DESPITE renewed calls by furious residents for a dedicated police call centre in Katherine, Police, Fire and Emergency Services Minister Adam Giles says the idea was ruled out by the Northern Territory government in late 2012.
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Currently, triple-0 calls and those made to the 13 14 44 Policelink number are routed to a call centre in Darwin, with only a handful being answered locally in Katherine.
Following the Country Liberal Party’s election win in August 2012, Member for Katherine Willem Westra van Holthe promised residents that a dedicated local call centre would be established in Katherine.
“A police call centre in Katherine is still very much a priority in Katherine, and we will return this service to Katherine as soon as possible,” he told the Katherine Times after his victory.
When asked why Mr Westra van Holthe’s statement was yet to become a reality, Mr Giles said the possibility had been ruled out by the government less than four months after it came to power.
“In 2012, an examination was conducted on triple-0 and police assistance line call centres within the NT Police,” he said.
“This identified that national best practice is to consolidate the number of call centres.
“This is a more efficient and effective approach and results in better service to the community.
“Katherine also lacks a suitable location for a call centre.
“Prior to the routing of Katherine calls to Darwin, it was estimated that between 20 and 30 per cent of reported incidents were not being accurately recorded.
“This is no longer the case.”
Mr Giles’ comments do not wash with resident Morag Bitossi, who said she believed local calls being answered in Darwin had led to a delayed response after her vehicle was stolen from her home while she slept earlier this month.
“I called the [Policelink] number and it went to Darwin originally,” she said angrily.
“They took all the details and said they’d get someone there.”
Mrs Bitossi said, in the time that passed between her reporting the incident and her vehicle being located in Darwin, she called police more than 10 times.
“Someone was going to get back to me every time but they didn’t,” she said.
“I’m very disappointed; they didn’t seem like there were communicating between Darwin and Katherine.
“I think we need a local call centre, so that police can be put on the ground a lot quicker.”
Mr Giles said he believed Katherine residents were “receiving a high-quality service from the Darwin call centre”.