Police Minister Nicole Manison and Commissioner Jamie Chalker in NT Estimates

Estimates has fired up for another week, with NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker and Minister Nicole Manison being questioned about the force’s performance.

UPDATED: STUNNING numbers of assaults on police and youth arrests have been described as “unbelievable” by Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro.

Police Minister Nicole Manison and Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker are appearing before NT Estimates on Monday.

Upon questioning from Ms Finocchiaro, Ms Manison revealed there had been 169 assaults on police since July 1 2020.

These incidents resulted in 236 charges being laid, with 217 proceeding to court.

Ms Manison said 420 youth arrests had been made in the year to March 31 2021, made up of 239 youths.

117 youths who were already on bail have been arrested a total of 192 times in the year to March 31.

“Clearly there’s repeat offending there,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

Mr Chalker said physical assaults were the most common offences made against police officers.

“Certainly the spitting on police officers is one of the more abhorrent,” he said.

Ms Finocchiaro described the figures as “unbelievable”.

It comes on the same day the NT News revealed alarming rates of assault against staff at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.

EARLIER: THE shocking scale of the Territory’s crime epidemic has been laid bare in Estimates, with some offences jumping by almost 20 per cent.

In NT Estimates on Monday, Police Minister Nicole Manison and Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker also defended the force’s rates of police attrition.

Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker said there had been more than an 18 per cent increase in “offences against the person” through the pandemic, but said property offences fell.

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Mr Chalker said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with the Jobseeker and JobKeeper payments, saw grog running explode.

Bottles of rum were selling in communities for up to $900 a bottle.

Generic NT Police imagery. Photograph: Che Chorley

Mr Chalker also said Tennant Creek and Alice Springs had been identified as hot spots for crime.

Police Minister Nicole Manison defended the situation, saying the pandemic had “changed patterns of behaviour”.

Mr Chalker said levels of turnover in the Police force were due to higher standards.

It was revealed 95 officers have left the force since July 1 2020, most of which were resignations.

Ms Manison said interstate police services were conducting recruitment drives which meant many NT officers were being tempted to leave the Territory.

Independent Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley also questioned Ms Manison over the impact the Rolfe trial was having on the morale of the police.

“We are starting to get quite nervous about the upcoming trial,” Ms Lambley said.

“It has the potential to be explosive and I think it’s had a major impact on the police service.”

Ms Manison however said she was limited by her responses due to the Rolfe trial’s start date in July.

“Unfortunately I don’t think this is a timely conversation,” Ms Manison said.

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