officers intervened. Can you talk me through what those officers
really had to do to intervene?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, Katie, look probably without going into too much of
the detail, both of those members were off duty, not
in police uniform. One was conducting business at a legacy
store selling poppies for Remembrance Day. The other one was
getting some lunch, I believe in the shopping center. So
what I can say is, I'm extremely proud of the
(02:20):
way that our two members conducted themselves, showing courage under pressure,
running towards danger when many would have run away, and
in fact people were running away, and some of that
footage that I saw maintaining the safety of bystanders and
assisting in the initial containment and investigation. So incredibly proud
of their actions, and incredibly thankful that the Chief Minister
(02:41):
has also written to me and acknowledged the actions as
the Police Minister, and as the Chief Minister acknowledged the
actions of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
So it's like, it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping up.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Fact people were running away, and some of that footage
that I saw maintaining the safety of bystanders and assisting
in the initial containment and investigations. So incredibly proud of
their actions, and incredibly thankful that the Chief Minister has
also written to me and acknowledged the actions as the
Police Minister and as the Chief Minister acknowledged the actions
of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
So it's like it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Up the actions of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So it's like it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping up
at a time when, as you've rightly pointed out, others
were running away from danger and fair enough, you know,
I could never, never, you know, sort of judge anybody
who runs away when somebody's wielding a machete. But the
fact that they've gone there, they have done their best
(03:47):
to make sure that the rest of the community is
safe in what's an incredibly frightening situation is really commendable.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It's temporary behavior, Katie, and I'm extremely proud of both
of those officers, and that the caliber of the men
and women that we've got across this Northern Territory Police
Force that do selfless acts every single day.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You touched on this. The Chief Minister has written to
you now asking for that pair to be recognized for
their bravery. What's the process there?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So recognition for services is a matter to be considered
by the Commissioner. Obviously, we look at every incident of
meritorious behavior and there's a process and a committee, so
we're already looking at the actions of those offices. But
it's just great that the police ministers come out and
support and written to me supporting the action of those
members and will consider their actions for future reward in
(04:38):
relation to their conduct.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Commissioner, do you know exactly how your members then ended
up locating this duo that had been involved with the machete.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, it was fantastic work done by our Viper team
in Ola Springs. So Vipers your equivalent of Trident here
and Darwen, and you're really familiar with the work of
Triden and the great work that do. So they've been
kicking goals down in Alla Springs. They've been targeting property crime,
locking up offenders, putting people behind bars and making sure
they stay there. And they did some incredible work yesterday,
(05:07):
but probably also acknowledged that a lot of it was
done with engagement with the family of one of these
young offenders, and they had the mother of the young
offender with them assisting him in locating him and putting
him back behind bars where he belongs.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Good honor, good on that mum, you know for doing
that and taking that responsibility. I know it wouldn't be
easy as a parent, but I think it's the right
thing to do. We know that the crime stats had
been starting to show a decrease in crime across the
Northern Territory. Last time you and I caught up, we've
spoken about this. I mean, is this incident, though, indicative
that there is still a long way to go?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Look, absolutely, Katie and I haven't showed away from the
fact we have had improvements, but there's a lot of
work still to do. We can't take our foot off
the pedal and there is a long way to go.
You're absolutely right, But can I just reassure the public
this wasn't a random attack on random members of the public.
This was at a targeted attack by by people on
(06:01):
somebody that they knew that they had agrievance with whilst
it happened in public. It's shocking and it shouldn't be
tolerate and that behavior won't be accepted. We made sure
that we put the people that perpetrated this attack behind bars.
They're appearing in court today and my strong indication is
that we'll be doing everything we can to keep them inside,
(06:21):
and I just want to tell the public that we're
committed to continuing to do that and trying to keep
people safe across the Northern Territory.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Now we know that last week you release the Northern
Territory Police were your first ever anti racism strategy for staff.
The strategy is made up of four key priority areas
to serve and protect, eliminate racism, represent and reflect our territory,
and to be accountable. What kind of impact do you
think this strategy is going to have, Katie.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's going to transform and change the way that we
view racism in the Northern Territory Police Force. So a
key component of those four pillars is the delivery of
any training to the members of the non Territory Police Force.
And this strategies it goes further than saying don't be racist.
