As of Monday 5 July, NT Police will begin issuing 'Notices to Appear' - an instant summons - for a range of lower level offences. Notices will be handed to people at the scene of the incident. They will state the date and time that the person must appear at the named court for the first mention of the offence.

The head of Strategic Planning Command, Commander Michael Murphy, said that if a person is served with a notice, they must appear at the named court at the date and time specified in the notice. If the person fails to do so, the court may issue a warrant for them to be arrested. Pleading guilty by mail will not be an option for the type of offences for which these notices will be used.

"The new process cuts out the time delay between the incident and the person being served with a summons," Commander Murphy said.

"By streamlining these earlier stages of the prosecution process, the defendant's case may be dealt with by the court sooner. It is anticipated this will be of particular value to people in remote areas and visitors - giving them certainty about when they must go to court.

"Additionally, the notice is a document upon which the defendant can seek legal advice immediately after the offence, instead of having to wait to receive a summons."

Commander Murphy said that from the first appearance in court onwards, prosecutions commenced by Notice to Appear will follow the same process as for a summons.

"There will remain circumstances when a notice to appear will not be appropriate, for instance, if a person is intoxicated or likely to continue offending or there is doubt about their identity or whether they will appear in Court and they cannot be used on people under the age of 18, he said."

A similar process has been used successfully by Queensland Police for some years.

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