Police to be given more powers, laws changed to crackdown on youth crime in NT under new govt plan

YOUNG offenders who breach bail will be hauled back to remand and police will be allowed to breath test children as part of the NT government’s proposed crackdown on crime

YOUNG offenders who breach bail will be hauled back to remand and police will be allowed to breath test children under the NT government’s proposed crackdown on crime.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner will today reveal the government’s series of measures, six of which are legislative, in a bid to crackdown on a perceived spike in youth crime.

The NT News can also reveal the government will set aside $5m to build new youth remand sites, noting the “practical consequences” of the new policies.

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Under the government’s plan, young people who commit a serious breach of bail, including by reoffending or failing to attend court, will have their bail revoked and thrown into remand.

The Bail Act, which was initially amended following recommendations of the royal commission, will be changed again to expand the list of crimes that make it hard for kids to be granted bail.

Those offences will include stealing cars, break-ins, and assaulting a worker or police officer.

Police will also be given more powers so they can “immediately” put an electronic monitoring bracelet on a child who is alleged to have committed a crime and consider if a tracker is “appropriate for use” during diversion.

Judges will also be given information as to how many times a youth had breached bail, in a call back to the NT’s “old breach of bail policy” with “significantly” less paperwork for cops according to the government.

The government has also proposed “toughening” traffic laws so that kids behind the wheel of a car can be breath tested, just like adults.

Alongside this, the Youth Justice Act will also be amended so that police can carry out the test swiftly, following “reasonable attempts” to have a “responsible adult present”.

Children who fail to complete youth diversion will be hauled back to court and have their case reconsidered.

Courts will also only be able to consider diversion for youths if it’s a pathway they have not used before.

“Today we announce a suite of measure measures to keep you safe and hold offenders to greater account – from automatically revoking bail for youth who seriously breach, to more powers for police to use electronic monitoring,” Mr Gunner said.

“Less bail, more consequences for offenders and more visibility of youth on bail makes the work of police easier and the community safer.”

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Picture Glenn Campbell

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro. Picture: Che Chorley

The government’s latest policies are largely similar to what the CLP has already put forward. Human rights and legal bodies, who have already flagged their disdain of the latest rhetoric, are likely to come out swinging today.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro, who came out of the gates after the A Current Affair report into Alice Springs with crime policy, said on Monday afternoon that the CLP had “forced the government’s hand”.

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But she flagged concerns over the speed of the government’s policy writing.

“I think what we’ve got is a situation where over the last week, the Gunner government had got together in sheer desperation and cobbled something that sounds really good to put Territorians minds at ease,” she said.

“The devil will be in the detail and we have zero confidence in the Gunner government to deliver anything meaningful in the law and order space that will keep victims and Territorians safe and deal with offenders.”