Police mostly impressed by public in Royal Darwin Show

A vehicle theft and a group brawl were among the most notable exceptions in an otherwise positive weekend for police at the Royal Darwin Show.

Police patrols at the. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A group brawl and a stolen vehicle were among the most serious incidents in what police have called a relatively positive Royal Darwin Show weekend.

Police patrols were in place at both the interior and exterior of the Darwin Showgrounds, including the main carpark and around the greater Winnellie area.

More than 47,000 people are estimated to have attended the event with a high level of positive engagement with members of the public, stall holders and other government departments.

Police attended multiple incidents across the three days include 11 ejections, 57 people moved on, two welfare concerns, one domestic and family violence incident and four missing children returned.

There were also 72 litres of alcohol tipped out, a police camera on a police vehicle damaged, one assault police incident and three arrests for alcohol related behaviour.

Police were called to reports of a disturbance at the showgrounds with groups of people fighting and throwing small items about 9.45pm on Friday.

A 19-year-old female was arrested at the scene after refusing to leave the area and allegedly throwing a soft drink can at a member of the public.

She was later found to allegedly have a quantity of cannabis in her possession and was taken to Palmerston Watch House to be charged.

There was also a vehicle was stolen from the Showgrounds carpark in a separate incident on Friday night.

Strike Force Trident found the car abandoned in Holtze and the offenders have all since been arrested.

Commander James A. O’Brien said police thanked the vast majority of Darwin Show attendees for doing the right thing and enjoying themselves responsibly.

“While it is disappointing that a small cohort chose to cause disturbances and act in a completely unacceptable way in comparison to the number of people who acted responsibly, the overall behaviour was quite good,” he said.

“Our members always love engaging with their community and we look forward to attending next year’s event.”