But after a "horror week of crime" in Darwin, Deputy Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro has said Chief Minister Michael Gunner is hiding behind "rhetoric" and "spin".

The Community Youth Diversion Program for people aged 10-17 is part of a $15.8 million commitment from Territory Families rolled out over five years.

"[It is] to develop programs that make sure young people who do the wrong thing face the consequences of their behaviour and complete their police or court ordered youth diversion programs," a government spokeswoman said.

For Katherine, it is Kalano Community Association which will be working with young people to address behaviour.

Territory Families chief executive Ken Davies said youth diversion was an important tool to ensure young people face the impact of their offending, while changing their behaviour.

"The young people involved in these programs will be held accountable and made to right their wrongs and face the consequences of their actions.

"At the same time youth diversion programs aim to divert children and young people away from the youth justice system by intervening early and providing opportunities for these young people to repair the harm their offending may have caused."

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NT Labor defends crime rate despite spree

Deputy Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said crime is the single biggest issue for Territorians, and questioned the government's transparency and leadership.

"What we've instead seen is a Chief Minister hiding behind rhetoric and spin who can't answer simple questions or have the facts and figures ready for Territorians," she said.

"We know from the Estimates process that the number of youth who completed Operation Flinders and victim offender conferencing were really low.

"Until March this year, there were only 58 victim offender conferences and 62 youths who completed Operation Flinders."

Mrs Finocchiaro said crime had increased to record levels on the Chief Minister's watch.

The opposition is making crime a central issue in the lead up to elections, and is taking 'get tough' approach.

"Youth justice must go back to corrections to ensure the framework is there to deal with youth offenders, and that escalating penalties must be in place for repeat offenders," Mrs Finocchiaro said.

"There must be a consequence for every crime, and last week's crime spree shows an escalation in the type of offending.

"For the Chief Minister to say his government is delivering consequences for youth offenders is contradictory to his actions - last month the Gunner Labor Government stood in the Parliament and passed laws which watered down youth justice laws and removed breach of bail conditions as an offence."

In a joint effort between the Labor Government and Police, a strike force was announced on October 3 following a series of youth crimes.

Dubbed Strike Force Orion, it was a bid to crack down on youth offending and an opportunity for Northern Territory Government agencies to work together to prevent harm to the community and support victims.

"Recent events involving youth crime are unacceptable," Mr Gunner said.

"The NT Police are doing a good job and are catching offenders."

He said the strike force was an opportunity for police to focus on lessening the impacts of the crime spike.

"Make no mistake, people who do the wrong thing will face consequences, which also ensure they do not do it again.

"This includes detention, bootcamps, and bringing offenders face-to-face with their victims to acknowledge the harm they have caused.

"The face-to-face process of allowing to victims to confront their offenders is the most effective way of stopping reoffending - and it's already working here in the Territory."

Mr Gunner said the CLP's plan to tackle crime was watered down by failures to resource police and provide funding to diversion programs.

"We need to prevent crime before it happens," he said.

"That's why we have invested in 120 more police with better resources to target crime hotspots, installed 400 additional CCTV cameras, and implemented alcohol policies which are cutting alcohol related crime and violence.

"Our Back on Track programs ensure youth face the consequences of their actions in a way that puts them on a pathway to be better citizens, not better criminals - breaking the cycle of crime."

Further information on youth diversion and other youth justice programs can be found at youthjustice.nt.gov.au.

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