Public Protection Safety Officers (PPSOs), a new armed quasi-police force, will be deployed across the Northern Territory’s public transport network, liquor stores and public housing from June.
The first round of PPSOs started training at the NT Police College in late February, after the Country Liberal Party (CLP) rushed through a bill last September to absorb the existing public transit officers and housing officers into the NT Police Command. It claims this will “strengthen visible policing and help tackle anti-social behaviour within communities”.
NT Police said on February 27 that the 24 recruits of Squad 1 had been sworn in to start training and marked a “historic moment” for the NT Police. But the NT Independent reported on April 13 that one of these PPSOs has since been discharged and charged by NT police for reckless driving, failing to stop and assist after a crash and failing to report a crash.
NT police said the PPSOs will “undertake high visibility patrols of the Darwin and Palmerston bus networks and will proactively patrol and respond to antisocial behaviour at Northern Territory Government housing sites”. It said the PPSOs will patrol “identified hotspots in the Greater Darwin area, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, and conduct Point of Sale Intervention duties across Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs”.
When transit officers were first introduced in 2008, they were designed as non police frontline responders to low‑level “disorder”. At least on paper, their purpose was to minimise interactions between Indigenous communities and police.
Under previous governments, the transit and public housing safety officers had differing enforcement powers. But the CLP wants “high visibility” and “proactive” patrols to target disadvantaged communities.
PPSOs now wear police uniforms, carry lethal weapons, operate under NT Police command and attend the NT Police College for training.
Crucially, while NT Police recruits undergo 30 weeks of training before joining the force, PPSOs receive only four weeks. Yet, NT Police asserts that “PPSOs are sworn police officers and receive the same training for defensive tactics, firearms and other accoutrements as constables”.
It suggests the training is all about guns and weapons, and not conflict resolution, de-escalation and communication skills.
The new less-trained police force comes just four months after the findings of the coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, which concluded that NT Police has an institutional problem with racism.
Australia recorded the highest number of deaths in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody last year. Two First Nations men, one aged 25 and another 26, died in police custody in the NT in late March.
Many argue that the expansion and normalisation of policing across more areas of public life will only further endanger marginalised people, who are already disproportionately targeted, including First Nations people, people with disabilities and people experiencing mental illness.
The CLP has tried to frame its draconian measures as being needed for safety. But community members and advocates say there are extreme risks posed by an undertrained, increasingly armed quasi-police force and are calling for an alternative first responder team.
[Get in touch with the National Justice Project to find out more.]