Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson calls for federal response to crime
An Alice Springs leader is calling for an immediate federal response to crime, saying residents are leaving the town “in droves”. Here’s what he thinks needs to happen.
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The Alice Springs mayor has made a desperate plea for urgent federal help to bring more police or even the military to Central Australia.
Mayor Matt Paterson said he had contacted the office of the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, asking for extra policing resources to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour in the town.
The calls come after a spate of incidents over the weekend, including an alleged car chase and violent incident between a business employee and a group of suspects.
“It is crazy bad … and it’s not even just night time anymore, it’s seriously 24/7,” Mr Paterson said.
“Parents driving their kids to childcare in the morning are being confronted with anti-social behaviour, they can’t even go shopping in the afternoon because there’s someone wielding a weapon.
“Our library was broken into on Sunday afternoon with over $20,000 worth of damage caused and the police took seven hours to respond.
“Our police are doing an amazing job but clearly we don't have enough resources.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Dreyfus confirmed a meeting would be arranged between the Attorney-General, Mr Paterson and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour.
NT Police data shows commercial break-ins and property damage in Alice Springs rose by about 56 per cent over 12 months, while alcohol-related assault increased by 48 per cent.
Mr Paterson said he believed the 40 additional police sent to Alice Springs in mid-December were no longer there.
NT Police maintained Operation Drina’s numbers often fluctuated, although the response was expected to end in early February.
Mr Paterson said he would be “open to anything on the streets” to make his constituents safe again, including federal police or the military.
“If there’s a jurisdiction with extra resources, we need them in Alice,” he said.
“People are genuinely fearful to go to sleep at night – we can’t continue to live like this.
“People are leaving in droves.”
Mr Paterson also called for a reintroduction of the Stronger Futures legislation, after 15-year alcohol bans ended in July last year.
Police Minister Kate Worden is travelling to Alice Springs on Thursday to meet with stakeholders.
“We know businesses and Territorians have had a gutful of crime and anti-social behaviour,” Ms Worden said.
“No government has done more to address these issues.
“We know high visibility policing is effective in deterring anti-social behaviour and crime, that’s why we continue to recruit more officers than ever before – something the CLP failed to do when they were in government.
“But we know these are complex issues that we can’t just arrest our way out of.
“We continue to invest heavily in the root causes of crime, including improving housing and access to services in the bush, and developing our regions and economy to create local jobs for our communities.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley said the crime “crisis” led to Territorians fearing for every aspect of their lives.
“Territorians deserve to feel safe when they go to work, when they go shopping, and when they are at home – but they don’t,” Mr Maley said.
“The Labor government is out of ideas and not listening.
“Only the CLP has a plan to protect workers, not criminals, by introducing mandatory sentencing for offences like spitting on police, as well as stopping the revolving door of bail and introducing Sentence to a Skill.”
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