Northern Territory sends more police to troubled community of Wadeye

A new police taskforce established to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime has been deployed to the troubled Northern Territory community of Wadeye.

NT Police said on Wednesday that it was ‘continuing to work closely with the residents of Wadeye after recent unrest in the community’.

A new police taskforce established to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime has been deployed to the troubled Northern Territory community of Wadeye, where escalating violence has included police cars and the local police station getting rammed by cars.

Wadeye is a dry community, meaning even visitors are not supposed to bring alcohol, but a recent increase in domestic violence and anti-social behaviour prompted police to conduct roadblocks in search of sly groggers. They found people attempting to smuggle large amounts of alcohol into the community.

The Territory Safety Division, established three weeks ago, has 10 police officers.

They will spend the next few days in the community and will conduct operations throughout the Daly region while travelling between Darwin and Wadeye.

NT Police said on Wednesday that it was “continuing to work closely with the residents of Wadeye after recent unrest in the community”.

Since December 2, police had received concerning reports of disturbances throughout the community of Wadeye, about 430km south of Darwin. These included illegal supply of drugs and alcohol, fighting and domestic violence.

Among the residents arrested in the past month are three youths and three adults charged with ramming police vehicles and the police station. One woman was arrested for assaulting police.

Commander Brendan Muldoon said: “Extensive collaboration with the community, aided by an increase in police resourcing, has already some very positive results. Our roadblocks have been effective in disrupting the supply and distribution of illicit substances into the community, which we know fuels violence and anti-social behaviour.”

There have been reports of people shot at with arrows in Wadeye but police this week said the violence was not expected to reach the crisis of two years ago when an estimated 500 people – about a quarter of the community – were forced to flee. Many took shelter from the violence and fighting at outstations.

The 2021 chaos built up over months and ultimately dozens of homes were extensively damaged by fire. The community’s only food store was forced to close several times.

While the TSD has 10 officers, five have initially travelled to the community to support local police operations.

Acting Commander Muldoon said “The fact the TSD can be utilised in a surge capacity at short notice provides police with the ability to respond quickly to all manner of situations where extra support is needed.”

The Northern Territory News describes the deployment as a test of whether this police operation in Wadeye will be more effective than other high-visibility incursions at Wadeye in recent years.