Northern Territory Police officers "do not have confidence" in Commissioner Jamie Chalker, have low morale and are lacking resources, according to a damning union survey.
The NT Police Association (NTPA), a union which represents officers, undertook a survey of its members after calls for a vote of no confidence in Commissioner Chalker.
1,044 officers took part in the survey out of 1,608 who were eligible, which the union said was the highest number of participants ever.
79.7 per cent said they did not have confidence in the commissioner.
The survey comes as concerns grow about crime in the Northern Territory, which has become a major issue in the upcoming by-election in the seat of Fannie Bay.
There has also been another jump in domestic violence cases.
Police force 'in complete crisis', union claims
In an internal email from union president Paul McCue, seen by the ABC, the key issues identified by the survey included low morale, pay freeze concerns and a lack of resources.
"92.6 per cent of respondents said they do not think there are enough police in the NT to do what is being asked of them," Mr McCue wrote.
79.4 per cent of respondents rated current morale in the NT Police Force as low, or very low [and] 87.9 per cent of respondents said they were dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with the current pay freeze offer from the Commissioner and Government."
In a media statement released this morning, Mr McCue said the results showed the police force was "in complete crisis".
"Our members do not have confidence in the commissioner, they overwhelmingly reject the government's ... pay freeze," he said.
"They think morale is at an all-time low, and there clearly needs to be an urgent review into staffing which is completely insufficient to undertake the roles our members are being forced to do."
Yuendumu shooting among reasons for confidence vote
Survey questions seen by the ABC asked respondents to give reasons why they had no confidence in Mr Chalker's leadership.
Among the multiple-choice options was "the management and communication relating to the Yuendumu critical incident".
NT Police Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged, and later found not guilty, of murder after shooting Yuendumu man Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest in 2019.
In March, Commissioner Chalker "completely rejected" allegations of any political interference regarding the matter.
Other reasons officers could give for a lack of confidence included "does not understand the challenges of NT policing", "the application of the disciplinary and complaints process" and a "failure to retain police".
Commissioner 'aware of confidence sentiment'
In a statement this morning, Commissioner Chalker said he had been notified of the survey results on Thursday night.
"We have been aware of the confidence sentiment for some time," he said.
The Commissioner said he intended to discuss the results at the NT Police Association's annual conference in Darwin next week, after further details had been provided to the union's members over coming days.
"We remain committed to working with our people and the NTPA to continue to advance the NT Police Force and the health and wellbeing of all of our members," he said.
"We look forward to discussing the issues raised in the survey and talking directly to the conference next week."
Police Minister, Deputy Chief Minister back commissioner
Asked on ABC Radio Alice Springs this morning if Commissioner Chalker still had her confidence, Police Minister Kate Worden said that he did, and she would continue to work with him "on some very important matters".
"[There's] no doubt that the police have had a very rough two or three years under COVID. It's been particularly challenging right the way through," she said.
Deputy Chief Minister and former police minister Nicole Manison today has also come out in support of the commissioner, attributing the survey results to challenges stemming from the pandemic.
"I don't think I've ever seen the environment more challenging than what they've had to deal with in the last few years," she said.
"Being the police commissioner and having to lead through those very difficult times is a tough job, and you're not going to be popular with everyone when you have to make those difficult decisions that are in the best interests of the police force but also the NT community."
Mr McCue said there was "no way" COVID-19 was the sole reason for members' concerns, saying multiple other surveys over the past four years had shown the same trend.
"All of those show there are problems in terms of the culture, and there are problems in terms of resourcing," he said.
"All of them come back to how members are feeling, and how they're feeling unsupported."
Ms Worden said she met with Commissioner Chalker yesterday and would be speaking with the union later today.
Union Conference to be held next week
Mr McCue said in the email to union members that the results and "any further action to be considered" would be discussed at next week's annual conference.
"From the outset, I have been upfront about providing the results of this survey to not only the membership, but also the Commissioner of Police and Government," he wrote.
"Which ensures as much openness and transparency around the results as possible."
Mr McCue also said Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Police Minister Kate Worden and Shadow Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro had been notified of the results.
