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Retailers in Darwin have warned that increased violent behavior by locals has caused businesses to lose money and is driving customers away en masse, with one shop owner being forced to build a ‘panic room’ in his shop.
Shop owners at the Smith Street shopping center in central Darwin have been appealing to the government and authorities for help amid a dramatic increase in crime, alleging that locals are fighting and threatening customers inside their stores.
Darwin city councilor and photographer Paul Arnold said rising crime had forced him to set up a lockable panic room for himself and his staff at his CBD gallery, Paul Arnold Gallery.
Darwin CBD Gallery owner Paul Arnold (pictured) was forced to set up a locked panic room for himself and his staff due to the rise in anti-social and violent behavior in the community.
“If the store is vandalized, the store is vandalized, and they can watch on CCTV and call the police,” he told the agency. A.B.C.
Arnold said it had been the “worst Christmas” he had experienced in his 15 years in the city.
“People vote with their feet and don’t come to the city,” he said.
‘The cost to small businesses is getting out of control.’
Arnold said there have been many meetings between retailers, government personnel and the police, but they have not been effective in addressing the growing concerns of store owners.
“The police need to keep our retailers and business owners in the CBD, and the customers, they need to keep them safe, and I’m sorry they don’t,” he said.
Shop owners in central Darwin’s Smith Street shopping center have been crying out for help from the government and authorities amid a dramatic rise in crime (archive image of Smith Street shopping center pictured)
Ashvin Gill, who also owns a business in the mall, said she had to lock the front door of her shop because drunk and violent locals try to break in.
“As the front face of this business, in addition to doing my job, I also have to be aware and alert at all times of my own safety and that of my clients, so it can be quite overwhelming and exhausting,” he said.
police crime statistics Darwin show a dramatic increase in commercial theft, up 52 percent, and property damage, up 24.5 percent between 2020 and 2022.
Smith Street Mall store owner Ashvin Gill said she had to lock the front door of her store because drunk and violent locals try to force their way in (Smith Street Mall file image pictured)
Acting NT Police Deputy Commissioner Janelle Tonkin told Daily Mail Australia that officers were working alongside NT Police alcohol policing operations to “identify anti-social behavior trends and hot spots” in Darwin regions. and Palmerston.
“NT Police…are within the mall precincts nearly every day supporting the city’s secure operations staff,” he said.
“NT Police continue to actively investigate reported matters and where evidence exists and bring offenders to court.”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Tonkin urged NT business owners to report crimes to police with “adequate detail” so that sufficient follow-up inquiries are made.
It also said police were working with agencies “to identify high-risk areas and cohorts of people likely to contribute to crime and antisocial behavior in the CBD” and “address the causes and effect of antisocial behavior and connect outreach services.” those in need or who live on the street”.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Janelle Tonkin (pictured) said police were working alongside NT Police Alcohol Enforcement Operations to “identify anti-social behavior trends and hot spots” in Darwin.
In August of last year, a survey run by the NT police union found low morale and high attrition rates within the force and led union president Paul McCue to declare that the police force was “in complete crisis” (NT Police file image)
The Territory’s ongoing uphill battle against crime comes amid a crisis within the state’s police force.
In August 2022, an NT police officer union led survey found low morale and high attrition rates within the force, after various police regions petitioned the NT Police Commissioner, Mr Jamie Chalker APM for a vote of no confidence.
More than 1,000 members of the NT Police Association participated in the survey (about 65 percent of union members), which found that 79.7 percent of members surveyed said they did not trust the Commissioner.
A staggering 92.6 percent of respondents said they did not believe there were enough police officers in NT to do what they were asked to do, while 79.4 percent rated current morale in the NT Police Force as low or low. very low.
The survey results led union president Paul McCue to declare that the police force was “in complete crisis”.
In June, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles announced a trial of private security guards, known as the Public Order Response Unit, on the streets of Darwin and Palmerston to help with “anti-social behaviour”, after a group of residents lobbied the government to tackle disorderly behaviour.
Ms Fyles also announced money for companies to increase their security and that the government would take a higher share of the cost.
The cost of the private security patrols, which the government said were a short-term fix while it dealt with the drivers of crime, was estimated at hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.