A local in Alice Springs has penned a heartbreaking letter begging authorities to ‘fix all this criminality’ as a youth-led crime crisis sees local jails hit breaking point.
In a letter to the outback town’s paper, Alex Morelli wrote that he believes the time has come for locals to fight for their safety after crime rates exploded.
‘When will someone do something to fix all this criminality?’ he pleaded.
‘Last night, I called the police, because a woman was screaming, shouting and throwing rocks in the Eastside.
A resident in Australia’s most dangerous town, Alice Springs, has penned a heartbreaking letter begging that authorities ‘fix all this criminality’
Leader of the Northern Territory opposition, Lia Finocchiaro (pictured) said in a speech last month that Alice Springs businesses are closing with staff to afraid to go to work because of crime in the town
‘Tonight, while I was driving along the main road (McDonald Street) a bunch of kids threw rocks at my car.’
He told Daily Mail Australia the intention of people throwing rocks was ‘not like fun’.
‘The way they do it, it intends to injure someone.’
Mr Morelli said Australians from other cities have no idea how dangerous Alice Springs feels.
‘I lived in Brisbane, then on the Sunshine Coast, and then moved to Alice Springs. I always found Australia such a safe country, but here I am not feeling safe at all.
‘When I tell people in other parts of Australia what’s happening here they don’t believe me.’
Youths are seen terrorizing the streets of Alice Springs as locals call for help to tackle the crime wave
As of January 2023 the outback town’s only prison is stretched beyond capacity and police are forced to house convicted criminals in police stations.
Alice Springs is the only Australian town in the 20 most crime-affected locations on earth, coming 17th according to surveys collected by Numbeo.
The other towns to make the top 100 were Rockhampton at 36th, Cairns at 69th, Darwin at 79th and Townsville at 96th.
In 2022 government statistics showed Alice Springs has triple the national average for recorded assaults, 2556 per 100,000 people, compared to 790 for the whole of Australia.
Alice Spring’s rates of assault represented a 36 per cent jump on the previous year.
According to several different measures Alice Springs has some of the worst crime rates in Australia.
Alice Springs is the only Australian town in the 20 most crime-affected locations on earth, coming 17th according to surveys collected by Numbeo
Domestic violence assaults went up 45 per cent, alcohol-related assaults up 46 per cent, property damage was up 54 per cent, car thefts 37 per cent and house break-ins up 24 per cent.
Leader of the Northern Territory opposition, Lia Finocchiaro said in a speech last month that Alice Springs businesses are closing with staff too afraid to go to work.
‘Behind the eye-watering crime statistics are families living in fear and business owners are being pushed to the brink.’
‘They are ‘at breaking point because the financial, physical and emotional costs are just too much to bear.’
As of January 2023 the outback town’s only prison is stretched beyond capacity and police are forced to house convicted criminals in police stations.
The Alice Springs Correctional Centre, which has reached its capacity of 650 inmates, is being expanded to add another 80 beds by the end of 2023.
‘It is now evident that with the annual trend, more and more prisoners are being held within the watch house,’ the jail’s general manager Bill Carroll wrote in an email to staff.
Last month the ABC reported a youth crime crisis was engulfing Alice Springs.
Some of the shocking behaviour included youths driving ‘head first’ at police patrols in order to coax them into high-speed pursuits, the ABC reported.
Some of the young offenders were treating police interaction as a good social media content by livestreaming pursuits for their social media accounts.
In late 2020, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole, compared the cat-and-mouse antics of Alice Spring teens to a the classic violent game Grand Theft Auto.
‘It’s one-upmanship type behaviour, it’s very much a dangerous game,’ he said.
‘It needs to be stopped, and it needs to be stamped out.’
Mr Morelli believes it’s time for Alice Springs locals to hit the streets to make a point publicly about the safety issues they face.
‘It’s time to protest and demonstrate against this current situation!’ Mr Morelli said.
‘Lots of people are leaving for that reason, and the town is become even more unliveable.’