Top Price Market
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Investing
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Investing
  • World

Top Price Market

World

A town has imposed a curfew on its children as it grapples with youth crime

by March 30, 2024
March 30, 2024
A town has imposed a curfew on its children as it grapples with youth crime

Emotions were running high in the Australian town of Alice Springs this week when mourners attending the funeral of an 18-year-old man attacked its oldest pub, smashing windows and kicking doors.

For Northern Territory officials, Tuesday’s violence – and clashes later that night involving around 150 people armed with axes, machetes and knives – was the final straw.

“Enough is enough,” Chief Minister Eva Lawler said Wednesday, as she announced a two-week curfew for children between 6 p.m and 6 a.m in the central business district.

“If someone is under the age of 18 and they’re seen out in the town center, they will be taken home or taken to a safe place. Kids are not safe on the street,” she said.

Since then, relative calm has returned to Alice Springs, or Mparntwe, its traditional name. But debate has raged over the effectiveness of the emergency measures that some described as a knee-jerk response to complex social issues.

Some Indigenous groups and leaders have backed the action as a necessary circuit-breaker, but others say what local children need is support, not more policing in a country with a low age of criminal responsibility and high rates of incarceration for Indigenous youth.

Complex problems

Northern Territory officials said the trigger for Tuesday’s violence occurred three weeks ago when an 18-year-old man died in a car accident during the early hours of March 8.

At the time, local news reports said he was sitting on a door of a suspected stolen vehicle, when it turned a corner and rolled on top of him. Eight people fled the scene.

Darren Clark, founder of community group Action for Alice, said youths rampaged through the town on Tuesday smashing windows before attacking the Todd Tavern, a well-known hotel and bar.

He said the group appeared to be seeking retribution.

“They’re looking for the driver of the car … So, that’s what this is all about,” Clark told radio station 2GB Sydney.

According to police, the mourners in Alice Springs came from Utopia, a region around 230 kilometers (143 miles) to the north-east that’s home to several large Aboriginal communities.

It was named Utopia by German settlers, who were said to have been fascinated by the abundance of rabbits that were easy to catch. It’s now known as a hub for Indigenous artists whose work is sold worldwide.

Utopia suffers many of the same problems seen in Indigenous communities nationwide – overcrowded housing and high levels of domestic violence, unemployment and alcohol abuse.

The issues are widely considered to be the legacy of colonization more than two centuries ago that deprived traditional owners of their ancestral lands.

Decades of racism and neglect erupted on the streets of Alice Springs on Tuesday, though youth crime is a problem in many other Australian cities.

“This is an issue that is absolutely complex. I know people don’t always like to hear the word complex, but when you see young people who have fetal alcohol [syndrome], that have trauma, that have experienced domestic violence, that go to homes where there’s alcohol, they’re not cared for. Those are the issues that are part of the story of Alice Springs,” Lawler said.

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson told 10 program “The Project” that some children are on the streets at night because it’s safer than being at home.

“These children are out here because there’s drunk parents, or there’s family and sexual violence happening at home,” he said. “If this curfew saves kids’ lives because it takes it gives the police the power to take them to safe places, then I think that it’s absolutely worth it.”

Children behind bars

Some Indigenous leaders support the curfew and are working with the government to implement it, but other groups say there hasn’t been enough consultation.

Jared Sharp, Principal Legal officer of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), told Sky News the curfew could make matters worse.

“There is nowhere in the world that has said that a youth curfew is effective – it just criminalizes young people. It ensnares young people in the justice system, and that’s just not what we need in a place like Alice Springs, where the rates of Aboriginal people in jail and youth detention are already off the charts,” Sharp said.

Last August, the Northern Territory became the first Australian jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. According to the latest government figures, on an average night in the June quarter of 2023, more than 800 children were in detention across Australia – 60% were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The figures show Indigenous children are 29 times as likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous youth.

Writing in the Guardian, Catherine Liddle, CEO of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), said Indigenous children are being exposed to unacceptable levels of violence.

“We cannot arrest our way out of this,” she wrote. “Alcohol and substance abuse is a symptom as well as one of the drivers and it is not the only one … It is no accident that we are seeing youth crime escalating as rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removals grow.”

Sixty more police arrived in Alice Springs this week to build a more visible police presence during the curfew period, and police liquor inspectors were allocated to patrol liquor stores in the area.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said the measures weren’t about “locking up kids.”

“The objective is to keep kids out of the criminal justice system,” he said. “If they do commit violent crime, they will be arrested and taken to the court where they can answer to a judge and go through the justice system.”

In the early hours of Friday, three youths aged 12, 13 and 17 were arrested in Alice Springs after allegedly entering a home with weapons and threatening one of the residents with a firearm, according to police. They allegedly stole keys to two cars that were later found abandoned south of the town’s business district.

Children in the Northern Territory are due to go on school holiday next Friday – the curfew is expected to cover at least part of the break, but territory officials haven’t ruled out extending it, if needed.

This post appeared first on cnn.com
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Why Ireland is the most pro-Palestinian nation in Europe
next post
Why some clouds vanish during solar eclipses

You may also like

UN warns of ‘blatant disregard for basic humanity’...

Manhunt in Germany after deadly stabbing attack at...

Crowds gather for Pope Francis’ funeral Mass at...

Ukraine’s spy chief downplays risks of Trump presidency...

Ireland joins genocide case against Israel at International...

Mexico prepares to appear before US Supreme Court...

Germany’s far-right may be frozen out of power,...

Iranian activists accuse morality police of assault after...

Syria is free of its dictator. The rebels’...

Philippines bans gambling operations catered to illicit Chinese...

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Latest

    • Trump claims ‘I don’t know her’ and ‘listened to’ RFK Jr about...

    • Rubio just got an additional job in Trump’s administration — and he’s not the only one wearing multiple hats

    • Sycamore Gap: Two men convicted of felling one of UK’s most famous trees

    • Putin, Xi and friendly world leaders celebrate Russia’s Victory Day at Moscow Parade

    • Ellen Miles is planting seeds of hope through guerrilla gardening

    Categories

    • Business (1,632)
    • Investing (4,781)
    • Politics (7,548)
    • Uncategorized (2)
    • World (6,135)
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Disclaimer: toppricemarket.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 toppricemarket.com | All Rights Reserved


    Back To Top