It's actually about being anti racist. And that's a proactive
(07:11):
step and that takes on our responsibilities to proactively identify
and eliminate racism. So what it does is that it
equips and assists our members to better serve the community.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I mean, sometimes these things are easier said than done.
What kind of measurable outcomes and what specific benchmarks have
sort of been set to track the progress over coming years.
Do you have some.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, we do, Katie. So obviously there's a lot of
dot points under the action plans. Some of them appear
quite simplistic, but it's taken a long time to land
this strategy because it had to be achievable, and it
had to be meaningful, and it had to be consulted
internally and externally to make sure that the things that
we were committing to can be delivered. So we will
(07:56):
track representation of Aboriginal people within our agency because one
of the key deliverables is increase Aboriginal representation in our agency.
Will track complaints, retention rates, community feedback, and we'll publish
anual progress reports against our action plans. So this is
not just about putting out a document and saying how
(08:16):
good a weed, this is what we've done. We're going
to be asking people to hold us to account and
we're going to be publishing our data against this plan.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I know that you know the aim is to achieve
thirty percent to Aboriginal employment across the agency by twenty
twenty seven. How do you get there?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Well, Katie, thirty percent of the population of the Northern
Territory is Aboriginal police forces should represent the people that
they serve, and our aim is to have thirty percent
representation across all streams. So I'll just be clear that's
not just in the swarm constable ranks. That's in every
employee in our organization that contributes to delivering the service
that we deliver.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I actually think that's a really important part of the strategy.
I think, you know, you can't be what you can't see,
and I also think that out in some of those
remote communities and different areas across the Northern Territory, if
we've got police officers out there that are Indigenous, you've
got young people then that look at those police officers
and go, hey, maybe I can do that when I
grow up. Katie.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
We've got some incredibly proud Aboriginal members already across the
police force and strong traditions in communities of families that
have served the police force for generations. I want to
see that increase. I want to see that pride in
people on communities talking about their grandfather or their father
that served and having the same desire to serve the
community that they live. And you know, they live in.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I mean, since the announcement follows the findings of were
what was described by the coroner of systemic and structural
racism within the Northern Territory Police Force. How are you,
as the commissioner going to ensure that this isn't just
a one off exercise but a genuine shift in culture. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I think that's why it's taken us so long to
land this strategy, Katie. We didn't just come out and
put some words on paper and come up with a
glossy Prosure. This strategy has been built with consultation with
aboriginal organizations, It's been built with internal consultation. It's considered
the Anti Police Association's concerns as well. So this is
(10:21):
something that we widely consulted on because it had to
be meaningful and it had to be deliverable. And this
is our roadmap to change this organization from the grassroots.
And that's why one of the key pillars of this
strategy is any racism training delivered to all members of
the police force so that they can properly recognize what
it is, recognize our systems and processes that contribute towards that,
(10:44):
not just interpersonal behaviors. But everything about our organization, they
can actually see racism in its forms, recognize what it
is and call it out. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
One of the other things that we've been talking about
over the last week or so, as an Northern Territory
Liquor Commission, they're facing criticism overas to their review into
alcohol issues in Palmerston. Now, the commission was approached back
in May after a series of violent incidents in the
suburb of Gray. Residents have raised ongoing concerns about drunken
disorderly behavior around Victoria Drive and Essington Avenue. Commissioner, is
(11:18):
this an area of concern for police as in that
specific suburb and some of the drunken disorderly behavior that's
been experienced, Yeah, Katie.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Look, the Northern Territory police have focused on community safety
in Palmerston, but right across the territory, and I think
it was probably born out in the last lot of
crime stats that we saw that Palmerston was a bit
of an outlier and it didn't have as many reductions
as we'd seen across the Northern Territory. So yes, there
is concerns for us with some of those behaviors in Palmerston.
