The first question of a “survey” sent to NT Police officers by their union this week asked bluntly: “do you have confidence in the Commissioner of Police”, but it does not explicitly mention the murder charge laid on Constable Zach Rolfe or how the officer was treated by the executive.

The survey has also been criticised by members for not allowing officers to give their own reasons for a lack of confidence in their controversial leader.

The extraordinary step of surveying police members’ satisfaction with their commissioner was made necessary after nine of 12 NT Police regions across the NT expressed no confidence in Mr Chalker to remain in the role for a variety of reasons, including his handling of the Constable Rolfe matter, failure to act on mental health and well-being measures for officers, overseeing the doubling of the attrition rate and perceived double standards in the executive, specifically to do with discipline and promotions.

The NTPA’s email survey asked members whether they had confidence in Mr Chalker, and depending on the answer, they were then asked to give the top six reasons why they supported him, or why they did not support him, which had to be chosen from a drop down menu, with the last option being “other”.

One option for not having confidence in Mr Chalker was: “the management and communication relating to the Yuendumu critical incident”.

The wording echoes Mr Chalker’s infamous six minute and 33 second press conference on the afternoon of Constable Rolfe’s Supreme Court acquittal where he did not say the words: “Zach Rolfe; Kumanjayi Walker; police shooting; murder trial; died; Yuendumu; Aboriginal community; not guilty.”

Other reasons for no confidence in the commissioner included, “does not understand the challenges of NT policing and does not have a clear vision for the future of policing in Northern Territory [sic]”, “the application of disciplinary and complaints processes, including timeframes for outcomes including appeals”, and “failure to retain police in the Northern Territory (high attrition)”, and “perception of double standards”.

NTPA president Paul McCue said the survey was a way to allow the members to have their say “on several critical matters, including confidence in the Police Commissioner”.

“The NTPA executive wants to understand the reasons why our members, as a collective, have put forward this motion to hold a no confidence vote in the Commissioner,” he said.

“The survey has been sent to all NTPA members and the results will be discussed at the NTPA’s annual conference in mid-August.”

However, four police sources, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, told the NT Independent that they all thought the questionnaire was a waste of time because officers could not write their own specific reasons for having no confidence in Mr Chalker and felt restricted in telling the union how they felt.

One said another major issue concerned the integrity of the NTPA, in that they thought the results of the survey would not matter as there was a “predetermined” outcome, indicating a lack of confidence of some members in the their union on the matter.

“We don’t trust it is confidential because it got sent to everyone’s private email addresses,” another said.

“But I have mates who are staunch and have answered it properly, regardless.”

The survey comes just a week after Constable Zach Rolfe was reinstated to his job, four months after a Supreme Court jury found him not guilty of murder in the shooting death of Yuendumu man Kumanjayi Walker in November 2019.

In the weeks following the verdict, the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches announced he would investigate allegations of political interference in the charging of Constable Rolfe.

That announcement came after a series of NT Independent reports about concerns investigators had with the speed at which charges were laid.

The NT Independent also reported evidence that appeared to refute Mr Chalker’s public statement in the week of the end of the trial that he was “shocked” at the charges and that he operated at “arm’s length” from the investigation.

The drop down answers on the NTPA confidence survey did not include that Mr Chalker was under the influence of politicians, and the police force was politicised, which is another common complaint from police.

Reasons officers could choose to explain why they supported him included that he “understands the challenges of NT policing and has a clear vision for the future of policing in Northern Territory [sic]”, “is accountable and accepts responsibility for decisions of the organisation”, “communicates with confidence”, and “displays honesty and integrity at all times”.

Officers were also asked if they believed there were enough police in the NT to do what is being asked, and if they answered no, they were asked what they considered to be the top three reasons for their answer.

They were then asked how they currently rated morale in the NT Police force, and how satisfied they were with the current wage freeze on offer for four years.

Previous member survey showed problems retaining officers

In mid-October, the NTPA’s 2021 member survey showed more Territory cops were seeking a job outside the NT than ever before, with officers citing management issues as their reason for leaving.

Of more than 531 respondents, 60 per cent or 318 police officers have either applied or are considering applying for a job outside of the NT Police, doubling attrition rates since last year.

In another concerning finding, 64 per cent of officers surveyed said morale is “low or very low”.

In late June, the NT Independent reported the most recent NT Police Association member exit figures showed there were 42 officers who left the NT Police from late February to late May, a slight reduction in the rate from the three months before that; but also showed the attrition rate hit 10 per cent for the previous 12 months, with 171 officers having left, which compares to the roughly 60 who left the force each year several years ago.

In late March, a public petition calling for Mr Chalker to be sacked passed more than 9,000 signatures, and while it came with no official power, it stated Mr Chalker must be sacked immediately because “he has, and continues to” bring the NT Police force “into disrepute”.

Then-chief minister Michael Gunner said Mr Chalker was an “outstanding” commissioner, when asked if police officers supported the top cop in the wake of the not guilty verdict in the Constable Zach Rolfe trial.

Near the end of the survey, officers were asked if they had anything else to add, but allowed only 150 words for explanation.