Alice Springs residents are "holding their breath" to see whether a plan to take at-risk young people off the streets and to safe accommodation will help break cycles of youth crime in the town.
Minister for Territory Families Kate Worden today announced details of the "circuit breaker" plan, which has been in the works since mid-October.
The program, launched last week, will provide support and temporary accommodation for young people found roaming the streets unsupervised at night who have nowhere safe to go.
The 24-hour service is being delivered in partnership with Saltbush Social Enterprises, which will provide accommodation at their Gap Road facility.
"We have other accommodation spaces, but we won't be talking about those obviously, for some confidentiality and some security reasons for young people," Ms Worden said.
Children free to leave accommodation
As part of the plan, any child who is returned home or stays the night in the accommodation will receive an immediate assessment the next day to determine what is making the child or home unsafe.
The young people or families assessed will also be re-engaged with diversion or support.
A child protection practitioner, Aboriginal community worker and male and female Saltbush staff member will be onsite at the accommodation to triage the young people.
Ms Worden said children would be free to leave the accommodation at any time.
"You cannot force a young person to stay somewhere against their will if they haven't broken the law," she said.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said there had not been any changes to legislation or regulations since launching the program.
"It's being utilised under the current acts and regulations we have, and … it's around making sure these young people are safe and the community is safe," she said.
"Their behaviour is risky — it is not unlawful, and we need to be very careful around that.
"We must not demonise or criminalise these young people when that is not the case."
She said no children had been taken into care since the plan was launched last week.
Ms Fyles said she was committed to implementing a suite of measures to address crime and antisocial behaviour in the region.
"Central Australia is important to me as chief minister," she said.
"Since I have been the chief minister, we have been looking at different ways to keep young people and the community safe.
"This is just one idea, one solution for a certain element, and there is a range of measures we're putting in place to keep the broader community safe."
The launch comes days after Northern Territory Police deployed more than 40 additional frontline officers to Alice Springs to combat escalating crime.
Saltbush facility too close to town
But Shadow Minister for Territory Families Joshua Burgoyne said legislation should change so children could be compelled to stay.
"At the end of the day, we need to have a serious look at what is restricting our ability to deal with these young people in a positive way," he said.
"We hear the chief minister say, 'We're willing to do whatever it takes', but then they don't change the legislation."
He said the community was 'holding its breath' to see whether the plan would work.
Mr Burgoyne said the Saltbush accommodation in Alice Springs was located too close to the centre of town to serve as a disincentive to leave.
"Up in Darwin, the facility that Saltbush runs is quite a way out of town. It's located in a … geographically isolated area," he said.
"When that young person walks out that front door — which they're entitled to do under the current laws and legislation — they basically walk outside and go, 'What's the point? I'm going to have to walk 10–20 kilometres to get anywhere'.
"The issue with our current facility that we have [in Alice Springs] is that it's centrally located. We need to find a location that's out of town."
Alice Springs town councillor and senior Alyawerre man Michael Liddle agreed young people being taken off the streets should be taken to a location further away from town.
"These children need to be removed so that they can taste and see visually and physically the presence of safety," he said.
"By removing them from the streets and placing them in an environment in an urban setting is still a risk because there's no rules that make the kid sit down there.
"There has to be places where young people can sit down without noise, without people saying 'come.'"
Mr Liddle said it was necessary to look beyond the negative connotations associated with removing children.
"I know the phrase 'remove' is sort of like a dirty word," he said.
"We need some intervention if we're going to have a chance of changing.
"Young people who haven't got the stability of a home, or haven't got structures in place — they need to be removed so that structures and their safety can be instilled in the understanding about life."
