CANBERRA, Mac 30 (NNN-AAP) – The police commissioner in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) hailed a youth curfew in an outback town as a positive step towards a long-term solution for crime in the region.
NT Police Commissioner, Michael Murphy, said at a press conference last night that, there have been positive changes in Alice Springs since the curfew was declared on Wednesday, in response to a series of violent and disruptive incidents in the central Australian town.
“This emergency situation and the action that has been undertaken has generated some positive discussion for a number of partners in the Alice Springs community, Central Australia and actually the nation,” he said.
Under the 14-day curfew, anyone under the age of 18 is not allowed out of their homes between the hours of 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. in the central business district (CBD) of Alice Springs.
It was announced after a series of disturbances in the town which culminated in a riot on Tuesday night, with up to 150 people clashing and causing 30,000 Australian dollars (19,548 U.S. dollars) in damage to a local hotel.
Murphy said yesterday that, NT Police have arrested two more people over the attack on the hotel and a third who allegedly assaulted police.
It takes the number of arrests related to Tuesday’s incidents to eight, with over 50 weapons also seized.
In addition to enforcing the curfew, Murphy said that, NT Police was actively facilitating conversations with partners and community leaders around long-term solutions in Alice Springs ahead of the planned end of the curfew on Apr 10.
“That’s going to help us form up what day fourteen looks like and transition from a really heavy police presence to more of a community-owned solution,” he said.
“We’re only 72 hours into it. This is the short-term fix. The longer-term rests with the community and the broader solutions.”
NT Police responded to two burglary incidents on Thursday night outside the curfew zone in the town’s west.
Three children aged 12, 13 and 17 were arrested in relation to an aggravated burglary, where a resident was allegedly threatened with a firearm before a group of up to seven offenders stole two vehicles that were later found south of the CBD.
In a separate incident, up to eight offenders unlawfully entered a camping store at approximately 5.00 a.m. local time on Friday and stole a large quantity of hunting equipment and cash.
Some stolen knives were recovered but NT Police have issued a call for information to help identify the offenders.– NNN-AAP
