Alice Springs youth worker Stella Newland says crime drove her out of the town

Youth worker Stella Newland made plans to build a life in Alice Springs until a terrifying incident drove her to leave the Territory.

Youth worker Stella Newland was ready to build a life for herself in Alice Springs after spending four years in the Territory until the town’s crime crisis drove her interstate.

Ms Newland, 24, left Alice Springs a fortnight ago after the recent spike in crime left her unable to sleep and too scared to leave her home after dark.

“I stopped going out,” she said.

She said during one night out she was punched in the back of the head by a child who appeared to be less than 10 years old.

Stella Newland made plans to build a life as a youth worker in Alice Springs until the town’s crime crisis drove her to tipping point. Picture: Supplied

Other times, she witnessed people being punched, spat on and swung at by drunk adults and youths on a “daily basis”.

Ms Newland said crime had escalated so much in Alice Springs in the weeks before she made the drastic decision to up and leave, she had phoned triple-0 at least once a day to report kids wandering the streets armed with knives – a scenario which has become all too familiar to locals in recent weeks.

“You see it so much it’s like it’s normal, but it’s not,” Ms Newland said.

“I just kept reminding myself it’s not normal.”

Stella Newland ”loved” her job in Alice Springs until the town’s crime crisis forced her to relocate interstate. Picture: Supplied

Last year, NT Police deployed 45 additional cops to the desert town as part of Operation Drina, which was launched in November to reduce anti-social behaviour and associated crime in Alice Springs.

According to NT Police, more than 30 officers remained part of the operation, but locals said police numbers had dwindled so low crime was now worse than before their arrival.

“It’s like they don’t care,” Ms Newland said.

Break-ins had become such a regular occurrence in recent weeks, community members and leaders were calling for federal government support to address the crisis.

Over the weekend, the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association’s Alice Springs office on Todd St was broken into for the fifth time in 12 months, sparking calls for more support.

The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association's Alice Springs office was vandalised, sparking calls for Territory and federal government support. Picture: Supplied

“We are all victims in this town” the business wrote in a social media post with photos of the damage.

Ms Newland said the crime crisis was forcing essential workers like her to leave town and tarnishing its reputation.

“Alice has so much potential and it’s being burdened by the crime,” Ms Newland said.

In the end the decision to leave became about prioritising her own safety.

“Without the crime I would have stayed and I would have made a life there.

“But it destroyed me.”