By Jacob Shteyman
A ban on children entering the Alice Springs CBD will be extended beyond the school holidays due to concerns easing restrictions could lead to a flare-up in violence.
A two-week youth curfew was imposed on March 27 when the Northern Territory government declared an emergency in response to escalating violence in the red centre.
The declaration bans people under the age of 18 from entering the town centre between 6pm and 6am without a valid reason.
Initially due to end on Wednesday, NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced the curfew would continue until children return to school the following Tuesday.
Ms Lawler said the curfew, intended as a “circuit breaker”, had been a “great success”.
“The conversations on the ground from Alice Springs residents is this has been the best thing that has happened to Alice Springs,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said officers had noticed a decrease in crime in the CBD since the curfew was introduced.
“The main thing we’ve seen is really the absence of youth coming in and showcasing their criminal behaviour in the CBD and really decreasing the risk to them and their harmful behaviours,” he said.
“But what’s been different on this occasion is the follow-up by (Department of) Territory Families in the following days.
“The families are actually asking for help about how they can better manage their children and then that leads to pathways for education, schooling and the like.”
Ms Lawler and Mr Murphy met with the Territory Emergency Management Council and local stakeholders on Monday to discuss how the town would transition out of curfew.
Ms Lawler said the overarching response from the summit was the need for the curfew to remain in place until school holidays ended.
School holidays tend to see an influx of young people into Alice from surrounding communities.
Police Minister Brent Potter said police would continue to work closely with Territory Families and other agencies once the curfew was lifted.
The initial 14-day curfew was imposed as part of an emergency declaration to quell a conflagration of violence in the desert town.
Rising tensions were inflamed by the death of an 18-year-old in a car accident in early March, triggering clashes between rival families that culminated in an attack on the Todd Tavern.
Officers made several arrests and seized more than 50 weapons, including spears, axes and clubs.
Ms Lawler called an emergency declaration the next day, imposing the curfew and deploying an extra 58 police officers to the town.
South Australian police officers will also be deployed to Alice Springs to support their NT counterparts.
No arrests have been made yet concerning the curfew, with officers moving youths on or driving them back to their homes.
The NT opposition called on the government to extend the curfew until the end of April and give police more teeth to hold parents accountable.
“The curfew can’t just be a drop-off service, forcing our police to run around in circles,” shadow treasurer Bill Yan said.
“It has to be a curfew with consequences.”
The extension came as the government released a review into the NT police force that called for increased resourcing, organisational restructuring and better support for front-line officers.
The government accepted 15 of the 18 recommendations but rejected calls to reduce Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALI) from bottle shops.
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