It’s been the first night of an urgent police response to escalating violent crime in Alice Springs, with more officers expected to touch down in the town in coming days. Today, the NT government has outlined a new mandatory program for young people who come into contact with police
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00:00It's been one night since police operation Ludlow was repurposed, shifting officers away
00:08from hotspots in the CBD to focus more on the suburbs of Alice Springs where there had
00:14been a number of serious criminal incidents in recent days and there is a promise of more
00:20police to come into town in the coming days and weeks.
00:25Now police have said overnight that the operation has been successful so far.
00:32They said there were four break-ins and one stolen motor vehicle which is a moderate reduction
00:37on what has been seen in the town in recent days.
00:41Now the Chief Minister and Police Commissioner travelled to Alice Springs yesterday and the
00:47visit was prompted by a serious aggravated burglary that occurred in the suburb of Larapinta.
00:54It's alleged that two teenagers aged 16 and 17, one on bail, the other with an outstanding
01:01warrant for their arrest, allegedly broke into a home which was occupied by a mother
01:06and four of her children.
01:09Police have said that the two teenagers allegedly used a metal bar to bash the mother and the
01:16child and that resulted in a fractured skull to the two-month-old infant.
01:23They were both flown to Adelaide for further treatment and the child is now recovering.
01:29Now a number of locals, about a dozen, showed up when the Chief Minister arrived in town
01:36here at the police station in an attempt to heckle her but also to vent their frustration
01:42and anger about the situation in Alice Springs.
01:46Take a listen to what they had to say.
01:49Local proud Alice Springs resident.
01:52It's something that we all deal with day in day out so it's getting pretty scary.
01:56I mean we all sort of know the good, the bad and the ugly of any community, our community
02:01and you know the good always outweighs the bad but the balance is tipping the other way
02:06pretty rapidly unfortunately and tipping over from not just chucking rocks and stealing
02:12cars this is, you know, we've got a baby in a critical condition, you know, a female's
02:18been raped.
02:19You've got a right to go home and be safe and this is Australia, you know, we're not
02:22just talking Alice Springs here, we're talking Australia and I think the fabric of society
02:28is broken down.
02:29I think the government has lost control, not just of Alice Springs and the Northern Territory,
02:32I think they've lost control of Australia, like, to be honest and, you know, I've got
02:37a business, I've got a family, I've got a wife, I've got a granddaughter.
02:40We all deserve to be safe, mate.
02:41Just moments ago the Minister for Children and Families, Robyn Carl, stood up in Darwin
02:47to announce a new Circuit Breaker program which will combine the work of three Northern
02:53Territory departments, Children and Families, Health and Education.
02:57They said it's already been launched in Alice Springs this week and will involve mandatory
03:03referrals for children found on the street with the first step to attempt to take them
03:09home to a safe place.
03:11The following day the program would commence and that would include meeting with the families
03:15as well as then meeting with members of the Education Department to understand if that
03:21child is in school and if not, why not, and then to attempt to engage the young child
03:26in programs and services that will push them away and deter them away from this antisocial
03:33behaviour.
03:34Now take a listen to what Minister Carl had to say.
03:38Working with the families, we're saying to them, you can't walk away from your responsibility
03:42in this.
03:43You have an obligation to make sure that your children are safe, are well cared for, are
03:47attending school and are not engaging in behaviour that is detrimental to the community.
03:52So working with the family, we can then address and look to see why the child might be out
03:56on the street.
03:57So for example, if we have a situation where there's domestic violence, there's alcohol
04:01abuse, we can then look to refer the family members who are suffering in that space to
04:07the appropriate programs to support them as well.
04:10Much of this work, Ruby, should have or would have already been underway as it is the work
04:16of Child Protection Services to deal with mandatory referrals.
04:21And as this program commences in the background, residents in Alice Springs are continuing
04:27to demand both short and long term programs and responses to address drivers of crime.
04:36And they are, as the school holidays begin, wanting to see a swift response, Ruby.