Crime rates were trending down across Katherine until a recent spate of business thefts.
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In his first monthly report as the region’s new police commander, Michael Hebb said when comparing the year ending July 2018 with the year ending July 2017, the Katherine division experienced a 14 per cent reduction in house break-ins.
Also, the number of motor vehicle thefts and related offences are down 20 per cent when compared to July 2017.
“Whilst the reduction with these property offences is pleasing, these types of crime are often committed by opportunistic offenders,” Commander Hebb said.
“Residents and business owners are strongly encouraged to make sure that their property is well secured, with crime prevention tips and techniques found on the Neighbourhood Watch NT web page.”
The numbers were drawn out by NT Police at the start of the police before the recent crime spree over two consecutive weekends targeted 10 or more local businesses.
The crime statistics show, year on year, commercial break-ins in Katherine have more than doubled in the past year.
More reading: Katherine crime spree.
Police received reports of 95 commercial break-ins to July last year, against a whopping 194 in the same period this year.
That’s one Katherine business broken into at least every second day.
Targeting alcohol-related harm within the Central Command has seen a number of successful interventions by police to thwart the secondary supply of alcohol, Commander Hebb said.
“Police will continue targeting the supply of alcohol into restricted areas in an effort to reduce alcohol-related harm.”
He said police within the Central Command will continue to work closely with NT Government and non-government stakeholders to forge and strengthen partnerships to reduce crime and maintain a safer Northern Territory.
“By focusing on a collaborative approach with key stakeholders, NT Police will continue to strive to build a safe community through developing resilience within our communities, identifying and implementing preventative measures as well as having a strong commitment to working as a unified team.”
Members of the public are encouraged to continue to report all crimes and suspicious behaviour via 000 if the matter is urgent or to 131 444 or via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous.
The reporting of all crime, suspicious and antisocial behaviour allows officers to address the offending promptly. It also helps NT Police make sure our intelligence teams are able to direct police patrols to identified crime and antisocial hotspots across the Central Command.