The Lawler Labor Government is continuing to deliver on its common sense plan to lower crime by better supporting police officers and improving their wellbeing.
Police are now able to access more support services - such as psychologists and counselling - in an easier and more convenient way.
In April 2024, the Lawler Labor Government released its plan to bolster the force, a roadmap to creating the most efficient and effective police force in the country, backed by an extra $570 million to bolster the Police Budget.
A key aspect of the plan is to ensure strong and accessible wellbeing programs are provided. To do this, Northern Territory Police has established a new Police Early Intervention project which will see proactive welfare checks.
The project team is currently engaging with selected service areas of the Northern Territory Police, identifying possible risk factors and integrating data which will be used to flag if officers have been exposed to an identified risk, triggering the early intervention team to engage with the officer at the earliest possible opportunity. The project is designed to offer proactive assistance and prevent potential issues from escalating.
This builds on the success of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services Wellbeing Strategy which has achieved significant progress in expanding support networks.
This strategy, backed by a $3 million annual investment, has enabled several new key programs to be implemented and has contributed to retaining more officers than in previous years, with the Police Force attrition rate dropping to 7.96 per cent - the lowest since the 2020/21 financial year.
One new and highly successful program implemented only 12 months ago is the Psychological Resilience Training program. This program has already delivered 35 psychological resilience sessions right across the NT, addressing the unique challenges faced by our officers and creating forums for open discussion.
These sessions work hand in glove with the WellCheck program where a psychologist and a social worker visit police stations across Greater Darwin every month engaging with individual officers. Remote stations are visited at minimum once a year, however the WellCheck program is working to increase visits to remote stations.
The Peer Support Program has also been overhauled, with a new custom-made peer support portal in the final stages of being rolled out. It is not uncommon for people to reach out to friends or colleagues first for help, which is why the revised Peer Support program comprises new support training resources to build a more robust network between colleagues and volunteers.
By providing a wider support system, the number of officers leaving the frontline or taking indefinite leave is expected to reduce, thus continuing the steady decline of the police attrition rate which was 7.96 per cent in 2023-24 compared to 9.16 per cent in 2022/23 and 10.65 per cent in 2021/22.
Quotes attributed to Chief Minister Eva Lawler:
"My Government is delivering more support to police because police officers play a critical role in keeping Territorians safe.
"We want all Territory Police Officers to know they have the resources and support they need to do the job - and to stay in the job.
"Our extra investment in the Northern Territory Police Force will deliver more Police Officers on our streets and also provide more support to servicing Police Officers so they stay in the Force for longer."
Quotes attributed to Minister for Police, Brent Potter:
"It is not uncommon for Police Officers to see themselves as being the ones who answer calls for help, not ask for help, and that's why we're investing more than ever to break down that barrier and keep our front line officers healthy and supported.
"We know how critical it is to expand our network of support systems in the Police Force to ensure Territory Police have what they need to keep doing a very tough job."
Northern Territory Government
