Acting Commander Craig Laidler has responsibility for providing leadership to Darwin Command, which includes the Darwin, Casuarina, Palmerston (including Adelaide River and Batchelor Police Station) and Alcohol Policing Divisions. The Darwin statistics encompass Darwin and Casuarina. The Palmerston statistics include Palmerston and the surrounds.Overall for the 12 month period ending August 2019 compared with the same period ending August 2018, the total reported offences in Darwin were down by 4.0% compared to the same period last year. This includes a reduction in the total property offences of 1.9% being driven by a 19.3% reduction in commercial unlawful entries however, motor vehicle stealing and related offences was up by 9.7% and residential unlawful entries also rose by 9.5%. There was a 10.4% decrease in the total number of offences against a person, with alcohol related assaults down 13.5%.In Palmerston for the corresponding 12 month period ending August 2019, total offences against a person in Palmerston were down by 3.4% with assault offences down by 9.8% and alcohol related assaults down by 17.8% in comparison to the previous 12 months. The total number of property offences were down in Palmerston by 23.7% with motor vehicle related theft and related offences down by 26.8% and commercial unlawful entries down 48%. For the same period in Palmerston, residential unlawful entries decreased by 16.9%. It is concerning to see robbery offences rise by 13 over the same period.Alcohol related assaults have continued trending downward across the Command for the 12 month period ending August 2019 compared with the 12 month period ending August 2018 as police continue to work hard to reduce harm in this area. The misuse of alcohol however continues to be a driver of antisocial behaviour. The Alcohol Policing Division is continuing to undertake successful targeted operations in this area.The partnership between police and the community is a very important one and together we need to remove opportunities for criminals to commit offences. Police ask the community to take measures to make it difficult for criminals who wish to violate our homes and businesses. Don’t leave items of value visible within your vehicles, lock your businesses and homes (even when you are at home), secure your vehicle keys and seek support from Victims of Crime NT around home safety or access grant programs such as Biz Secure to increase the security of commercial businesses. Find out more about and become involved with Neighbourhood Watch by visiting their web page. It contains some excellent tips on crime prevention and enhancing your home security profile. Basic security enhancements are known effective crime prevention strategies.Members of the public are encouraged to continue to report all crimes and suspicious or antisocial behaviour via 000 if the matter is urgent or to 131 444 or via Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000. The reporting of these crimes and this type of behaviour allows police to address the offending promptly. It also ensures our intelligence teams are able to direct patrols to identified crime and antisocial hotspots within the Command. The assistance provided by the public and the tireless efforts of our police members enable police to make a number of arrests and to charge a number of people with property related offences and other associated crimes.Police will also be conducting a number of traffic enforcement campaigns throughout the coming months. It is disappointing to see that police continue arresting people for drink and drug driving. We want to make sure that everyone on our roads reaches their destination safely. Drivers should keep in mind the fatal five:speeding;drink and drug driving;failure to wear a seatbelt;driving while fatigued; anddistraction and inattention.
