Published on Tuesday, 7 February 2023 at 10:42:33 AM
"Anti-social behaviour in Katherine increased with a record two hundred and nine arrests in one week."
That was a 1996 newspaper headline recorded in the book The Katherine Chronicle, A history of Katherine. Katherine is no stranger to anti-social behaviour and for many long-term residents this isn’t their first rodeo.
They have seen the difficult, costly, and exhausting spat of senseless violence and meaningless mutilation of public and private property. While some have had enough and are moving on, many are tightening their buckles and getting set to beat this, as our town deserves better.
Whilst governments are busy focusing on Alice Springs, whom we are in no doubt, needs their focus, we, along with local not-for-profits and businesses, are focusing on Katherine’s needs. And at Katherine Town Council we are advocating strongly to say don’t forget us.
We have raised our concern about crime displacement, which is the relocation of crime from one place to another. This is usually a result of some crime prevention initiative, such as the recent sale of alcohol ban in Alice. We support a blanket approach to all initiatives offered to Alice to ensure that problems are addressed with equity.
We are aware of this ourselves as we currently prepare to close laneways in East Katherine, in an area that has become a hotspot for property break-ins. We are working closely with police and government agencies in this trial to monitor any behavioural shifts.
While we spend resources and time in this reactive space and looking at crime preventative initiatives, we also must stay compliant with our responsibilities as a local government.
Over the past month we have been developing our strategic direction for this year, making sure our projects are aligned with our strategic plan and that our service delivery to you, is also aligned and meeting their goals.
Watch this space as we will be calling on you soon to tell us know what is important for you in our town.
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