(11:48):
But we're also changing the way that we deliver services,
and I know you talked to Commander Shaun Gill about
his any social behavior teams that he's introduced recently, so
we're taking measures to address those steps as well. Alcohol
related violence and unrestricted access to alcohol is a big
driver of any social behavior and crime.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So I'm assuming the reality is that the police sort
of support I'm guessing any changes that may be implemented
or looked at by the Liquor Commission to try and
stop some of that behavior that we're seeing.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, Katie, So broadly speaking, we welcome any outcome or
decision to assist in proving public safety and reducing alcohol
related harm. And alcohol related harm is one of our
biggest drivers of any social behavior that we see, and
particularly unregulated access to alcohol. So not talking about people
drinking in clubs where there's responsible service of alcohol, it's
(12:49):
the takeaway unrestricted access to alcohol that we see as
the driver of serious harm.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Are you still seeing a lot of and I don't
just meet in Palmeston, but across the border, you're still
seeing a lot of that secondary supply and people really
doing dodgy things to still get their hands on alcohol.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
When we talk about secondary supply, probably not in the
sense of secondary supply as the offense of people supplying
without a license. But what we're seeing is people that
are on the band Drinkers Register that aren't able to
access alcohol because they're on the band drinker register, congregating
with people that aren't and obviously getting access to alcohol,
(13:26):
which causes then goes on to cause untold harm. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Hey, just wondering if there's any update on the PPSOS.
We spoke about that last time you're on the show,
and I know that that is another stream of officer
that he is set to get underway.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
How's that all tracking, Yeah, Katie, we were really hoping
to get a course in before Christmas, and look that's
still not off the cards yet, but we're still we're
currently in the final stages of negotiation with the Police
Association about terms and conditions for the PPSOS, and then
until we land that properly, we can't actually go out
and start the full recruitment process. We're excited that we're
(14:01):
going to get applications for it. We've got over sixty
expressions of interest already. The courses are going to be
twenty four per course, and we're hoping to deliver four
courses a year and we've got over sixty people that
haven't expressed an interest already.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
It's good. That seems like that's good. You know, a
good number of people wanting to get into one of
those PPSO roles.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's great interest, Katie. It's very exciting and it's one
of the most transformative things that we will have delivered
as a police force in the last few decades.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
So it sounds like you like you genuinely believe that
they'll make a big difference to some of the issues
that we see. I guess you know, with that anti
social behavior.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
A massive difference, Katie. We've talked for years now about
our police being stretched going from job to job, not
being able to do the proactive policing that we see.
And I'll be serious, like the uniform makes people feel
safe when we're highly visible and in public places, and
we haven't been able to do that for some time now.
So our ppsos are about bringing that sense of safety
(14:57):
to people, being highly visible, being in the public space
and addressing any social behavior before it turns into criminal offending.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, Commissioner, before I let you go. We are indeed
heading into Christmas. I'm not sure whether we'll catch up
again before Christmas, but we've seen some really bad incidents
on our roads the last couple of weeks. You know,
I've caught up I reckon you with the traffic police
and major crash investigation on a few occasions in fact,
over the last couple of weeks, because we've seen a
(15:25):
horrible number of fatalities. What is the message for people
listening this morning as we head into that Christmas break
when it comes to being safe on our roads and
sort of looking out for each other.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Yeah, thanks, Katie. Look, it's been a horrific two to
three weeks on the territory roads. We've had six lives
lost within the last fortnight on territory roads, and we
were looking at pretty good numbers compared to this time
last year. So it's been a tragedy for the last
three weeks with those fatal accidents. And I'll always take
the opportunity to remind people about the fatal five, speeding,
(16:00):
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, not wearing
a seat belt, drive a fatigue and drive distraction. So
remember the fatal five. But We'll see more people on
the roads over Christmas periods, more social gatherings and generally busier.
So remember the fatal five. Drive to the conditions, remember
wet roads, and just be responsible and take care on
our roads coming into the festive season.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole, thanks so much
for your time this morning. Appreciate you joining us in
the studio.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Thanks Katie, thank you.
We know that the Northern Territory Police have now rested
a fourteen year old and a seventeen year old male
following that violent incident in Alice Springs on Monday afternoon.
Just after midday, police received several reports of a man
armed with a machete in the food court at Ibrinya
shopping center. Now, the incident's made headlines around the nation
with that shocking vision being shared. It is believed that
(00:23):
it followed an earlier disturbance, and detectives from Strikeforce Viper
arrested that pair yesterday. Now, the Northern Territory Police Commissioner
Martin Dole joins me in the studio. Good morning, Commissioner,
Good morning Katie, thanks so much for your time this morning. Now, Commissioner,
this incident, it's straw national attention. It's pretty shocking to
think that someone would be well, the witness described sort
(00:46):
of hacking at another with a machete while people are
buying lunch in the food court. What was your reaction
when you'd learned what it unfolded?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, look, thanks Katie. Look what I said following Monday's incident.
