The Northern Territory police say the average daily number of people being refused service at Alice Springs bottle shops, largely due to drunkenness, has quadrupled since alcohol bans were lifted.
The remarks come two months after the Stronger Futures legislation was repealed on July 17, allowing dozens of previously dry communities, homelands and town camps access to alcohol.
But NT Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole said while this was a concerning trend, he believed it was starting to turn around.
"My information is it's trending down, but it's still extremely high," he said.
The latest crime statistics for Alice Springs show increases in nearly every class of crime in the 12 months to the end of July.
Alcohol-related assaults are up nearly 20 per cent compared to the previous year.
Home and commercial break-ins and vehicle thefts have also increased significantly.
The situation has prompted a desperate plea from Central Australia's tourism peak body for the government to do more to address crime in Alice Springs.
There have also been calls for increased patrols and a dog squad to increase community safety.
Calls for more support
The Northern Territory Police Association said increasing crime rates were putting immense strain on local police.
The union's president Paul McCue said this was not helped by a dwindling number of police auxiliary liquor inspectors (PALIs) monitoring liquor shops in Alice Springs, with constables and even sergeants being pulled off general duty to plug the gaps.
"That really creates a flow-on effect," he said.
Assistant Commissioner Dole confirmed PALI numbers were down, with just 27 of the 41 established positions filled, and five of those currently on leave.
"But what the public has to realise is we are carrying excess numbers of police in Alice Springs," he said.
"So we fill those vacancies with constables who are able to perform those duties on a variety of overtime shifts or are allocated to fill those gaps."
While he recognised it was not an easy job, Mr McCue said more effort needed to be invested into recruiting and retaining PALIs.
"It's getting enough to replace those that continually leave, that has always been a concern from our perspective," he said.
Mr McCue was concerned the Territory government's public sector pay freeze, aimed at repairing its budget, would see more police flee for states and territories offering higher wages.
But the NT government today backflipped on the policy, instead offering all public servants a 2 per cent annual pay rise.
Push for data to be released
When the alcohol laws were repealed, the NT government pledged to introduce real-time monitoring of the impacts of the change.
But this is yet to materialise, and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said today that she could not confirm a timeline for when the data would be available to the public.
"We have got information, but it's around how we can collate that alcohol data in a dashboard that will be very up to date and timely," she said.
The police association is joining sustained calls for the data to be released.
"It doesn't just equate to police statistics, it relates to alcohol-related harm presentations to hospitals for treatment, and domestic and family violence," Mr McCue said.
"All of those things will play a part in determining whether this was a positive move or a negative move."
