'SAFETY DIVISION' COPS BROUGHT IN TO ALICE SPRINGS AS RESIDENTS LEAVE
- Alice Springs gets new police force to crack down on crime wave
- Data shows town has very high number of houses for sale
- READ MORE: Youth crime in Alice Springs is out of control
Real estate data indicates Alice Springs locals are leaving the crime wave-hit town in droves with the NT government taking the unusual step of deploying a crack new police force to maintain order.
The Alice Springs Territory Safety Division (TSD) will soon be a fixture of the Northern Territory's second biggest city, the government announced this week.
Eighteen officers will be brought into the unit and tasked with providing rapid response to public disorder situations.
The announcement coincides with data from Realestate.com which shows there are 284 vacant properties listed for the town of 25,000 people - more than double what would be considered a 'strong market'.
'This is a very high number,' Real Estate Institute NT's Lindsay Carey told Alice Springs News.
NT Police Minister Brent Potter said that the Red Centre's new police force will focus on anti-social behaviour as the government attempts to curb common crime and entice resident to remain.
This new unit adds to the 52 elite police already operating out of Darwin, bringing the total number of officers working in the territory to 70.
'The Territory Labor Government is establishing a specialist Alice Springs Territory Safety Division to keep Red Centre residents safe and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour,' Mr Potter said.
'We are investing more into the Northern Territory Police than ever before, more officers, better technology, added resources and new strategies to keep Territorians safe.'
Mr Potter had previously announced in April that funding for the TSD would be increased by $16m on a year-on-year basis.
Dates have yet to be announced for the new police force its but organiser assistant commissioner Janelle Tonkin will get to choose who makes the team.
Alice Spring's TSD will also be given four new operational vehicles, the minister added.
Locals had previously told Daily Mail Australia they were living in fear and forced to hide indoors as children as young as five run riot on the streets.
When police were called, they said, no-one answered and when they did they were told officers are too busy elsewhere to attend.
Police response times in Alice Springs will improve significantly with the new unit as previously members had to be deployed out of Darwin in times of crisis.
Because of this any immediate response was hindered by a two-hour flight that officers needed to take before they could reach the incident.
Surrounding communities such as Tennant Creek are also likely to be serviced by Alice Spring's TSD.
From July the unit's main headquarters will be based out of the Nightcliff Police Station in Darwin.
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