The tourist was in his car when another man aged between 20 and 30 approached the vehicle and broke in.

Reports say the tourist was sleeping in a car park on the intersection of Railway Terrace and Victoria Highway, and that the incident happened at about 2.30am.

Police have not yet released further information about the extent of the assault, but are calling on witnesses to assist with the investigation.

A crime scene was set up at the car park earlier this morning, but has since been closed.

Police are describing the offender as an Indigenous male, aged between 20 and 30, standing at about 175 centimetres tall with mid-length curly hair.

"He was wearing a black and red striped shirt and dark shorts," a NT Police spokeswoman said.

The alleged offence comes after senior police believe they have 'turned the corner' on Katherine's alarming crime rates.

The Katherine Times sat down with Police Commander Michael Hebb, last month, to hear an explanation on the latest crime statistics, which are not as bad as they seemed.

For instance, shop break-ins are still more than 100 per cent higher than they were a year ago, but they are not the 200 per cent rise of a few months ago.

"We know we have a lot of work to do, we are still determined to keep after this, but we do believe we are turning the corner.

"We are pleased to see crime here is finally coming down.

"We are going in the right direction, we are making impacts."

Commander Hebb said police had their attention focused on many priority areas, pointing out the arrival of the liquor inspectors had also helped lower assault rates and gave police a new, more visible presence in town.

"To us things like road safety, domestic violence, assaults, car theft, they are all priorities."

Anyone with information in relation to this incident is urged to notify police on 131444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Please quote reference number 9022608.

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