The never-ending cycle of violence that’s plagued Alice Springs reached breaking point this week with an act of cruelty so evil it beggars belief – now fed-up residents are all asking the same thing

The troubled Outback town of Alice Springs has been thrust back into the national spotlight after a horrific attack on a newborn baby girl during a home invasion.

Police allege that two boys, 16 and 17, broke into a house on Bokhara Street in Larapinta at 2.30pm on Wednesday and demanded cash.

The pair allegedly stole a mother-of-four’s wallet and keys before securing it over the head with a metal freezer handle.

The impact fractured the child’s skull and caused a brain hemorrhage. She was airlifted to hospital in Adelaide and is now in a stable condition with her mother.

Now it can be revealed that the two teenagers arrested just 90 minutes after the sickening alleged attack have been granted bail despite a total of 300 criminal charges being laid against them and NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy admitting the pair were ‘at is well known to us’.

The Australian reported that the 16-year-old had previously been charged with 274 offenses and released on bail 25 times, while the 17-year-old had committed 19 offenses and was released on bail 10 times.

Additional Darwin police officers arrived in the crime-ridden city on Thursday to step up 24/7 patrols following the latest shocking incident.

But locals have had enough and have flooded social media with demands for more to be done to lock up repeat offenders and stop the revolving door of violence in Alice Springs.

‘Why are extreme incidents always necessary for a greater response? They know the issues and play again and again,” community organization Action for Alice 2020 wrote on Facebook.

“Why haven’t the suburbs been more present for this?” It’s been happening for weeks.’

The post was flooded with comments from angry locals who fear the cycle of violence is doomed to continue without harsher punishment.

“Absolutely useless without meaningful harsh penalties… and we all know that won’t happen,” one person wrote.

Another wrote: ‘Without more serious consequences, nothing will change. Children under 14 are still being released and if you punch a police officer to the ground you get a one month suspended sentence… As long as that doesn’t change, good luck.

A third wrote: ‘Time to call in the military/AFP as a ‘peacekeeping force’. The NT Police clearly do not have sufficient resources to provide a deterrent effect!’

The baby’s father is a government official who was working at the time of the alleged assault.

While he praised police for their quick response to the alleged incident, he is not confident Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will solve Alice Springs’ violent crime crisis.

“It wouldn’t be the same if this happened to him,” he told The Australian.

“What are you saying that falls on deaf ears?”

“It’s disturbing, it’s angry, it’s scary, it really is.”

The father also provided an update on his daughter, whose stable condition is “fluctuating” due to a “significant skull fracture and minor brain hemorrhage.”

Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and Police Commissioner Murphy also faced criticism from the community after traveling to Alice Springs on Thursday and announcing there would be an increased police presence following the incident.

Ms Finocchiaro was met with hostility by anti-crime lawyer Darren Clark, who ambushed the Prime Minister at the airport

“Where have you been?” Mr. Clark joked repeatedly.

“You told us you were going to protect this city!

“You told us you were going to protect this city. Our women are scared, the place is terrified, you do nothing.

‘Why did it take so long Lia? Why?

“Absolute shame, you promised us, you promised this community.

“It’s time to act or leave.”

He also called on Ms Finocchiaro in a follow-up video to ‘resign now’.

Mr Clark spoke about NT Police Commissioner Murphy.

“Don’t say you have more police because you don’t, Murphy!” he shouted.

“You have no police and you know it!”

Commissioner Murphy later said there had been an “escalation” of crime in Alice Springs since December 3.

“There have been a number of serious crimes in Alice Springs, ranging from kidnappings, sexual assaults and home burglaries to home burglaries involving theft of motor vehicles,” he said.

But he was confident NT Police could provide protection in Alice Springs without calling for help from South Australia Police, ADF or AFP.

Chief Minister Finocchiaro said: “We have to make sure that when we have a demand from the federal government, it delivers something to the people on the ground.”

“People have the right to be safe in their homes, the community deserves to be safe.”

Prime Minister Albanese has called on the perpetrators of the alleged attack on the mother and baby to face the ‘full force of the law’.

“This is a horrific, unspeakable act and my thoughts are with the child and his family at this time,” Albanese said.

“This is unacceptable and the full force of the law must be brought to bear on these perpetrators.”

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price described reports of violence in the Alice Springs community as “absolutely sickening”.

“As a resident of Alice Springs, I know the fear people have just being in their own home,” Ms Price said.

“If people have reason to fear violent attacks in their homes, things are terribly wrong.

“The federal government cannot escape responsibility for the disastrous situation we are seeing now.”

The two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, accused of the alleged assault appeared in court on Thursday.

Both teens were out on bail for violent crimes.

Both teens will remain in custody until their next court hearing on February 13.