The Northern Territory police union says hundreds of its members have no confidence in Commissioner Jamie Chalker and morale is at an all-time low.

August 12, 2022

Hundreds of Northern Territory police officers say they have no confidence in their commissioner and morale in the force has plummeted to an all-time low.

The Northern Territory Police Association says almost 80 per cent of members who responded to a recent survey do not have confidence in Commissioner Jamie Chalker.

A similar number rated morale in the NT Police as low or very low. About 90 per cent said there were not enough officers on the beat and they were unhappy with the NT government’s four-year pay freeze.

The police force was in crisis, association president Paul McCue said.

“Our members do not have confidence in the commissioner, they overwhelmingly reject the government’s disgraceful pay freeze and they think morale is at an all-time low,” he said on Friday.

He called for an urgent review of staffing levels, saying it was insufficient for the difficult jobs NT police officers were “being forced to do”.

Mr Chalker said the force’s executive was aware of the morale issues and it would discuss the matters raised in the survey at the union’s annual conference, scheduled for next week.

“The job we do is incredibly demanding and the health and wellbeing of our members is our priority,” he said.

“We remain committed to working with our people and the (association) to continue to advance the NT Police Force.”

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said her government had supported police with resources and backed the embattled commissioner.

“We support the commissioner,” she said.

“Police have one of the toughest jobs in the Territory. We have delivered more resources than any other government to support our police on the frontline.”

Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro called for an urgent inquiry into the police command structure and resourcing.

She also demanded Ms Fyles sack Police Minister Kate Worden and assume the role.

“For two years Labor has ignored the very clear signals that have been sent by our police,” she said.

While the prosecution of Constable Zachary Rolfe over the fatal shooting of Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker on November 9, 2019 was not mentioned in the survey, it has previously been acknowledged as a contributing factor to the force’s low morale and dissatisfaction with the commissioner.

Many officers were outraged when Const Rolfe was charged with murder three days after he fatally shot Mr Walker during a failed arrest attempt in which the teen stabbed him with a pair of scissors.

He was acquitted at trial in February amid contested claims that the charge was politically influenced. The territory’s anti-corruption watchdog later announced it would investigate the decision to prosecute.

The NT police executive has previously said enforcing COVID-19 health directives over the past two years had also contributed to the challenges faced by the force, which has struggled to retain members in recent years.

Mr Chalker, the first Territory-born police commissioner, was appointed to the top job on October 31, 2019, saying he would halt the force’s attrition rate.

He had previously been based in numerous remote Aboriginal communities and worked in homicide during a 24-year career with NT Police.

More than 1000 union members took part in the survey, which represents 65 per cent of its membership, with a total of 1608 members eligible to take part.