Authorities in Central Australia say a suite of free youth programs and activities run over the summer holidays have helped reduce crime in Alice Springs at a time when offending is normally at its peak. As students prepare to return to classrooms next week, work is underway to ensure the success of the program into the future.
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00:00As summer rolls in, the skates roll out.
00:06One of dozens of free school holiday programs on offer in Alice Springs, and the verdict
00:11appears to be unanimous.
00:12I think it feels good and maybe I should do it again.
00:13It looks really fun.
00:14And I've learned a lot of skills today.
00:25Whether rolling around the rink, making a splash in the town pool or guns blazing in
00:30the laser tag arena, all agree it's helping keep young people entertained and out of trouble.
00:36This gets people together in a really social, positive space.
00:40They can be here with their friends, they can be here with their family, they can come
00:43from in town, out of town, and it definitely gives people something to focus their energy.
00:47If they didn't have that to do, if they were looking for going to their own devices to
00:52find something to do, then perhaps they'd make different choices.
00:56More than 21,000 visits have been made to the town pool over the past five weeks.
01:01Such has been the success of the scheme that operators have agreed to keep entry free every
01:06school holidays and on weekends.
01:09The programs intended to complement a security response.
01:13It's the frontline policing effort in the high use public spaces.
01:16It's arresting offenders and it's the targeted tactical intervention from our detectives
01:22and our investigators.
01:23But it hasn't been enough to stop the police commissioner once again calling on the South
01:28Australia Force for extra boots on the ground in the new year.
01:32After several violent incidents in Alice Springs late last year, tensions were high leading
01:37into summer.
01:38And while the youth activities aren't a silver bullet, they are becoming an integral part
01:43of the puzzle.