Children as young as 11 compete to 'outdo each other' in NT crime wave
Northern Territory police say a contest for social media notoriety is fuelling the latest string of car thefts in Katherine.
An NT Police spokesperson confirmed six cars were reported stolen in the town of around 10,000 people last week, along with a buggy, an electric scooter and a firearm taken from the back of a ute.
The spokesperson also said a woman was allegedly dragged out of her Jeep by a group of children as she was preparing to leave for work about 5:30am on Sunday, causing bruising to her arm.
The Jeep was then allegedly stolen but later recovered.
The town of about 10,000 people has been hit with six car thefts within a week during the latest crime wave. (ABC News: James Elton)
As of Monday morning, police said they had identified two "persons of interest" in relation to the crime wave, and investigations were ongoing, with the whereabouts of the firearm still unknown.
"There are two groups of youths running around down there that are egging each other on," Acting Commander Mark Grieve told reporters in Darwin yesterday.
"It's a situation where it's an 'I can outdo you' kind of thing," he said.
"They're quite young; we're talking between 11 and 14, I'd suggest.
"It's all driven through social media."
Acting Commander Grieve was asked to respond to talk on community Facebook pages in Katherine of a car-theft "competition" between rival groups.
Residents took to the streets of Katherine in August after a stolen car was driven eratically through the streets for eight hours. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
"I don't know whether it's a competition per se, but they're certainly interacting with each other to see if they can outdo each other," he said.
He said the young people involved were primarily Katherine locals, not people visiting town from remote communities, and several arrests had been made in relation to the earlier thefts.
Katherine's struggle with stolen cars
NT government crime data for Katherine shows there were 36 motor vehicle thefts "and related offences" in the 12 months to July this year, up from 29 in the previous 12 months.
In May, a series of thefts prompted Mayor Joanna Holden to call for Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro to hold an "urgent" roundtable on crime in the town, warning "something very catastrophic" was going to happen.
Ms Finocchiaro responded by encouraging Ms Holden to use existing channels to communicate concerns to the NT government.
Joanna Holden has urged Lia Finocchiaro to hold an "urgent" crime roundtable in Katherine. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
Then in June, a 16-year-old boy was killed when an allegedly stolen car rolled on the Stuart Highway, and in August, another stolen car was driven erratically through the town for eight hours before eventually crashing.
Concerned locals took to the streets in an impromptu gathering to discuss the ongoing issue, with one young mother, Ashleigh Pugh, saying she and her daughter were lucky to be alive after having a near-miss with the vehicle.
Cabinet minister Joshua Burgoyne said his government was investing in tackling crime across the Territory and pointed to reductions in his home town of Alice Springs.
Joshua Burgoyne says it is "every Territorian's right" to feel safe.
"We will continue to work extraordinarily hard to ensure the people of Katherine feel safe," Mr Burgoyne said.
"Because at the end of the day that is every Territorian's right."
The Labor opposition leader, Selena Uibo, said the latest thefts should prompt Ms Finocchiaro to "drive down to Katherine".
"Meet with community, meet with businesses, meet with individuals and families and understand the real impact," she said.
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