But it can't be conveyed too often. What we saw
on that video is appalling. A violent, deliberate attack carried
out in a public space in front of families and
children going about their day. This type of behavior is
completely unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
It's totally unacceptable, and it's bloody frightening, you know, to
think that there's people inside that shopping center grabbing their lunch,
going about their day to day business, and people to
run in And I mean, when you look at that vision,
it's not a kitchen knife like it looks like a
massive machete.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, Katie, it's completely unacceptable. And what I just want
to tell the public is that the men and women
of the Norn Territory Police Force are committed to identifying
and arresting offenders that commit offenses like this. And just
let me be clear, those who think that they can
behave like this in our towns will be held to account.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Tell me, it's been reported that two off duty police
officers intervened. Can you talk me through what those officers
really had to do to intervene?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, Katie, look probably without going into too much of
the detail, both of those members were off duty, not
in police uniform. One was conducting business at a legacy
store selling poppies for Remembrance Day. The other one was
getting some lunch, I believe in the shopping center. So
what I can say is, I'm extremely proud of the
(02:20):
way that our two members conducted themselves, showing courage under pressure,
running towards danger when many would have run away, and
in fact people were running away, and some of that
footage that I saw maintaining the safety of bystanders and
assisting in the initial containment and investigation. So incredibly proud
of their actions, and incredibly thankful that the Chief Minister
(02:41):
has also written to me and acknowledged the actions as
the Police Minister, and as the Chief Minister acknowledged the
actions of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
So it's like, it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping up.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Fact people were running away, and some of that footage
that I saw maintaining the safety of bystanders and assisting
in the initial containment and investigations. So incredibly proud of
their actions, and incredibly thankful that the Chief Minister has
also written to me and acknowledged the actions as the
Police Minister and as the Chief Minister acknowledged the actions
of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
So it's like it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Up the actions of those members as well.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So it's like it's phenomenally brave stuff what those two
women have done in terms of, you know, stepping up
at a time when, as you've rightly pointed out, others
were running away from danger and fair enough, you know,
I could never, never, you know, sort of judge anybody
who runs away when somebody's wielding a machete. But the
fact that they've gone there, they have done their best
(03:47):
to make sure that the rest of the community is
safe in what's an incredibly frightening situation is really commendable.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It's temporary behavior, Katie, and I'm extremely proud of both
of those officers, and that the caliber of the men
and women that we've got across this Northern Territory Police
Force that do selfless acts every single day.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You touched on this. The Chief Minister has written to
you now asking for that pair to be recognized for
their bravery. What's the process there?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So recognition for services is a matter to be considered
by the Commissioner. Obviously, we look at every incident of
meritorious behavior and there's a process and a committee, so
we're already looking at the actions of those offices. But
it's just great that the police ministers come out and
support and written to me supporting the action of those
members and will consider their actions for future reward in
(04:38):
relation to their conduct.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Commissioner, do you know exactly how your members then ended
up locating this duo that had been involved with the machete.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, it was fantastic work done by our Viper team
in Ola Springs. So Vipers your equivalent of Trident here
and Darwen, and you're really familiar with the work of
Triden and the great work that do. So they've been
kicking goals down in Alla Springs. They've been targeting property crime,
locking up offenders, putting people behind bars and making sure
they stay there. And they did some incredible work yesterday,
(05:07):
but probably also acknowledged that a lot of it was
done with engagement with the family of one of these
young offenders, and they had the mother of the young
offender with them assisting him in locating him and putting
him back behind bars where he belongs.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Good honor, good on that mum, you know for doing
that and taking that responsibility. I know it wouldn't be
easy as a parent, but I think it's the right
thing to do. We know that the crime stats had
been starting to show a decrease in crime across the
Northern Territory. Last time you and I caught up, we've
spoken about this. I mean, is this incident, though, indicative
that there is still a long way to go?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Look, absolutely, Katie and I haven't showed away from the
fact we have had improvements, but there's a lot of
work still to do. We can't take our foot off
the pedal and there is a long way to go.
You're absolutely right, But can I just reassure the public
this wasn't a random attack on random members of the public.
This was at a targeted attack by by people on
(06:01):
somebody that they knew that they had agrievance with whilst
it happened in public. It's shocking and it shouldn't be
tolerate and that behavior won't be accepted. We made sure
that we put the people that perpetrated this attack behind bars.
