Domestic violence, crime during Howard Springs crisis shelter stay revealed

New figures have revealed how many incidents police investigated at Howard Springs while it was stood up as a crisis centre, with about half of those related to domestic violence.

Police investigated 145 incidents, including 67 domestic violence reports at Howard Springs while it was stood up for flood evacuees, new information has revealed.

The government on Wednesday responded to the bulk of questions it took on notice during estimates last month, revealing crime and domestic violence was a much bigger issue than previously suggested.

During the two-month period the centre was used to house flood evacuees, 70 different women and 20 children sought refuge at a ‘safe haven’ established inside the facility – resulting in a total of 254 overnight stays.

It was also revealed there were 67 reports of domestic violence incidents.

Almost $150,000 was spent on transporting patients from the facility to hospital or “an elective-type activity”.

Police attended and investigated 145 incidents at Howard Springs during the two-month-long stay of flood evacuees. Picture: Floss Adams.

Police attended and investigated 145 reported incidents inside the facility, arrested 38 people and took 12 into custody over March and April.

During estimates sittings last month, Police Minister Kate Worden said no charges had been laid in March while she did not have data for the weeks following.

A police spokeswoman could not answer if any charges had been laid in relation to the 145 incidents, saying the data was not “freely available and obtaining it would require an extensive manual review of records”.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the figures were further evidence of the government’s “continued cover up” at Howard Springs.

“Natasha Fyles played this down and did everything she could to cover up the fact that there was significant damage to that facility,” she said.

“But what’s worse is the fact that she covered up the very dangerous and unsafe situation that was out there for the flood victims.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the government failed in its responsibility to keep flood evacuees safe and spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The Fyles Labor government is failing families who are victims of domestic and family violence … the statistics are so horrific, it’s putting not only an additional strain on families but of course, it’s working our police force to the point where they can’t even cope with the volume of calls coming through.”

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has copped criticism for saying the facility was only damaged by “wear and tear” until late April, at which point she said there had been some incidents of domestic violence and property damage.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has also recently announced the Howard Springs facility will be used for the Defence Accommodation Precinct Darwin going forward. Picture: Sierra Haigh

On Wednesday she said the damage was “not acceptable” nor would domestic violence be tolerated.

“During the centre being used for the evacuation purposes, we had a safe haven zone for women and children as you would have in any other community,” she said.

“We are the government who is working to curb this violence.”

Budget estimates also revealed damages to the centre had cost taxpayers about $288,000 so far, with the bill expected to rise once ongoing assessments were complete.

That figure included 673 smashed windows, $35,000 in sewerage fixes and $11,450 for replacing set-off fire extinguishers.

“It is senseless damage, it is not acceptable that taxpayers have to pay for this damage,” Ms Fyles said.

“Police are looking into who took part in causing this damage and next steps.”