NT crime rate increases in ‘disappointing’ pre-pandemic wave

The latest NT Police stats has revealed a spike in offences almost across the board, with 1537 additional crimes committed. SEE THE CRIME FIGURES HERE

Zizi Averill

@ZiziAverill

2 min read

January 21, 2022 - 6:33PM

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A CRIME was committed in the Territory on average every 15 minutes, with 33,621 offences reported to police over 12 months.

The latest crime statistics from NT Police has revealed a spike in crime almost across the board, with 1537 additional offences committed from December 2020 to November compared to the same period in 2019-2020.

The data warned the Territory was becoming an increasingly violent place, with a 12 per cent rise in the number of crimes against the person.

Assault, domestic violence and alcohol related attacks all jumped up compared to the previous 12 months.

Assistant Commissioner Janelle Tonkin said alcohol-fuelled attacks were a specific concern, after increasing by 9 per cent to 4346 incidents – about 12 a day.

“We want people to be able to enjoy themselves when they go out to the pubs and clubs. We also encourage people to take more responsibility for their own behaviour,” she said.

Ms Tonkin said police were working on strategies in the alcohol policy space, particularly to address “How can we stop alcohol from becoming one of those drivers of crime and domestic violence?”.

An average of 15 Territorians a day were assaulted by a loved one.

Ms Tonkin said the continued rise in domestic violence assaults was a concern and called on anyone living with violence in their homes to reach out to police.

The only violent crime to decrease compared to 2020 was sexual assault, which dropped by 8 per cent to 349.

Property crime increased by 18 per cent, with 22,329 homes, businesses and vehicles targeted by criminals.

Businesses copped the largest increase in criminal activity, with 2100 commercial break-ins, a 26 per cent increase.

Territorians found their home turned into crime scenes with thieves breaking into 2624 houses, increasing their efforts by 20 per cent compared to the previous year.

An average of four cars were pinched per day, with 1592 motor vehicle thefts over 12 months.

Over the same period there were 8239 incidents of property damage, an average of 22 attacks a day.

Ms Tonkin said while the statistics were concerning, it was a return to pre-pandemic rates.

“It is disappointing to see a rise in the statistics, but not unexpected,” she said.

“Property crime and crime against the person have risen … but in many areas we are still seeing low rates when compared with the previous 5- and 10-year periods.”

Ms Tonkin said a scourge of modern policing was a trend of bystanders picking up their phones to film violence, rather than calling emergency services.

“When you see acts of anti-social behaviour or criminal acts being committed that you ring police straight away,” she said.

“We appreciate that everyone has a smart device and it’s very easy to livestream things to Facebook and perhaps not realise, that police are not necessarily monitoring those things.”