NT Police deploy to Katherine after Brent Potter gets SOS call

A Territory mayor has called the Police Minister directly for assistance as her town grapples with a rising crime problem.

The Northern Territory Safety Division was deployed to Katherine this month.

Almost 20 police officers have been deployed to a Top End town after its mayor hot-lined the government following a post-flood crime spike.

The NT News can reveal that on February 2 Katherine mayor Elisabeth Clark called Police Minister Brent Potter directly to report a significant rise in crime after a large number of people converged on the town from the surrounding region when flood-affected roads reopened.

Mr Potter confirmed the Territory Safety Division – a high-visibility unit focused on anti-social behaviour and alcohol – were deployed to the region within hours of receiving the call.

The Territory Safety Division was deployed “within hours” of NT Katherine Mayor Elisabeth 'Lis' Clark call. Photo: Supplied.

“The commissioner and I formed the Territory Safety Division for this exact reason, to effectively respond to surges in anti-social behaviour, bolster police capacity and protect our community,” he said.

“Acting on the information and requests from Katherine Mayor and wide community, the highly specialised TSD were deployed and within a matter of hours they were on the ground resolving the situation.”

The deployment comes after the town experienced a wave of break-ins over the festive season, which included a contract worker who was broken into four times in three days.

In the same week, a resident waited nervously from afar as her husband attempted to save their small business being broken into.

The spate of crime led to Katherine MLA Jo Hersey to describe her town as at “at breaking point”.

In January, John Wright of Katherine was forced to save his family's business. Photo: Supplied.

Mr Potter confirmed the TSD would increase from 19 officers to a 50-man strong unit.

“It is clear the Territory Safety Division are having a large positive impact on our community and our Police force by providing extra resources, as such I have committed to growing the squadron from its initial 10 officers to a 50 strong team.”

• The bullet point summary was created with the assistance of AI technology (PaLM2) then edited and approved for publication by an editor.