There have been ‘quite staggering’ rises in NT domestic violence, police commander Danny Bacon says

AN NT Police commander has encouraged domestic violence victims to come forward following a 34 per cent jump in one suburb alone over the past year.

There have been “quite staggering” rises in domestic violence offences over the past year in the Territory, the latest NT Police statistics reveal.

NT Police commander Danny Bacon said on Friday DV rates had increased 28 and 34 per cent in Darwin and Palmerston respectively, compared to 12 months prior, with Covid pressures an underpinning factor.

Across the Territory, there was a near 11 per cent rise in domestic violence to December 31, 2021.

“They’re quite staggering figures when you look at it,” commander Bacon said.

“DV is always a significant concern of ours and those numbers are quite high.”

However, he said it was not a problem unique to the Territory.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said.

“We are seeing increases across the board.

“Covid is certainly one of those underpinning (factors).”

Commander Bacon encouraged anybody who was aware of domestic violence to report offending.

“It’s an area we’d like to see a lot more conversations, a lot more reporting,” he said.

“Giving people the confidence to come forward.

“Covid and being isolated at home is not a reason to not report DV or not come forward.

“It’s no longer one of those crime types that are behind closed doors. And certainly the more we talk about DV, the more people come forward.”

While he admitted the increases were a concern they were coming down based on previous monthly reporting periods.

“We are seeing some reductions on a month by month basis… it’s pleasing to see,” he said.

He said the Territory’s latest stats overall were both disappointing and pleasing, with increases across seven of eight key benchmarks.

There was also a “disappointing” increase in commercial break-ins in Darwin and Palmerston, up 41 and 39 per cent respectively, due to a “mix of youth and adult” offending.

“A lot of that is attributed to, to be frank, a lot of our itinerant (population),” he said.

However, he was happy to see localised drops in unlawful entry – down five and 13 per cent in Darwin and Palmerston respectively – following work from Strike Force Trident, and an eight per cent reduction in sexual assault across the Territory.