At least 800 Katherine residents have signed a petition calling for the NT Government to restore some measure of law and order in the town by imposing a curfew for young children and other immediate measures.

“Territorians are saying enough is enough not just in Alice Springs and Darwin but in Katherine as well,” local MLA Jo Hersey, who tabled the petition in Parliament last week said.

“Katherine locals are passionate about their town and it breaks their heart to see such disregard for the law from criminals.”

Ms Hersey said that some of the key suggestions in the petition include giving police the power to tip out alcohol consumed in public, an audit of Katherine’s non-government organisations and extending the banned drinking register to all licensed venues.

Figures show Katherine experienced a jump in crime rates. In the year ending January 2023, Katherine’s property offences increased by over 80 per cent on average compared to 10 years ago. Crimes against individuals, counting murders, assaults and robberies, shot up by 57 per cent over the same period.

The petition, which specifically targets youth crime, also calls for a curfew for children under the age of criminal responsibility, the appointment of engagement officers to quickly follow up on kids failing to attend school, and requiring shops not to serve children who are unaccompanied by adults during school hours.

“The anti-crime petition reflects residents’ frustration,” Katherine Mayor Elisabeth Clark said.

“You can’t put restrictions in one place and not everywhere else. When they made changes in Alice Springs, it moved further north.”

She said she would like to see additional alcohol bans applied in the NT, adding that Alice Springs restrictions pushed anti-social behaviour north as people travelled in search of alcohol.

The government continues to state it is working on the problem.

“A suite of measures have been introduced which will make workplaces safer and address community concerns surrounding alcohol and violent offences,” Police Minister Kate Worden said.

“Police have begun targeting known hotspots with high visibility patrols, and we have introduced stronger bail laws with a presumption against bail for co-offenders who participate in violent offences involving a weapon, even if they do not possess the weapon themselves. Those laws were urgently passed through Parliament.”

Minister Worden said the NT Police currently do have the power to tip out alcohol and staff at shops have the right to refuse service.

She also said that the government’s voluntary buyback scheme of grocery store liquor licences, the return of the Alcohol Secure Program, and a workplace safety review to be undertaken on late-night retail outlets across the Territory will help ease the crime rate.