Alice Springs cops in despair at court’s ‘revolving door joke’

Alice Springs police officers are growing increasingly frustrated with the Northern Territory’s court system, which they say acts as a ‘revolving door’ for offenders.

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro on the streets of Alice Springs last week.

Alice Springs police officers are growing increasingly frustrated with the Northern Territory’s court system, which they say acts as a “revolving door” for offenders, as dozens of officers flock to the nation’s most dangerous outback city in the midst of a serious crime crisis.

It comes as six teenagers were arrested for hijacking a taxi and going for a joyride through Alice Springs, with one allegedly telling police: “If you steal the car, you get to drive the car.”

The rural city has seen a huge escalation in crime over the past month, which resulted in a two-month-old baby left with a fractured skull and a brain bleed after an alleged home invasion, and a woman allegedly raped in her sleep. The assault on the baby was allegedly carried out by two teenagers who had been collectively charged with almost 300 other ­offences and bailed 35 times.

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy on Wednesday confirmed more than 50 Territory police officers had been deployed to Alice Springs as part of a large-scale ­operation cracking down on crime, which had resulted in 140 arrests since mid-November.

Mr Murphy said officers were seeing a “downward trend” in all types of crimes, but increased efforts would remain in Alice Springs until the end of next month.

“I had a really good meeting with the mayor, Matt Paterson, yesterday,” he said on ABC Radio.

“I’ve given him an assurance that those resources will remain focused on Alice Springs and the safety of residents and it’s reassuring that we’ve seen some ­really good positive results.”

The Australian has spoken to multiple fed up rank-and-file officers who claim the court ­system is a “joke” that does little to rehabilitate offenders.

“The court’s a joke, protection of victims honestly ranks dead last on their list of priorities,” one Alice Springs-based officer said.

Another said: “There is ­nothing more frustrating than as a cop going the extra mile to make sure you apprehend that violent offender in a timely manner so that his victims are safe, only to find that even though your next shift starts in less than eight hours, by the time you have started that shift, old mate is back out there.”

“What kind of comfort can you give to victims when that is the standard course of action?” they said.

“The justice system needs some refining, the courts need a wake-up call, they need to realise that the ‘poor bugger me’ case that is put before them doesn’t capture the abject fear of harm and death of the victim at the moment.’”

One example an officer gave was that of the sentencing of ­Gregory Reid, who was released from prison on December 12 following his arrest in April.

He pleaded guilty to arming himself with a knife and stabbing a woman in the breast, resulting in a perforated lung, stomach and spleen causing internal bleeding.

After being sentenced to three years and seven months, he was immediately released from custody on a ­suspended sentence.

Amid the increased police efforts, officers arrested six children – five boys and a girl – aged between 12 and 15 who were driving a stolen taxi around Alice Springs on Sunday night.

The stolen taxi in Alice Springs. Picture: Liam Mendes

At one point, the taxi almost collided with a car being driven by The Australian, before driving straight through a right light.

Police claim the children ­continued to drive for hours ­“erratically” on both sides of the road.

Police used spike strips to stop the car and arrested the children.

Two children were charged, and one was dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act.

Three of the children were returned to “responsible adults”.