Mayor says it’s become ‘hard to live’ in Alice Springs amid ‘scary’ crime wave

The mayor of Alice Springs says it’s become “hard to live” in the town amid skyrocketing crime rates, and residents urgently “need help”.

New crime figures from NT Police reveal assaults in the town increased by 43 per cent from 1 December, 2021 to the end of November last year. Domestic violence incidents went up 53 per cent over the same period and alcohol-related surged by 54 per cent.

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson says the CBD is regularly being shut down because police can’t contain rampaging youths.

Press PLAY below to hear why the mayor says Alice Springs has become ‘confronting’ and ‘scary’

“A couple of months ago a group of youths stole a vehicle and were so chaotic in our CBD that police put out on their social media to avoid the CBD because the kids were dangerous to everyone … it happened two weeks later, the same thing, the kids stole a vehicle, our CBD was shut down and they were driving  into police cars,” he told Ross and Russel.

“Then we had a 13-year-old a couple of weeks ago effectively shut down a supermarket because he was wielding a machete and people got locked in for their own safety.

“It’s pretty confronting and it’s pretty scary.”

Councillor Patterson says the problems in Alice Springs have escalated rapidly since the Stronger Futures legislation, which barred alcohol in 17 Aboriginal living areas, ended in July.

He’s invited Anthony Albanese to visit Alice Springs to see the problems first-hand and is confident the Prime Minister will take up the invitation.