Early Resolution Taskforce boosts courts and tackles remand numbers
A taskforce reviewing cases against 200 imprisoned Territorians resulted in only 40 per cent being found guilty. See why the government has taken big steps to bolster our courts.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Territorians on remand could have their cases expedited under a new NT Government taskforce as the number of unsentenced prisoners spiked by 55 per cent in just eight months.
NT Attorney-GeneralMarie-Clare Boothby has announced the appointment of an additional full-time Local Court judge, four new prosecutors and additional court and DPP support staff to manage rising workloads.
Ms Boothby said the court boost would also transition 20 Director of Public Prosecution Staff on to permanent contracts to “retain skilled local workers”.
On Tuesday, Ms Boothby said she introduced the Targeted Intervention Group – Early Resolution Taskforce three months ago to “fast-track remand cases and reduce court backlogs”.
Ms Boothby said the taskforce had already made a major impact in reviewing 290 remand cases since January 29.
“One case had sat in the system since March 2024. TIG-ER picked it up and resolved it in just one day,” Ms Boothby said.
“Under Labor, these cases were left to rot.
“We’re restoring accountability and speeding up justice which is what Territorians expect.”
Ms Boothby said of the 213 cases finalised under TIG-ER, only 87 resulted in guilty pleas — just 40 per cent of the cases against imprisoned Territorians.
According to the latest NT Court statistics there were 1253 prisoners on local court remand as of February, a 55 per cent jump compared to the 809 people on remand in June last year.
The number of Territorians on remand as quadrupled in less than four years — with just 319 people were in prison awaiting their sentence in June 2020.
Despite an additional 444 people waiting behind bars for their cases to resolve, the average remand times have dropped from 100 to 90 days and there had been no change to the pending workload.
In January a DPP spokesman confirmed that attrition rates had reached 13.6 per cent as of November, with the latest annual report saying their workload was rising “exponentially”.
The NT Courts has revealed it is expecting more than 22,700 criminal and domestic violence cases by the end of the 2024-25 financial year — a 21 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
While the local courts experienced a record-breaking number of cases, Ms Boothby said she would make “no apologies for being strong on crime”.
“Territorians expect and deserve a justice system that works, and that’s exactly what we’re rebuilding,” she said.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said having” the largest judicial complement in Territory history” was critical to support the government’s law and order plans including harsher sentencing, increased police and mandatory sentences for domestic violence order breaches.
More Coverage
Originally published as Early Resolution Taskforce boosts courts and tackles remand numbers
Unbeaten Palmerston to take on Sharks test in NRL NT Round 3
Strong inclusions have helped the Palmerston Raiders to the perfect start to the season, but they will be put to the test against a Sharks outfit eager for a first win. Catch up on the latest NRL NT action.
Lest we forget: Alice Springs gives standing ovation to those who served
Alice Springs has delivered a standing ovation for armed service members past and present, as veterans share what Anzac Day means to them. See the pictures.