They're appearing in court today and my strong indication is
that we'll be doing everything we can to keep them inside,
(06:21):
and I just want to tell the public that we're
committed to continuing to do that and trying to keep
people safe across the Northern Territory.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Now we know that last week you release the Northern
Territory Police were your first ever anti racism strategy for staff.
The strategy is made up of four key priority areas
to serve and protect, eliminate racism, represent and reflect our territory,
and to be accountable. What kind of impact do you
think this strategy is going to have, Katie.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's going to transform and change the way that we
view racism in the Northern Territory Police Force. So a
key component of those four pillars is the delivery of
any training to the members of the non Territory Police Force.
And this strategies it goes further than saying don't be racist.
It's actually about being anti racist. And that's a proactive
(07:11):
step and that takes on our responsibilities to proactively identify
and eliminate racism. So what it does is that it
equips and assists our members to better serve the community.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I mean, sometimes these things are easier said than done.
What kind of measurable outcomes and what specific benchmarks have
sort of been set to track the progress over coming years.
Do you have some.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, we do, Katie. So obviously there's a lot of
dot points under the action plans. Some of them appear
quite simplistic, but it's taken a long time to land
this strategy because it had to be achievable, and it
had to be meaningful, and it had to be consulted
internally and externally to make sure that the things that
we were committing to can be delivered. So we will
(07:56):
track representation of Aboriginal people within our agency because one
of the key deliverables is increase Aboriginal representation in our agency.
Will track complaints, retention rates, community feedback, and we'll publish
anual progress reports against our action plans. So this is
not just about putting out a document and saying how
(08:16):
good a weed, this is what we've done. We're going
to be asking people to hold us to account and
we're going to be publishing our data against this plan.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I know that you know the aim is to achieve
thirty percent to Aboriginal employment across the agency by twenty
twenty seven. How do you get there?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Well, Katie, thirty percent of the population of the Northern
Territory is Aboriginal police forces should represent the people that
they serve, and our aim is to have thirty percent
representation across all streams. So I'll just be clear that's
not just in the swarm constable ranks. That's in every
employee in our organization that contributes to delivering the service
that we deliver.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I actually think that's a really important part of the strategy.
I think, you know, you can't be what you can't see,
and I also think that out in some of those
remote communities and different areas across the Northern Territory, if
we've got police officers out there that are Indigenous, you've
got young people then that look at those police officers
and go, hey, maybe I can do that when I
grow up. Katie.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
We've got some incredibly proud Aboriginal members already across the
police force and strong traditions in communities of families that
have served the police force for generations. I want to
see that increase. I want to see that pride in
people on communities talking about their grandfather or their father
that served and having the same desire to serve the
community that they live. And you know, they live in.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I mean, since the announcement follows the findings of were
what was described by the coroner of systemic and structural
racism within the Northern Territory Police Force. How are you,
as the commissioner going to ensure that this isn't just
a one off exercise but a genuine shift in culture. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I think that's why it's taken us so long to
land this strategy, Katie. We didn't just come out and
put some words on paper and come up with a
glossy Prosure. This strategy has been built with consultation with
aboriginal organizations, It's been built with internal consultation. It's considered
the Anti Police Association's concerns as well. So this is
(10:21):
something that we widely consulted on because it had to
be meaningful and it had to be deliverable. And this
is our roadmap to change this organization from the grassroots.
And that's why one of the key pillars of this
strategy is any racism training delivered to all members of
the police force so that they can properly recognize what
it is, recognize our systems and processes that contribute towards that,
(10:44):
not just interpersonal behaviors. But everything about our organization, they
can actually see racism in its forms, recognize what it
is and call it out. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
One of the other things that we've been talking about
over the last week or so, as an Northern Territory
Liquor Commission, they're facing criticism overas to their review into
alcohol issues in Palmerston. Now, the commission was approached back
in May after a series of violent incidents in the
suburb of Gray. Residents have raised ongoing concerns about drunken
disorderly behavior around Victoria Drive and Essington Avenue. Commissioner, is
(11:18):
this an area of concern for police as in that
specific suburb and some of the drunken disorderly behavior that's
been experienced, Yeah, Katie.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Look, the Northern Territory police have focused on community safety
in Palmerston, but right across the territory, and I think
it was probably born out in the last lot of
crime stats that we saw that Palmerston was a bit
of an outlier and it didn't have as many reductions
as we'd seen across the Northern Territory. So yes, there
is concerns for us with some of those behaviors in Palmerston.
