Crime in the Northern Territory

Crime is more prevalent in Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek than in Darwin and Palmerston, despite the latter two being the first and second most populated cities in the Northern Territory, respectively.

[4] In September 2016, the level of domestic violence in Aboriginal communities in NT was described as "out of control" by the Northern Territory Coroner, Greg Cavanagh.

He recommended new laws to target and monitor repeat offenders; the use of body cameras by police, with footage able to be used as evidence, so that victims would not always need to appear in court; restricting alcohol supplies; and other strategies.

[3] A review in October 2017 by former chief justice Trevor Riley brought about huge changes to the Northern Territory's alcohol policies.

[10] In the 10 months between 1 October 2018, the date that the alcohol floor price of a minimum of A$1.30 per standard drink and various other measures were imposed by the NT government following the Riley Review, and 31 July 2019, there was a 26% decrease in alcohol-related assaults in the Territory.

In Palmerston, up to 20 young people who at any given time regularly commit property and other offences have been identified, and youth represent 73.1% of apprehensions for break-ins.

[20][3] In 2007, at the second reading of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007, preceding the controversial Intervention by the Howard government, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, described the Alice Springs Town Camps as "murder capitals".

However, two 2009 studies showed that it was lower level-type of offending, such as traffic offences, that was responsible for most crimes committed by Aboriginal people in the NT.

The NT Southern Region Police Commander said that itinerancy, domestic violence and alcohol were the main factors driving up crime rates.

Aboriginal elder Lindsay Bookie addressed the crowd of mainly white residents, expressing the view that The Intervention of 2007 had caused a lot of bad people from remote communities to move to Alice.

[26] In 2012, John McRoberts, Northern Territory Police Commissioner, said that there had been social dysfunction in Alice Springs over 30 years.

[27] In February 2013, Tangentyere Council called an emergency meeting of Territory government, police and other stakeholders, to address concerns among Alice Springs town camp residents, who were living in fear caused by alcohol abuse, violence and family feuding.

[28] In 2015, NT police promised extra patrols for an upcoming sporting event, after the number of youth offenders across the Territory had doubled in the previous year.

They would be working with Tangentyere Night Patrol, along with other night patrol teams from across Central Australia, and urged residents to help by reporting crime through the regular channels, after a vigilante group called the Alice Springs Volunteer Force (ASVF) were trying to recruit people with firearms experience on social media.

The police had earlier launched Taskforce Neo to try to reduce the rates of youth crime in Alice Springs as well as remote areas.

[12][9] After a series of dangerous incidents involving youths driving stolen cars in late 2022, more police were brought in to the town.

Bottle shop trading hours were reduced, with no takeaway alcohol allowed to be sold on Mondays and Tuesdays, and customers limited to one transaction a day.

[48] Mitchell Street, with its numerous pubs, clubs and other entertainment venues, was one of the areas policed by the CitySafe Unit, officially launched by the NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson on 25 February 2009, was credited with success in tackling alcohol abuse linked to crime,[49] and the NT police were looking at establishing a specialist licensing enforcement unit in 2010.

[50] The First Response Patrol, run by Larrakia Nation, which helps to move homeless Indigenous women out of dangerous situations, was credited with the fall in sexual assaults in 2009.

[52] In the 10 months between 1 October 2018, the date that the alcohol floor price and various other measures were imposed by the NT government following the Riley Review, and 31 July 2019, alcohol-related assaults dropped by 16% and domestic violence by 9% in the Darwin area.

[12][9] The rate of offending in most categories of crime dropped in the Darwin area between 2018 and 2019, with the notable exceptions of motor vehicle theft and break-ins (both up about 12%).