NT’s Police Commissioner says he will not resign, despite a union survey showing a majority “do not have confidence” in his leadership. 

A recent survey of 1,044 police officers – the highest number of respondents the NT police union has ever surveyed – revealed 79.7 per cent of officers do not have confidence in Commissioner Jamie Chalker.

Also, 92.6 per cent of respondents said they did not think there were enough officers in the Northern Territory, while 79.4 per cent said morale in the force was low or very low. Just under 88 per cent said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the NT Labor Government’s pay freeze offer.

NT Police Association (NTPA) president Paul McCue says Commissioner Chalker’s handling of the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker and subsequent murder charge against Constable Zach Rolfe was the main reason most officers want Commissioner Chalker gone from the role.

Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of murder and two related charges by a Supreme Court jury in March. Commissioner Chalker has said he had no involvement in the decision to charge Constable Rolfe, but that claim has been contradicted by notes from detectives investigating the incident .

The NT ICAC is currently investigating allegations of political interference in the decision to charge.

“Obviously, [the Yuendumu shooting] was one of the main reasons people had no confidence in him,” Mr McCue said.

Commissioner Chalker was scheduled to address delegates on a panel, along with Deputy Commissioner Murray Smalpage and Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael White at a private session of the police association conference last week. 

Reports say Commissioner Chalker has committed to weekly meetings with the union to discuss all of the issues raised in the survey.

“Eighty per cent of [members] have no confidence in the commissioner as it stands,” Mr McCue has told Independent NT.

“He has to make some changes. It’s up to him to do it. He is the responsible person. And quite clearly if those changes don’t take place, of course his position can become untenable. We don’t want to see this. We don’t want to see this level of dissatisfaction with our police commissioner, but quite clearly our members have had enough and this is what they wanted to achieve and get that message out there and they have it loud and clear.”