The Northern Territory government will increase its police presence in Alice Springs this summer as part of a plan it says will show “zero tolerance” to crime and anti-social behaviour.
The new measures the government says will address crime and access to alcohol come nearly a year after Alice Springs hit the national spotlight for rising crime rates, community unrest and alcohol -fuelled violence.
On Tuesday, Ms Fyles said the town was still “facing crime and antisocial behaviour from every angle”.
The government has announced 50 police officers will be rostered on through the summer period with a focus on “alcohol-related offending including assaults, unlawful entries, and domestic and family violence”.
Police Minister Brent Potter, who was appointed to the role two weeks ago after a cabinet reshuffle, said the officers would be “additional officers” and that the new staffing arrangement would “not impact general duties frontline” policing.
“This will be high visibility policing. It is a zero-tolerance Christmas period. We will not be accepting any anti-social behaviour or behaviour that doesn’t meet community expectations,” he said.
Mr Potter said the increased police presence and concentrated focus would be aided by “a full wraparound service” of night patrols and community and social programs.
The plan, the government said, would include police resources working in partnership with security and cultural patrols, handheld scanners to combat knife crime, improved protection of retail and hospitality workers and road safety initiatives.
The government also said it would be supporting at-risk young people by providing additional resources to a team of social workers, as well as providing additional return-to-country services.
A school-holiday program is also part of the government’s plan, including activities such as ice-skating, in an effort to keep kids out of trouble.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said the announcements were months in the making.
“We’ve done an incredible amount of work around community safety,” he said.
He said the additional 50 police would be undertaking “prevention and engagement activities across Alice Springs and in Central Australia”
Those police, he said, would be “engaging with youth, engaging with campers, addressing social order issues and road safety initiatives”.
Alice Springs-based Opposition MLAs Josh Burgoyne and Bill Yan criticised the plan, saying it “did not go anywhere near far enough” to prevent a spike in crime over the summer.
Mr Burgoyne, the member for Braitling, said agencies in the town already lacked the necessary staff and resources to respond to crime.
(ABC)
