Darren Clark vows to ‘keep fighting’ for Alice Springs amid crime crisis
The Alice Springs business owner behind a controversial Facebook page says he will keep fighting for his town amid its worst crime crisis in decades.
Alice Springs
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A brick through the window of his Alice Springs cafe was Darren Clark’s tipping point.
He’d had enough of crime in his town.
“It’s got to stop,” he thought.
So almost three years ago, Mr Clark started Action for Alice 2020, a Facebook page set up to highlight the rising crime levels in the Outback town.
“I’m not an advocate or anything like that,” he said.
“Three years ago I could see we were in trouble.
“I’d had enough.”
In a 2020 interview with this publication, Mr Clark said someone was “going to get hurt or killed shortly”.
“Let’s prevent that, let’s not wait for that because it is going to happen, whether it’s the offender or victim,” he said.
In the years since, Mr Clark’s following has grown to more than 50,000, with hundreds of messages from concerned residents pouring in every day.
“It’s just grown and grown,” Mr Clark said.
“I started it up and people started sending me stuff.
“They want someone they can tell.
“There are some pretty severe stories out there.”
Mr Clark posts dozens of pictures and videos each day sent to him by Alice Springs residents who have been forced to watch as their town is gripped by crime wave after crime wave.
In recent weeks, the crime in Alice Springs reached crisis point, making national news and sparking a chorus of calls for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to visit the Outback town and witness the carnage first hand.
Mr Clark said residents who had spent years in the town were ready to pack their bags and leave because they no longer felt safe in their own homes.
“There’s a lot of anxiety in this town,” he said.
“How long will Alice Springs people put up with that?
“A lot of people have been really affected by this.”
Mr Clark has become Alice Springs’ most vocal advocate and the loudest critic of the NT government’s response to the town’s crime crisis.
“Nothing’s changed, it’s just got worse,” Mr Clark said.
“People have got to be held to account.
“I actually now believe they’ve left it too late.”
Mr Clark feared if youth offending in the town was not brought under control, the situation would worsen.
“Something’s coming,” he said.
“They’re going to come to the CBD and blow it up.”
But Mr Clark said he still held out hope for his beloved town.
“I still believe in the Territory,” he said.
“I’ll keep fighting as long as I can.
“I’m going into bat for this place.”
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