Keeping our night patrollers safe

An awareness raising campaign and training package supporting the safety of community night patrollers on and off the job has been launched in Alice Springs.

The Working safely in community night patrol initiative was developed in response to a number of incidents impacting the safety and wellbeing of patrollers last year.

Arshaan Kahn, a community night patroller in Umuwa in South Australia’s Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands said one of the challenges of the job is that some community members don’t understand their role.

“Some people understand our role, some people in the community don’t understand at all. People still turn around and expect us to do a lot more than what’s in our job statement,” Arshaan said.

“Sometimes people get the wrong impression of us and think that we’re like police, but we’re not police, we’re just trying to resolve and make peace before police come and get involved.

The training package, developed by CRANAplus in consultation with patrollers and other stakeholders, features an interactive online learning hub, face-to-face training and a handbook, providing patrollers with practical tips on how to stay safe and navigate difficult situations in community.

A multimedia awareness campaign, developed in partnership with Aboriginal media organisation CAAMA Radio, complements the training package and features radio testimonies from patrollers across the Northern Territory and South Australia’s Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

Despite the challenges of the role, Arshaan said he values the strong relationships he has built with community members, particularly the younger people.

“The one thing I like about my job is that I get to work with communities and get to know all of them, like the young people, they look up to me. Before I had this job I was on the wrong side of the law and this is the first time I’m on the right track,” Arshaan said.