Most cops ‘not proud’ of their jobs: survey

LESS than half of NT Police Fire and Emergency Services (PFES) employees say they are proud to tell people where they work while 44 per cent report witnessing “improper conduct” in the workplace.

The revelations are contained in an internal NT government survey which also found almost 40 per cent of PFES staff had witnessed bullying or sexual harassment within the organisation.

Despite 270 of the survey’s 857 respondents describing themselves as managers, the survey found just 26 per cent of respondents believed senior managers “model behaviours expected of employees” and 20 per cent believed engaging in improper conduct was “tolerated’.

Only half of the survey’s respondents reported an “appropriate level of focus on safety” and just 20 per cent said they believed recruitment and promotion were based on merit, while only 22 per cent thought new recruits had the right skills for the job.

Less than a third said they believed senior leadership considered PFES employees’ wellbeing to be important and only 35 per cent expressed confidence in the top brass’s leadership skills and capabilities.

Meanwhile, just over one third of respondents said they would recommend PFES “as a great place to work” while less than one fifth said they believed management would take action to address the issues raised.

Less than a quarter of respondents said they believe “it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done in this organisation”.

A PFES spokesman said the force was already working to improve workplace relations prior to the survey under it’s Project 2030 10-year strategy.

“Since the survey response period closed and separate to this broader biennial survey, senior management engaged in a wide variety of forums and group conversations for staff to provide feedback and contribute to the development of business plans,” he said.

“Police held Senior Sergeant and Sergeant workshops and provided access to the Commissioner and the deputies to these members to speak openly about the challenges of their jobs, their achievements and their suggestions for improvements.

“The Fire and Rescue Service, Emergency Service and our public sector employees conducted workshops and forums to ensure our people had the opportunity to engage in our vision of a safe and resilient Northern Territory.”

SENIOR MANAGEMENT ENGAGED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF FORUMS AND GROUP CONVERSATIONS FOR STAFF TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK

PFES SPOKESMAN