Northern Territory laws will be changed and police will be given more power to crack down on youth crime, including automatic remand for offending on bail.

March 23, 2021

Young offenders alleged to have breached their bail conditions are set to be automatically placed on remand under the Northern Territory government’s proposed crackdown on crime.

Police will be given more powers to immediately place electronic monitoring on alleged offenders and breath test children without an adult guardian present.

“Crime anywhere at any time is unacceptable. If you commit a serious breach of bail, bail will be revoked,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Tuesday.

“Bail is a privilege, not a right.”

Children accused of re-offending while on bail, breaching electronic monitoring conditions or curfew, failing to attend court or complete diversion programs will have their bail revoked.

The list of crimes where bail may not be granted will also be expanded to include unlawful entry, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, assault of a worker or police officer.

Police Minister Nicole Manison said $5 million would also be allocated to overhaul youth remand centres to accommodate the increase in young offenders in custody.

“So when we do have these kids going through the facilities we do have a genuine effort at rehabilitation,” she said.

Under the planned changes, judges will also be advised how many times an offender has breached bail ahead of sentencing decisions.

The Traffic Act will be amended to allow police to breath test young people caught behind the wheel of a car for alcohol and drug consumption.

“A car with an intoxicated driver is a weapon and it is a reasonable expectation that police should be able to do a test,” Ms Manison said.

The Gunner government also plans to amend the Youth Justice Act so that young offenders who fail to complete their diversion programs can be hauled back before the court for their case to be reconsidered.

A perceived surge in youth crime over the past 12 months, particularly in Alice Springs, has outraged many Territorians and left the Gunner government under pressure.

“This is in line with community expectation. This is in line with the feedback I’ve been getting from police on the frontline about changes they want to see,” Ms Manison said.

But the number of convicted offenders aged between 10 and 17 fell by nine per cent in 2019/20 to 693 offenders, compared to 2018/19, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

Asked what effect the proposed law changes would have had on February’s crime figures, Ms Manison said five extra children would have been placed on remand.

Jesuit Social Services NT general manager John Adams said the Gunner government was turning its back on the 2017 Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory recommendations, in favour of populist measures that wouldl not work.

Amnesty International Australia Indigenous rights advocate Rodney Dillon say cracking down on children with complex needs by throwing them in jail fixes nothing.

“What it does is condemn young kids to the quicksand of the youth justice system, and it entrenches recidivism,” he said.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the changes were weak and urged her fellow parliamentarians to back the Country Liberal Party’s tougher bail law changes, to be presented to parliament on Wednesday.

“We have listened to the deafening outcry from residents and businesses sick of the revolving door of repeat offending,” she said.

These include repeat offenders fronting court with the presumption of no bail and electronic monitoring for all repeat offenders on bail.

The NT government will present its planned changes to parliament in May and August.