Crime: The reality

By ERWIN CHLANDA

“Chief Minister and Minister for Police Lia Finocchiaro said the CLP Government laid the groundwork last year for the biggest reform to policing in a generation.”

So said a media handout from her office on February 23. The events in Alice Springs over eight days this Easter raise questions about this kind of boast.

They are often related to the whole NT and are underlined with selected stats. On January 12: “We are proud to have delivered an 8.6% drop in the number of victims between January and October 2025, compared to the same period the year before.”

Police media releases quoted here show a different landscape in Alice Springs. They usually only report incidents where victims are in danger, more frequently now from offenders wielding edged weapons – read machetes, which seem to be freely available.

The releases mostly don’t deal with break-ins with no victims present, anecdotally in significant numbers, or crimes that victims can no longer be bothered to report, nor the offensive public conduct around the two shopping centres.

27 MARCH An indecent act near the Botanic Gardens.

27 MARCH Seven offenders were arrested after a vehicle was stolen during an aggravated burglary in Cromwell Drive.

31 MARCH Armed persons were causing disturbances at a petrol station and at a government building … the group armed with edged weapons fled the scene at speed in a vehicle … linked to recent occurrences of armed persons engaging in violent conduct in Bloomfield Street.

31 MARCH Vehicle fire in the early hours at the Royal Flying Doctor Service lawns.

02 APRIL A man assaulted a woman on the median strip on the Stuart Highway near the intersection with Commonage Road.

03 APRIL Police arrested one male in relation to an aggravated burglary and robbery in Bloomfield Street overnight.

06 APRIL Arrested nine offenders in relation to a crime series over the weekend. A house sitter in Bloomfield Street woke to find four males, including one armed with an edged weapon, demanding car keys from him.

[During an] aggravated burglary and robbery on Sunday, five male offenders armed with an edged weapon and metal poles entered a caravan occupied by a family of three on Ilparpa Road after smashing its windows.

The offenders allegedly threatened the family and demanded the car keys before stealing the family’s vehicle as well as cash and wallets. Eight offenders were apprehended.

PHOTO: The Chief Minister with police in the Mall.