Police are cracking down on crime in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Photo: stock
A three-week police crackdown in Alice Springs has yielded 77 arrests under Operation Ludlow which was launched last month.
The crackdown follows assaults on seven police officers in a week and six attacks on paramedics in one night.
The NT government says there have also been 22 infringement notices issued under their new nuisance public drinking laws.
Under the new Declan’s Law, there were two wanding (hand-held scanning) operations across Alice Springs with 350 people scanned, five weapons seized and five cautions issued.
NT Treasurer and MP for Namatjira, Bill Yan says the government is “getting on with the job” to reduce crime, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
Lands and Planning Minister and MP for Braitling, Joshua Burgoyne says “reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs, and across the Territory, is a top priority”.
“The government and police cannot deal with crime prevention alone across the Territory,” Yan says.
“It requires a whole of community buy-in where individuals need to take personal responsibility for their own actions.”
FRONTLINE WORKERS
The government says it is also deeply concerned by a recent spate of assaults against frontline workers.
In one week, seven police officers were assaulted, one of them knocked unconscious, and six assaults on St John paramedics in one night, the government said.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said targeting frontline workers “is completely unacceptable and has no place in our community”.
“Assaulting a police officer, paramedic, nurse, or any other emergency worker is not only an attack on an individual but an attack on the entire community,” she said.
“Such behaviour is cowardly and shocking, and offenders will face significant consequences.”
The government has strengthened its laws so that there is now a minimum three-month jail term for assaulting a frontline worker, even for first-time offenders.
