SAD BLUE LINE
Survey shows low morale for prosecutors, police force
WORKERS at the front line of the Gunner Government’s crackdown on crime are unmotivated in their jobs and despondent about the future of their agencies.
An employee survey, obtained by the Sunday Territori
an, of Darwin police officers shows only 15 per cent of them are confident senior management have a clear vision for the future of the NT Police force.
The same survey of the Attorney-General and Justice Department shows less than half of employees believed senior management had a clear vision for the future.
THE workers at the front line of the Gunner Government’s crackdown on crime in Darwin are unmotivated in their jobs, despondent about the future of their agencies and feel let down by senior management, internal survey results show.
An employee survey canvassing the views and morale of Darwin police officers shows only 15 per cent are confident senior management have a clear vision for the future of the NT Police force.
The same survey of the Department of Attorney-General and Justice shows fewer than half of employees believe senior management have a clear vision for the future of the agency they work in, compared to 57 per cent of public servants overall.
The damning survey results predate the Gunner Government’s morale-destroying plans to rein in department budgets.
The results also predate a budget-driven decision by NT Police top brass to scrap duty superintendents, a position which NT Police Association president Paul McCue described last week as “the clear head in the heat of battle” for frontline police.
Mr McCue said low morale could be put down to the executive level making sweeping changes across the force.
He said in the last fortnight eight officers had left the force.
“That attrition rate is not being covered by recruiting,” he said.
“There’s a squad graduation in May which won’t cover the attrition of the force in this point in time.”
The Department of Attorney-General and Justice includes the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Solicitor for the Northern Territory and Corrections.
DPP Jack Karkzewski was sharply critical of Government budget cuts in his annual report last year and said prosecutors were spending “long periods of preparation after hours or on weekends for which there is no remuneration”.
Darwin Police and the Department of Attorney-General and Justice ranked well below the public service on “key engagement” questions, including whether employees received recognition for doing their jobs well and whether employees were confident their agency was focused on improvement.
The surveys paint a picture of drastic short-term thinking by management, with professional development having fallen by the wayside because of a lack of time and resources.
The results showed NT Police and Attorney-General and Justice staff were unlikely to recommend their agency as a “great place to work”, but the response to that question was particularly damning among Darwin police, more of whom “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” that NT Police was a “great place to work” than those who “agreed” or “strongly agreed”.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Michael White said the force was committed to developing its “people systems and leadership to deliver positive outcomes for the community we serve”.