Fourteen constables and two senior officers will be sent to Alice Springs until the end of the school holidays in January in response to an increase in crime, Commander James Gray-Spence has said, a move that involves “high visibility” policing which Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro seemingly ordered for the Territory after she came to power.

The Southern Commander – who has been the subject of an ICAC racism investigation after he lied on a statutory declaration to the coroner, but who remains in the job – said they had been planning Operation Ludlow to begin in mid-December, but said it was brought forward on Thursday, after what police said was a “busy 48 hours” responding to a series of serious incidents, including a large street fight, aggravated robberies, home invasions, and a deliberate attempt to ram a police vehicle on Tuesday night.

The promise of 16 extra officers is way down on the 50 extra officers that were promised for the town last summer, a promise which was criticised by the NT Police Association at the time as being without substance. The latest plan also did not mention the so-called Territory Safety Division, which was supposed to respond to crime in different parts of the NT as required.

Comdr Grey-Spence told the media a curfew would not be ruled out, but downplayed the idea, saying there would be “high visibility” police patrols during “peak times” in Alice Springs, specifically in the CBD “between 11pm and the early morning hours”.

“In the briefing with the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner, they did ask the question about the consideration of local management here for public disorder declarations,” the NT News reported Comdr Gray-Spence said.

“And I said ‘not now’, and that was received well, but all options are on the table.

“We’ll see at least two additional patrol groups of high visibility police officers from outside Southern Command walking the beat in Alice Springs.”

On the day after her election win in late August, Ms Finocchiaro said she met with Police Commissioner Michael Murphy and told him law and order had to be the number one priority.

“We talked through a range of strategies in which we can support our police to get back out onto the front line, and high-visibility policing is a big part of that priority,” Ms Finocchiaro said at the time.

Mr Murphy told the media as part of that initiative, many officers who had been assigned to plain clothes duties were being put back in uniform.

The NT News reported on Tuesday that nine police cars responded to a fight involving about 25 people which broke out on the Alice Springs Town Council lawns on Todd St about 2.30pm, with police alleging some were armed with blunt and edged weapons, with two people taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Mr Murphy said in a Thursday statement that Operation Ludlow aimed to prevent the escalation of violence and ensure public safety.

“We are committed to protecting and serving the people of the Northern Territory. Our officers remain vigilant and responsive, ensuring offenders are held accountable, and victims receive the support they need,” Mr Murphy said.

“We understand the concerns of the community and want to reassure everyone that we are here to protect them. The early launch of Operation Ludlow is a direct response to the current challenges we are facing in Alice Springs, and we are fully committed to maintaining safety and stability across the Territory.”

When a curfew was called in Alice Springs in April, Commissioner Murphy said he had asked South Australia to send police to the town because some kids from the APY lands who were “not aware of the curfew” were in town.

Then-police minister Brent Potter claimed differing reasons for the reinforcements, but said it had nothing to do with the riots in the streets the week before.

The Alice Springs riot resulted in a snap declaration by then-chief minister Eva Lawler of an “emergency situation”, which consisted of a youth curfew and the deployment of 58 additional police officers to the town from across the Territory, including the 33 police auxiliary liquor inspectors removed from the community two weeks before to undertake training in Darwin.

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson had called for the Lawler government to hand responsibility for Alice Springs over to the federal government if it could not keep residents safe, and again called for the Australian Federal Police or the Australian Army to be brought in, after what he said was the scariest thing he had ever witnessed on the streets.

The violence erupted despite 23 officers from the so-called Territory Safety Division having been sent to the town the week before from Darwin and despite bottle shops in the town being closed on the day of the riots and the day before.

The Territory Safety Division was announced last November as part the Labor Government’s so-called ‘summer crime reduction plan’ for Alice Springs. It was to be established immediately with 10 officers and “more than” 50 officers to be part of the division. The extra 40-plus positions were to be filled as recruitment and training activities were completed, which would have allowed for experienced officers to join the unit, the government said.

While the previous government had promised the 50 extra officers to be stationed in Alice Springs last summer, the NTPA said NT Police was sometimes failing to fill regular rosters in Alice Springs, let alone the 50 extra officers to be rostered on per day.

In late January 2023, Prime Minister Albanese under political pressure was forced to make a last minute visit to Alice Springs because of an out-of-control summer of crime which led to a promise of $250 million in funding for the troubled town.