The Northern Territory Government has announced young people in Alice Springs will live under a curfew for two weeks.
Anyone aged under 18 who is found out in public in Alice Springs between 6pm and 6am will be returned home or taken to “a safe place”.
An extra 58 police officers will also be sent to the city as concerns mount about growing rates of violence.
The curfew follows recent incidents of violent public disorder in Alice Springs.
Violence
There have been a string of violent incidents recently in Alice Springs.
Most recently, on Tuesday a large group of people attacked a local pub causing reckless damage. Online videos showed some people outside the venue hurling rocks and breaking glass.
Later that day, there was a public fight involving 150 people, some of whom were allegedly armed with weapons. Police allege a car and a mattress were set ablaze.
Curfew
NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said some of the unrest is linked to the death of an 18-year-old man. He was killed in a car rollover in Alice Springs earlier this month.
“That’s led to family feuds and that’s what erupted in Alice Springs [on Tuesday],” he said.
NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said: “I’m fed up with this level of crime and anti-social behaviour.”
The Government has previously banned alcohol in Central Australia in response to rising crime.
Opposition
The Opposition in the Northern Territory has asked the Labor Government to “strengthen the laws so that police have the powers they need to deal with crime”.
In a statement posted yesterday, the Country Liberal Party said it wants the Government to lower the age of criminal responsibility. It said doing so would hold parents and youths accountable.
Additionally, it said: “Labor’s weak laws and removal of all real consequences for youth offending and lack of support for our police has led to these extreme crime events”.
