Safer Communities

With the increase of total police officers on the ground in Northern Territory Indigenous communities rising from 38 to 62 between November 2007 and June 2010, there is now a police presence in 18 communities which did not have one before the NTER. These police are working hard to build relationships with local people, and greater numbers of police in communities means that crimes are more likely to be reported, prosecuted and prevented.

Investment in safer communities from 2010

• Support for the Australian Federal Police to continue their work as part of closing the gap in the Territory at a cost of $9.2 million over two years, while the new NT Police complete their training and become fully operational.
• Funding of $6.6 million over two years for the National Indigenous Child Abuse and Violence Intelligence Task Force to continue to investigate patterns of violence, serious crime and abuse of power and trust in Lingiari communities.
• Expanding the rollout of Opal Fuel to reduce petrol sniffing in Indigenous communities at a cost of $38.5 million over four years. This will increase the number of participating sites to 145, benefiting a further 11 communities.
• The Government is also investing an additional $34.9 million over four years for the Indigenous Legal Aid Services Program to help Indigenous legal aid services across Australia, including in Lingiari.