The answer to Wadeye is to put an adequate number of police in place to ensure people comply with the law.
Wadeye currently has six police officers with plans to add another two.
That means that when no-one is away sick, on leave, attending professional development etc there are sufficient police to either conduct a patrol *or* man the police station for four to five days a week.
It also means that each of the six officers makes 9 arrests a month on average. Each arrest means considerable paperwork in reporting, travel, court appearances etc. You can take an officer off-line for at least one day, and probably up to three days for each arrest.
Due to the requirements of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal rests in custody, after making an arrest *both* officers on the shift would have to remain at the police station to supervise the prisoner.
The reality is that it is impossible to provide 24-7 police protection to the Wadeye community with the current level of resources.
Tennant Creek, a town with a similar population, has 25 permanent police officers.
Put 25 cops in Wadeye full time and the problem would be solved.
But of course the NT government has better things to spend its money on than protecting Aborigines from violence, so this is unlikely to happen.
-- DM personal opinion only
