Central Arrernte traditional owners are launching new community patrols in Alice Springs aimed at reducing youth crime in town and minimising First Nations people's contact with police.
The patrols, spearheaded by Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation, will work alongside existing programs to better monitor the outback town's streets.
Chief executive Graeme Smith said that as respected role models and influential leaders in the community, traditional owners could speak with cultural authority.
"As the landowners and native title holders of Alice Springs, we believe we should be on the streets managing antisocial behaviour when it comes to our land and people," he said.
"This is Arrernte Country, and a patrol program would be more effective if Arrernte people are actually on the street managing their own country."
App to be rolled out
Lhere Artepe's patrols will be similar to those run by the Larrakia Nation in the Top End, and will include a call centre to ensure crews respond where they are most needed.
Mr Smith said the corporation would also be launching an app, which would allow residents to alert patrollers to antisocial behaviour or public disturbances.
"They can just press the button on the app, that will go back to our call centre, who will dispatch the nearest vehicles and act on matters that the patrollers cannot see," he said.
The call centre will operate out of Lhere Artepe's office, and will be equipped with a dashboard monitoring all patrol vehicles via live GPS tracking.
The corporation has purchased two Hiluxes and a Kubota RTV for the program, which will allow patrollers to access "off-road" sections of town, including the Todd Mall and the Todd River.
It is hoped buses will eventually be added to the fleet, once more funding is secured.
Mr Smith said the corporation would be partnering with existing patrols, including Tangentyere Council's night and youth patrols, to ensure they had the greatest impact.
"There's no point everyone doing the same hours and the same circuit," he said.
"[Crime] started creeping into the suburbs quite a while ago. We don't want to be just putting all the effort into the CBD."
Calls for more funding
Lhere Artepe has received $900,000 from the National Indigenous Australians Agency over two years to run the patrols, which have been trialled previously and were "well received".
An agency spokesperson said no decision had been made for funding beyond this period.
Mr Smith said while the money would help cover some staff wages and uniforms, it fell short of what was needed to purchase software for the call centre dashboard and app.
"We're also still short of buses, a couple more positions and a bit of office fit-out," he said.
"But this shortfall won't stop us from putting boots on the ground. The rest can all be developed in time."
Mr Smith said he would be in discussions with the NT government this week to secure additional grant funding for the project.
The NT government was contacted for comment.
Calls to abide by cultural protocol
The new patrols come as Alice Springs's latest crime statistics, which run through to the end of January, reveal a surge of almost 50 per cent in assaults over the past 12 months.
Domestic violence-related assaults surged more than 60 per cent, alcohol-related assaults were up 68 per cent, while commercial break-ins and property damage also rose more than 50 per cent.
Mr Smith claimed many offenders were from communities outside Alice Springs and were not abiding by Arrernte cultural protocol.
Lhere Artepe is working to spread awareness of cultural protocol via posters and television advertisements, as well as sitting down with other Aboriginal communities.
"We didn't reach out to them, they reached out to us, hearing our concern about cultural protocol," Mr Smith said.
"You can come to Alice Springs, but there's absolutely no excuse for antisocial behaviour."
