Coronavirus lockdowns drive huge fall in property crime across the NT during past 12 months

TERRITORIANS have the coronavirus lockdown to thank for helping produce one of the lowest rates of property crime the NT has seen in years, police say

Acting Assistant Commissioner Matt Hollamby urged Territorians to do their bit preventing crime at home. Picture: Justin Kennedy

TERRITORIANS have the coronavirus lockdown to thank for helping produce one of the lowest rates of property crime the NT has seen in years, police say.

In Darwin, the 362 commercial break ins in the year ending March 2020 represented a whopping 35 per cent drop from the same period last year, while in Palmerston the fall was more than 40 per cent.

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In the Red Centre, commercial and residential break ins were both down by more than 20 per cent and house break ins also fell in by 3 per cent Palmerston.

The good news was offset by a 23 per cent rise in house break ins in Darwin and Acting Assistant Commissioner Matt Hollamby urged residents to continue to do what they can to prevent crime at home as we transition to the “new normal”.

“The crime rates are over a 12-month period and COVID-19 has impacted for the month of March and April and continuing on into May so it’s a positive, it shows that vigilance and people being at home and people taking basic security precautions can reduce crime,” he said.

“One of the advantages of COVID-19 has been people being at home and people are reporting suspicious behaviour more frequently because they’re there and they see it — the community are our eyes and ears and we’d encourage that to continue to help us prevent crime and catch those that are doing it.

“As we move back to the new normal we ask that people engage in just basic crime prevention around their houses and that basic crime prevention includes locking your doors, particularly at night time and not leaving valuables including handbags and car keys on your kitchen bench.”

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Mr Hollamby said Tennant Creek — where commercial and residential break ins both spiked by more than 50 per cent — was “an exception to the general downward trend” and the area would be a focus for police in the coming months.

“There were some intensive policing responses in that previous 12 months but having said that, it’s not acceptable the level of crime in Tennant Creek and we’ll be addressing that into the future,” he said.