Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Alice Springs Mayor Matt Patterson wants the 40 extra police sent to the town to sick around through summer, when crime normally gets worse

Transcript

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Patterson wants the 40 extra police sent to the town to sick around through summer, when crime normally gets worse · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's head on down to Alice Springs because we know
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: that police have now made twenty four arrests since Operation
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Drina was launched in Alice. The operation saw forty extra
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: police sent to the town last week to curb criminal
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and anti social behavior. Now, it came after a number
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: of cop cars were rammed by stolen vehicles driven dangerously
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: through the CBD, but the damage to the police cars
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: hasn't ceased, with a forty two year old man allegedly
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: reversing into one while intoxicated. Now, officers say that they've
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: taken one hundred and sixty eight people into protective custody,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: They've destroyed two hundred and twenty nine liters of grog
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and issued twenty nine traffic fines in the last six days.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Those numbers are astonishing. Joining us on the line to
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: provide a bit of an update on how the community's
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: feeling is the Alice Springs Mayor Matt Patterson, Good morning, Matt.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me Matt.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: How have things been going since that police surge and
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: the operation got underway.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Well, I think the numbers tell the story, Katie, and
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: obviously more police on the ground, people do feel safer.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: There is a visual presence. I'm not saying that crime
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: has fully disappeared, but it's at a much lower rate
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: and it is very welcomed by the community.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Now, what a local saying to you at this point,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: as you know, those numbers start to flow through and
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: presumably you see less of that anti social behavior on
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: the streets.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean they're saying a lot of things. One
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: is you know better than ever, but the second one
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: is please don't take them away? Is the other part?
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: You know, it is the immediate circuit, Baker, that we've
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: been asking for for a long time. We absolutely welcome
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: it as a community, but you know, we need as
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: many resources as we can possibly have down here because
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: of what we've been going through, and so forty extra
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: police is very welcoming, but we just don't want them
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: to go away, you know, pre summer. We need these
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: the boots on the ground till April or May to
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: get us through this rough period that we go through
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: every year.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Are you concerned about what's going to happen over that
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Christmas break, that summer period?
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Very very concerned. I mean we usually have a let
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: up in the call of months, but we haven't had
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: a lead up at all this year, and so you know,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: we've seen like I was driving around Friday night having
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: a look and the presence of police was everywhere. We've
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: seen them back on the horses, that mounted police are here,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: that are on their motorbikes. It is fantastic to see.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: And you know, you go elsewhere, there's a lot of
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: place and it's that perception of if you can see
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: a police officer, usually feel safer. At the moment. That
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: is the case, and as I said, it is very
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: welcoming in the community. We just don't want it to
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: be and we don't want them to go.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Matt. Where are things that with sort with the Social
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Order Response Team? And I know that there's been some
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: work happening with the government as well to sort of
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: determine where young people who don't have somewhere safe to
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: go at night would be able to go. Is there
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: much movement on those on those initiatives.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So we've got a short meeting today, Katie, and
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: hopefully we'll get an update there. I mean, that is
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: to my knowledge that's sitting with the government and the
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Attorney General to move so to move on that, and
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: you know, we need that set up sooner rather than
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: later as the shorter term stuff. But yeah, shorts today
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: and so you know, hopefully we're getting the resources in
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: the right area. We've got the patrollers group set up,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: we're having a go at, you know, getting the lights moving.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: So you know, there are a lot of challenges. I
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: don't think anyone or said that's going to be a
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: quick fix. But the immediate surfuit breaker that we've been
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: king for a long time is resources on the ground
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: and police are here and we have seen a drastic
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: difference in behavior and in crime. So you know, I
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: think that the stats, the stats that you've said right
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: in with the with the less vandalism and less crime
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: that's going on Wheat means that we need more resources
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: than our springs.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Hey, Matt, just a very quick one. We know that
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: last night in Parliament the raising of the criminal age,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: that legislation went through. What's the feeling in Alice Springs
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: about this and do people sort of have strong opinions
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: on the raising of the age?
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know, sort of like reading the room
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: a little bit. It's probably I would say, the wrong
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: time to bring it up. I balance that Katie by
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: saying that I don't think anyone wants to see ten
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: or twelve year olds in jail, but lifting the age
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: is not making people feel safe when they go to bed.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: There's got to be other measures in the background that
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: is happening. So, yeah, it hasn't been received well down here.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't have thought by everyone, but there are certain
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: obviously people in the social services sector that are that
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: are appreciative of it. But I just think for me,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: it's the timing and the perception of what is Yeah,
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: it's it's not fantastic, but you know, all in all,
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: if these kids can get in services quicker, then you
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: know they're not going to be committing crimes and that's okay.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: But yeah, it's a difficult to balance.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is certainly incredibly difficult to balance at this
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  Speaker 1: point in time. You know, the community's expectation is probably
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: pretty different to what the government's done here. I don't
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: know if the two things are in step, but I'm
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: sure that our listeners will let us know. Matt Patterson
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: always good to catch up with you, appreciate your time
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: this morning, and good to hear that this additional police
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: presence is having a real impact it is.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Don't let them take them away from us, please, well, Meg,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: borrel and steel, that's all we need them, We need
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: to keep them. Please.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: Well, it is a tough one and we are going
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: to catch up with the Police Association about this as well,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: because it sounds as that they've had to take those
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: police from different communities and other areas as well, so
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to hear what hack that is having.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I know, but I'm not the mayor of other communities.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I just want my community to be safe first and foremost.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: At the moment. I appreciate it as part of a
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: bigger picture. But you know, we've been going through through
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: this for so so long that finally we've had a
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: let up, and you know, everyone knows that when they've
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: taken away, it's going to be this cycle of back
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to what it was. So the longer they stay here,
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: the better it is for my community.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Matt Patterson, the mayor of Alice, good to
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: speak with you this morning. Thanks so much for your time.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you