(11:48):
But we're also changing the way that we deliver services,
and I know you talked to Commander Shaun Gill about
his any social behavior teams that he's introduced recently, so
we're taking measures to address those steps as well. Alcohol
related violence and unrestricted access to alcohol is a big
driver of any social behavior and crime.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So I'm assuming the reality is that the police sort
of support I'm guessing any changes that may be implemented
or looked at by the Liquor Commission to try and
stop some of that behavior that we're seeing.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, Katie, So broadly speaking, we welcome any outcome or
decision to assist in proving public safety and reducing alcohol
related harm. And alcohol related harm is one of our
biggest drivers of any social behavior that we see, and
particularly unregulated access to alcohol. So not talking about people
drinking in clubs where there's responsible service of alcohol, it's
(12:49):
the takeaway unrestricted access to alcohol that we see as
the driver of serious harm.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Are you still seeing a lot of and I don't
just meet in Palmeston, but across the border, you're still
seeing a lot of that secondary supply and people really
doing dodgy things to still get their hands on alcohol.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
When we talk about secondary supply, probably not in the
sense of secondary supply as the offense of people supplying
without a license. But what we're seeing is people that
are on the band Drinkers Register that aren't able to
access alcohol because they're on the band drinker register, congregating
with people that aren't and obviously getting access to alcohol,
(13:26):
which causes then goes on to cause untold harm. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Hey, just wondering if there's any update on the PPSOS.
We spoke about that last time you're on the show,
and I know that that is another stream of officer
that he is set to get underway.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
How's that all tracking, Yeah, Katie, we were really hoping
to get a course in before Christmas, and look that's
still not off the cards yet, but we're still we're
currently in the final stages of negotiation with the Police
Association about terms and conditions for the PPSOS, and then
until we land that properly, we can't actually go out
and start the full recruitment process. We're excited that we're
(14:01):
going to get applications for it. We've got over sixty
expressions of interest already. The courses are going to be
twenty four per course, and we're hoping to deliver four
courses a year and we've got over sixty people that
haven't expressed an interest already.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
It's good. That seems like that's good. You know, a
good number of people wanting to get into one of
those PPSO roles.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's great interest, Katie. It's very exciting and it's one
of the most transformative things that we will have delivered
as a police force in the last few decades.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
So it sounds like you like you genuinely believe that
they'll make a big difference to some of the issues
that we see. I guess you know, with that anti
social behavior.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
A massive difference, Katie. We've talked for years now about
our police being stretched going from job to job, not
being able to do the proactive policing that we see.
And I'll be serious, like the uniform makes people feel
safe when we're highly visible and in public places, and
we haven't been able to do that for some time now.
So our ppsos are about bringing that sense of safety
(14:57):
to people, being highly visible, being in the public space
and addressing any social behavior before it turns into criminal offending.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, Commissioner, before I let you go. We are indeed
heading into Christmas. I'm not sure whether we'll catch up
again before Christmas, but we've seen some really bad incidents
on our roads the last couple of weeks. You know,
I've caught up I reckon you with the traffic police
and major crash investigation on a few occasions in fact,
over the last couple of weeks, because we've seen a
(15:25):
horrible number of fatalities. What is the message for people
listening this morning as we head into that Christmas break
when it comes to being safe on our roads and
sort of looking out for each other.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Yeah, thanks, Katie. Look, it's been a horrific two to
three weeks on the territory roads. We've had six lives
lost within the last fortnight on territory roads, and we
were looking at pretty good numbers compared to this time
last year. So it's been a tragedy for the last
three weeks with those fatal accidents. And I'll always take
the opportunity to remind people about the fatal five, speeding,
(16:00):
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, not wearing
a seat belt, drive a fatigue and drive distraction. So
remember the fatal five. But We'll see more people on
the roads over Christmas periods, more social gatherings and generally busier.
So remember the fatal five. Drive to the conditions, remember
wet roads, and just be responsible and take care on
our roads coming into the festive season.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole, thanks so much
for your time this morning. Appreciate you joining us in
the studio.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Thanks Katie, thank you.
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