Vandal attacks spark Nightcliff cop-shop fury

Vandals trashed Nightcliff shops on Friday, hours after the nearby police station’s doors had shut for the night. Read what locals think.

The mostly empty $12m Nightcliff police station is again under fire after vandals struck the village shopping centre just 20m across the road from the law enforcement asset.

The Bendigo Bank, Nightcliff Nails, the post office and Savvas Footwear were targeted late Thursday night or early Friday morning - long after Nightcliff police station had closed its doors and officers had gone home.

The shoe shop had the worst damage with one glass panel shattered and another damaged. The post office also had a shattered pane, a rock had been used to scratch a 30cm circle on the manicurist’s front window and, for the second time in two months, the Bendigo Bank ATM was trashed.

Nightcliff’s Bendigo Bank branch’s ATM has been trashed again.

Residents and traders on Friday vented their frustration at the police station, which at last count had about 35 officers and housed the police’s schools unit.

Nightcliff Village barber Kathy Zafiriou said only once had police at the station responded to a crime situation when they were called to a brawl between kids at the shopping centre.

“I’ve ran across the road after a cutthroat razor had been thrown at one of my staff and just got told to call triple zero,” Ms Zafiriou said.

“I said ‘he’s standing right there you can go get him right now’ and they sad ‘no, we can’t, we’re auxiliary police’.”

Wulagi resident Dee Zamolo regularly visits Nightcliff to meet with friends and is unimpressed at the station.

A rock was used to scratch a large circle on a glass window.

“That to me is a total waste of money. I don’t even think there’s police officers in there.

“I mean this happens at night. These kids need a boot camp. We’ve got army here, soldiers. They can be sent there to learn respect.”

Rapid Creek resident Tad Henry also weighed in on the white elephant.

“A lot of bullshit and a government waste of money,” he said.

“What’s the point of doing it. It’s never open and we’re getting more service out of the (CCTV).

“The building is useless if it doesn’t fulfil (a policing) function. The community just laugh about it.”

Kathy Zafiriou at Alley Katz Barber in Nightcliff wants a 24-hour police station.

The CLP promised before the 2012 election to build a new police station in Nightcliff, against the wishes of police who wanted a new facility in Karama.

Territory Labor, led by local member Natasha Fyles, opposed the CLP plan until about midway through the party’s term of government when it announced Labor would build a 24-hour general duties station.

The station construction went overtime and over budget and when finally opened early last year, was open between 8am and 4pm.

This masthead has asked government and police when the station would be open 24 hours.

Originally published as Vandal attacks spark Nightcliff cop-shop fury