The Fyles Government has announced a “co-ordinated approach” to tackle the ongoing Alice Springs crime crisis after years of repeated cries for help from the community.

Both Police Minister Kate Worden and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles have been speaking publicly for weeks about the “Social Order Response Team” – a group of government agencies and community sector groups led by Territory Families deputy chief executive Jeneatte Kerr – but have not released any specifics about what it aims to do until Wednesday.

The government said in a statement that SORT will meet “regularly to coordinate more efficient and effective use of government and government-funded resources to achieve targeted social order outcomes for children, families, businesses and the wider community”.

Ms Worden said the “first plan” for Alice Springs will “see a range of measures to support the community”.

These include coordinating patrols by government, business and community groups and developing a “patrol strategy” and communication network; constructing “safety zones” and improving lighting across the CBD; targeting public drinking and substance abuse; and working to get business owners to support the “no school, no service” campaign.

The government has also pledged to have its agencies work with non-government organisations to “target active outreach to illegal campers and rough sleepers; provide better responses to youth from all departments involved; and exploring new safety measures “related to late night venues”, including providing after hours bus services between the CBD and suburbs.

Ms Worden said a “Implementation Council” for the Social Order Response Team will meet on Wednesday for the first time.

The Implementation Council is made up of representatives from Alice Springs Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce, Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation, Tourism Central Australia, the National Indigenous Australians Agency and “senior government officials” from NT Police, Territory Families and the Department of the Chief Minister, Ms Worden said.

“Working together collaboratively demonstrates ownership over the problems our community faces, while acknowledging that this cannot be solved by Police alone,” she said.

Alice Springs crying out for help for a long time

The government is also committing $2.5 million to establish the “Safer Territory Grant Program”, which will be used to fund “additional resourcing” for operations determined by SORT.

Ms Worden said the government will now start to work on developing a similar action plan for the Darwin northern suburbs and later the rest of the NT.

The Fyles Government have drawn intense criticism from just about everybody connected to Alice Springs for letting the crime problem reach crisis point. Most recently, the government-funded Tourism Central Australia called on the government to take urgent action to address problems, as tourism and business felt the effects of ongoing crime that was keeping people away.

Way back in January, Mayor Matt Paterson sent a letter to federal and Territory political leaders calling for help after residents were living in constant fear in their own homes.

“This is not an exaggeration,” he wrote at the time. “Intruders are breaking into people’s houses, getting into young children’s bedrooms while they and their parents sleep. People no longer feel safe in their own homes. We’ve had tragic deaths and near misses as a result of crime in our community.”

Independent MLA Robyn Lambley has also been calling for a youth curfew which the government repeatedly rejected. She had previously suggested the Federal Government may need to declare an emergency intervention for the town and bring in the military to restore order.

Ms Worden said the new Social Order Response Team was “the only way forward for everyone to feel safe and welcome within our communities”.