Ninety-eight per cent of NT Police officers who responded to a union survey believe there are not enough police, and 76 per cent have considered leaving the force in the last six months, the Northern Territory Police Association has said, but Police Minister Brent Potter said the government is on the right track with an 18 per cent increase in morale in the last year.

NTPA president Nathan Finn said 713 members responded to the survey, which ran from December 9 to December 22, or 42.9 per cent of the eligible membership, and the survey was undertaken to guide the association’s submission to the review into NT Police resources.

Mr Finn said 98 per cent of respondents did not believe there were enough police for what they were being asked to do, while 90 per cent said they had been required to work overtime in the previous three months. Sixty-one per cent said they had performed duties outside of their work unit to address staffing issues in other units, sections or locations, while 91 per cent did not feel supported by the government; 63 per cent rated morale as low or very low, and 76 per cent had considered an exit strategy from NT Police in the previous six months.

“This data reinforces what our members have been saying for years: the NT Police force doesn’t have enough officers to meet the demand for a policing response right across the Territory, our members don’t feel supported by the NT Government, they are required to undertake excessive levels of overtime, and as a result of chronic under-staffing, critical under resourcing and burnout, a significant number of surveyed officers are considering leaving the NT Police force altogether,” Mr Finn said.

The last survey, which was released at the end of February last year, showed 97 per cent of respondents did not believe there were enough police to do what was asked of them, and 85 per cent said they had considered an exit strategy from the force in the previous six-to-12 months.

Nearly 81 percent of those in the last survey rated morale as low or very low, and 87 percent supported a work-to-rule industrial campaign.

That survey had 1,202 members responded, or 74 percent of the NTPA membership – with 1,632 members eligible – making it the highest ever return rate for an NTPA survey.

Mr Finn said while the NTPA had welcomed the resource review, the Lawler Government needed to commit to appropriately fund the recommendations from the review, and consult with the NTPA on the implementation of those recommendations.

“Otherwise, it’ll just be another review sitting on a shelf collecting dust, like A Review of Northern Territory Police Resource Allocation Efficiency and Operation Capabilities from 2012,” he said.

“Our members, and the community deserve better.”

Mr Potter said he was working alongside Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to “continue to provide the necessary support and resources” to the police force, which he cited the establishment of the Territory Safety Division as an example.

He also pointed to the government commissioning the review to make evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the force.

“I am on the ground listening to the voices of our front line, this survey represents 42 per cent of NTPA members, I want to hear from and understand the needs of all police force staff because that is how real improvements are made,” Mr Potter said.

“However, we know we are on the right track with a considerable positive increase in morale of over 18 per cent since February 2023 from survey participants.

“Policing is not the sole solution to the problems we face here in the Northern Territory, as such it is important we support our police force through investing in multifaceted and multi-agency approaches to create long-term meaningful change, such as the highly successful co-responder model.”

Opposition Leader and police spokeswoman Lia Finocchiaro said the survey results provided a grim picture of the state of policing in the Territory.

“What is it going to take for Labor to understand that our police force is in crisis, crime is destroying people’s lives and their policies are only making things worse?” she said.

“The overwhelming sentiment among officers is one of chronic under-staffing, excessive overtime, and a profound lack of support from the Labor government.

“It is clear that despite a new Chief Minister and a smooth talking Police Minister, nothing is changing for our hard working police.”

Mr Finn said the review, which is led by former NT police officer and former NTPA president Vince Kelly, was scheduled to be completed and a final report handed to the Lawler Government by the end of March.

He said the NTPA’s submission was provided to the review team, Mr Murphy, and Mr Potter on January 19.

Ms Finocchiaro said the CLP had written to Mr Potter asking for his commitment to release the report at the same time to all Members of Parliament but he was yet to respond.

“Anything else will show a politicisation of the review and undermine its independence,” she said.

In early August 2022, about 80 per cent of the 1044 police officers who responded to an extraordinary NTPA online survey stated they had no confidence in the then-Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker.

That meant more than 820 officers of the 1044 who participated said they did not have confidence in Mr Chalker’s ability to continue to lead the police force.

Mr Chalker did not resign and the Fyles Government kept him in the role for months.

Mr Murphy was announced as the new Police Commissioner in late August last year, more than four months after the former commissioner took a secret taxpayer-funded payout to leave the role.

It was reported in April that Ms Fyles sent Mr Chalker a letter on March 31, in which she made four allegations against the former commissioner, calling for him to resign.

Instead, he sued the government and settled for what is estimated to be a seven-figure payout to announce his “retirement” shortly before he was required to file a brief of evidence with the court that would have contained communications between Ms Fyles and then-police minister Kate Worden.