Katherine Town Council has asked for more police help to combat worrying law and order issues.
Mayor Fay Miller and chief executive officer Rob Jennings have met with NT Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw in the past few weeks.
“In particular we have asked for more police attention on the bottle shops,” Mr Jennings said this week.
Mayor Miller has long been a critic of government policies which saw a decreased presence on police and more emphasis on a Banne Drinkers Register.
Mr Jennings said local residents should be able to see the results of that direct approach to the police chiefs.
He said they had also met with the new Katherine police commander Michael Hebb.
He said they were encouraged by Commander Hebb’s more hardline approach to policing of alcohol outlets.
Mayor Miller spoke out back in May about an increasing number of drunks she said were “ruining the streets of Katherine” again.
“I am concerned about the level of anti-social behaviour in our town.”
The NT Government has moved to replace police at Katherine bottle shops with liquor inspectors.
An extra 75 police auxiliaries will be trained as Liquor Inspectors and stationed in front of bottle shops as part of a Government plan to stop alcohol-fueled violence in the NT.
Those first inspectors are not expected to arrive in Katherine until early February next year.
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