00:00It's been one night since police operation Ludlow was repurposed, shifting officers away
00:08from hotspots in the CBD to focus more on the suburbs of Alice Springs where there had
00:14been a number of serious criminal incidents in recent days and there is a promise of more
00:20police to come into town in the coming days and weeks.
00:25Now police have said overnight that the operation has been successful so far.
00:32They said there were four break-ins and one stolen motor vehicle which is a moderate reduction
00:37on what has been seen in the town in recent days.
00:41Now the Chief Minister and Police Commissioner travelled to Alice Springs yesterday and the
00:47visit was prompted by a serious aggravated burglary that occurred in the suburb of Larapinta.
00:54It's alleged that two teenagers aged 16 and 17, one on bail, the other with an outstanding
01:01warrant for their arrest, allegedly broke into a home which was occupied by a mother
01:06and four of her children.
01:09Police have said that the two teenagers allegedly used a metal bar to bash the mother and the
01:16child and that resulted in a fractured skull to the two-month-old infant.
01:23They were both flown to Adelaide for further treatment and the child is now recovering.
01:29Now a number of locals, about a dozen, showed up when the Chief Minister arrived in town
01:36here at the police station in an attempt to heckle her but also to vent their frustration
01:42and anger about the situation in Alice Springs.
01:46Take a listen to what they had to say.
01:49Local proud Alice Springs resident.
01:52It's something that we all deal with day in day out so it's getting pretty scary.
01:56I mean we all sort of know the good, the bad and the ugly of any community, our community
02:01and you know the good always outweighs the bad but the balance is tipping the other way
02:06pretty rapidly unfortunately and tipping over from not just chucking rocks and stealing
02:12cars this is, you know, we've got a baby in a critical condition, you know, a female's
02:18been raped.
02:19You've got a right to go home and be safe and this is Australia, you know, we're not
02:22just talking Alice Springs here, we're talking Australia and I think the fabric of society
02:28is broken down.
02:29I think the government has lost control, not just of Alice Springs and the Northern Territory,
02:32I think they've lost control of Australia, like, to be honest and, you know, I've got
02:37a business, I've got a family, I've got a wife, I've got a granddaughter.
02:40We all deserve to be safe, mate.
02:41Just moments ago the Minister for Children and Families, Robyn Carl, stood up in Darwin
02:47to announce a new Circuit Breaker program which will combine the work of three Northern
02:53Territory departments, Children and Families, Health and Education.
02:57They said it's already been launched in Alice Springs this week and will involve mandatory
03:03referrals for children found on the street with the first step to attempt to take them
03:09home to a safe place.
03:11The following day the program would commence and that would include meeting with the families
03:15as well as then meeting with members of the Education Department to understand if that
03:21child is in school and if not, why not, and then to attempt to engage the young child
03:26in programs and services that will push them away and deter them away from this antisocial
03:33behaviour.
03:34Now take a listen to what Minister Carl had to say.
03:38Working with the families, we're saying to them, you can't walk away from your responsibility
03:42in this.
03:43You have an obligation to make sure that your children are safe, are well cared for, are
03:47attending school and are not engaging in behaviour that is detrimental to the community.
03:52So working with the family, we can then address and look to see why the child might be out
03:56on the street.
03:57So for example, if we have a situation where there's domestic violence, there's alcohol
04:01abuse, we can then look to refer the family members who are suffering in that space to
04:07the appropriate programs to support them as well.
04:10Much of this work, Ruby, should have or would have already been underway as it is the work
04:16of Child Protection Services to deal with mandatory referrals.
04:21And as this program commences in the background, residents in Alice Springs are continuing
04:27to demand both short and long term programs and responses to address drivers of crime.
04:36And they are, as the school holidays begin, wanting to see a swift response, Ruby.
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