Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion put forward by the member for Fowler. I also acknowledge the significant contribution that officers across all Australian policing jurisdictions make to our community as we approach National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September 2011. I acknowledge the National Police Memorial here in Canberra, which has, as the Member for Fowler said, the names of 749 police officers recorded on it. These police forfeited their lives in the service of the community. Although there are members of the Northern Territory Police Force recorded on the monument, it is significant to note that Northern Territory Police Force has been indeed fortunate not to have had to acknowledge the supreme sacrifice of any additional members in the past 12 months. The Northern Territory, by its nature, is demanding upon its police. I firmly believe that there could be no finer, more committed group of men and women than those involved in law enforcement in the Northern Territory. They have my respect and support.

As I have said many times in this place, I am a long-term resident of the Northern Territory, having grown up in Alice Springs and having lived all of my adult life in Darwin. This, coupled with being the wife of a Northern Territory police officer, has put me in a position to know firsthand the impact that policing has had, not only on society but on members of the police force and their families.

Like many members would, I remember the days when police officers held an automatic position of status within the community. I certainly recall the days when the local cop was part of the community and continually engaging with it. It was when there was respect for the officer within that community. It was the tone of law enforcement that moulded the way the community was.

I recall the days when the local police officer was respected and had the support of the community to deal with issues at a local level. They knew the kids, they knew where they were, what they were up to and, if necessary, they would give them a clip behind the ear before sending them home—knowing that mum and dad would be told about their activities which, in most cases, resulted in any penalty or punishment being meted out at home and not in the courts, where often little or nothing occurs.

Yes, times have changed. Society has moved forward and continued to develop. But I think at times this movement has not necessarily been for its betterment. We live in a community in which people show little or no respect for each other, let alone for their police. In some communities our police are in many cases simply a service provider; faceless uniforms dealing with the outcomes of a slow social decay—decay that is evident across all the demographics of society.

Where are the days of being able to leave your house unlocked, your car open in the street? Today is a far cry from what I saw no more than 20 years ago. Not only do we have to lock our doors; there is the requirement to install an increasing array of security measures. A locked door was once all that was needed; now we talk of security screens, motion sensors, home alarms and, in some cases, panic rooms.

What happened to the front yard being a place where the local kids could meet and kick a footy? What happened to knowing your neighbours, engaging with your neighbours, sharing a story over the back fence? Sadly today increasingly neighbours do not engage. Front yards are examples of modern fencing often supported by the chorus of barking dogs.

Our police officers today are servants to a community that can at times view them as the opposition, an object to taunt or a game. I suppose I should ask why we expect those elements of the community who do not even respect themselves to respect our police. In addition, police officers on the street are often hamstrung by ineffective legislation that puts the balance in the hands of the offenders and severely limits the capacity of police to respond effectively to the demands of our community.

In days gone by our police were proactive. As I have said, they knew their communities because they were out engaging with the community: visiting businesses, talking to the owners, walking the streets and meeting the people, attending community meetings, dropping by the local school and engaging with the kids. They were the coach of the local footy team or ran the local police club. The local police officer was known as a police officer regardless of what their role was within the community or how they were dressed. It was never just the uniform; it was the person inside who made an effective police officer.

In the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, particularly those in the Arnhem Land region but also in others, the police officer was often called the 'jarmon'. They were a respected member of the Aboriginal community and placed in a family group by that community. The 'jarmon' was respected regardless of their mode of dress and whether they were on or off duty was not a concept ever to be considered.

A long-serving police officer and my friend Max Pope, who is here with me today, has served 35 years in the Northern Territory police force. He has spent many years serving across the Northern Territory including many in remote communities. He was telling me that after hearing the term 'jarmon' being whispered amongst the people he one day asked one of the elders, 'What does that term mean?' He was told that when non-Aboriginal police officers came to the Territory there was a need to have them placed in the family so that their place could be known to the community. More significantly, the term referred to a person who feared nothing, a person who would walk into a camp of armed tribesman and exert their will to enforce the law. It was said that the old people were amazed that anyone could be so cheeky and fearless.

The Northern Territory is a collection of communities and, in most, people know who their police officers are. In this environment a police officer is a police officer regardless of whether he or she is in or out of uniform, on or off duty. Those who may be critical, criticising a member for taking actions in a social environment, are usually the same people who would be critical where a member fails to respond to a breach of the law regardless of the police officer's duty status at the time. The focus of society, driven by the changing face of politics, is governed more by the 24-hour news cycle and the voice of minority groups than by the governance required to build better communities. Our courts continually demonstrate the spiral of police importance and status within the community. Increasingly, court records demonstrate examples of language and behaviour brought to answer which the court determines as acceptable in terms of such language or behaviour police should expect and deem as acceptable in the course of their normal duties.

We regularly see reports of offenders brought before the court to answer allegations of assault or injury to police, only to see the offender dealt with by a slap on the wrist. Not only does this result further undermine the value and importance of our police services, it adds weight in the minds of those who perpetrate such acts, the ramifications of these behaviours mean nothing. In some cases this behaviour is now seen as a rite of passage or a badge of honour.

The responsibilities placed upon our police members are ever increasing. We expect our police to act as social garbage collectors without definite mechanisms to deal with or address these issues from an ongoing perspective. The real truth of the matter is, policing the community is expensive. Governments of all persuasions grapple with how to provide value policing against a backdrop of increased costs and reduced budgets. As we all know, the wheels of change in terms of good governance move slowly. Meanwhile, the face of change in the community is occurring at a rate rapidly outpacing our capacity to identify, prioritise, develop and implement the change that is needed.

From the perspective of the Northern Territory, statistically we have one of the highest rates of police officer representation to head of population. Look at the Northern Territory demographically; it is a remote locality with a small total population. There are only two centres of significant populace; the remainder are spread far and wide across the expanse of the Northern Territory. Our police officers are in many respects the most capable, diverse and resilient of police personnel. They work in a culturally diverse community, in many instances miles and hours from any level of backup support. They deal with a greater cross-section of offences than most general duties officers of similar comparative experience outside the Northern Territory. Our police are some of the best; a small police force in number, but one where the importance of bond and police brother/sisterhood remain strong. It is a police force where the loss of a member is heartfelt and resonates across all levels of the force. It is felt within the community and in many respects is felt as deeply in those communities as within the force.

I applaud and support any action to recognise police officers across the country. Police Remembrance Day is a day of significance and importance to police officers within my home in the Northern Territory, and indeed Australia. Remembrance Day is a day to honour and remember fallen colleagues. Certainly, within the Northern Territory we have been fortunate. Increasingly and sadly, though, each year the list of police names recalled and remembered on this day increases.

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