A 13-year-old boy on bail who allegedly broke into a Katherine home armed with a knife and threatened a child on Wednesday afternoon has been charged, NT Police said.

The youth allegedly entered the home on Sandalwood Crescent around 3:45pm where he allegedly threatened a resident, understood to be a child, with the knife before stealing “a number of items and fleeing the scene”, police said.

He was reportedly arrested without incident shortly after the incident and charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, damage to property and serious breach of bail.

“He has since been further remanded to appear in court on 14 August 2023,” police said in a statement.

The incident comes a day after the Fyles Government wiped the criminal records of all young offenders aged under 12 as part of its legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.

The records of the young offenders’ crimes have effectively been deleted from NT Police databases, as well as fingerprints and DNA evidence collected from the crime scenes, with some offenders also having their ankle monitoring bracelets removed and bail conditions revoked on Tuesday.

Any crimes committed by a child before the age of 12 will no longer be admissible in court.

“Detectives are urging anyone who witnesses suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods to make contact on 131 444. You can also report anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000,” police said in the statement.