The Fyles Labor government is losing police officers faster than it can recruit, leading to fewer police in the Northern Territory than there was last year.
The Police, Fire and Emergency Services Annual Report, released last week, shone a light on the Labor government’s failure to retain and recruit enough police officers to keep Territorians safe.
Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said in the worst crime crisis in the Territory’s history, police numbers were declining.
“There are 35 fewer officers compared with the previous year because attrition is outpacing recruitment,” she said.
“That reinforces the Northern Territory Police Association’s member survey, which found 93 per cent of respondents thought there were not enough police to do everything they were being asked.
“This Fyles Labor government has its head buried in the sand and is so out of touch with what’s happening in the real world that our police are really suffering.”
Mrs Finocchiaro said watering down legislation, putting the offender’s rights ahead of the victim’s and even things as simple as the pay freeze and banning the use of spit hoods were all factors disempowering Territory police.
“Being a police officer was once a career choice, a force you could enter, grow with, and spend multiple decades doing. But this Fyles Labor government has done its best to make policing a short-term job with very little career satisfaction,” she said.
“The CLP stands shoulder to shoulder with our police and we’re determined to give them the support and the resources they need to do an outstanding job.”
ENDS