{"id":107551,"date":"2024-08-14T07:49:49","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T21:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=107551"},"modified":"2024-08-14T07:49:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T21:49:51","slug":"crime-dominates-northern-territory-political-debate-as-election-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=107551","title":{"rendered":"Crime dominates Northern Territory political debate as election looms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ben Crawford’s security business in Alice Springs had already been broken into more than a dozen times in 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when his work vehicle was stolen in December, he was defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was taken out, set on fire and burnt to the ground,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was actually on holidays the weekend it happened, so I’d actually gone on leave, and I ended up having to come back to Alice Springs due to what had happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Ben Crawford estimates losing his vehicle, and the work tools inside, cost about $80,000.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The 52-year-old, who was born in Alice Springs and has called the Red Centre home for most of his life, said the repeated break-ins had cost his business up to $200,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He calls this “the cost of living in Alice Springs”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is worried the extent of crime in the Northern Territory is causing people to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s pushed them to the end and they’ve gone, ‘Enough. I just can’t deal with it,'” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
After multiple break-ins at his security business, Ben Crawford believes crime is “too far gone” in the territory.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mr Crawford’s story is not unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law and order has emerged as the number one issue in the lead-up to the NT election, with both Territory Labor and the Country Liberal Party (CLP) staking their claim to govern with promises to reduce crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Territory Labor kicked off its campaign by promising lower crime and saying more community safety was its top concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Country Liberal Party has echoed those sentiments, accusing the Labor government of failing to deal with the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Eva Lawler and Lia Finocchiaro are both campaigning hard on crime.(ABC News: Peter Garnish, Hamish Harty)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What does the data show?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Crime rates in the Northern Territory have risen steadily over the past decade<\/a>, during which Labor has governed for eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a change in how the NT Police Force records offences has made it difficult to accurately compare rates of offending<\/a>, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that in 2023 in the Northern Territory,<\/a> for certain crimes, there were more incidents than in any other year on record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That includes motor vehicle thefts and unlawful entries, as Mr Crawford has experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also includes violent crimes such as sexual assaults and assaults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidents of domestic violence also remained stubbornly high in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crime in the election heartland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Palmerston has become one of the battlegrounds for the election<\/a>, with the satellite city covering both Chief Minister Eva Lawler’s and Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro’s electorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in these suburbs that politicians have held many of their press conferences to highlight issues of crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid the maelstrom is the Palmerston Raiders Rugby League Club, where players gather several nights a week for training.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Palmerston Raiders have become one of the biggest rugby league clubs in the Northern Territory. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The entirely volunteer-run club has found itself at the nexus of crime and its impacts \u2014 a place where former victims and offenders are able to come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve got police officers [and] we’ve got people who have made mistakes and had to serve their punishment or go to jail,” club president Rod Greenwood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They’ve had to do their time, but they’ve come here and got to be here and be equal with everyone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Incidents of domestic violence also remained stubbornly high in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":107560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,921,8493],"tags":[5897,8726,5898],"class_list":["post-107551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-crime","category-election","tag-alice-springs","tag-darwin","tag-northern-territory"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t