The Northern Territory's leading Aboriginal justice agency have argued record investment in police and prisons by the NT government will do little to alleviate crime but will continue to cause undue pressure on the Territory's already strained criminal justice system.
The NT budget on Tuesday saw Chief Minister Eva Lawler commit to a "common-sense" plan to reduce crime by allocating a record breaking $561 million to the police budget for 2024-25.
The budget also includes $1.2 billion in funding for "public order and safety", and $723 million in "social protection to build safer and more resilient communities."
"I'm working every day to deliver my common sense and comprehensive plans to lower crime and get the Territory working – and that's why we are delivering record amounts to support police and fully fund our schools," Ms Lawler said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) said no additional funding had been allocated to the courts or legal services, despite the issues facing them across the Territory.
NAAJA's Principal Legal Officer, Jared Sharp, argued more police was not the answer to alleviate crime in the NT, observing it would "likely exacerbate the problem".
"We already have a situation whereby Central Australian courts have cut back sitting hours due to the sheer volume of cases and shortage of staff," he said, arguing that without commensurate investment in legal services and the court system, people would continue to be kept in watchhouses and on remand whilst waiting for their legal matters to be heard.
"History and common sense tell us that if we put more police on the streets and increase prison capacity, more people are going to come into contact with the criminal justice system," he said.
"More police and prisons are a band-aid solution that won't improve outcomes for the individual or the broader community."
Mr Sharp observed that as spending on prisons had increased, so too had the number of people incarcerated.
"Of particular concern is the high proportion of offenders released from prison who return within two years, which has continued to rise," Mr Sharp said.
"That tells us that prisons simply aren't working as a corrective service; they don't rehabilitate or support people to change their offending behaviours and they don't enhance community safety."
The NT currently locks up people at a substantially higher rate than any other state or territory in the country; 1,106.9 prisoners per 100,000 are incarcerated in the NT compared to the national average of 202.3 prisoners per 100,000.
NAAJA, along with a host of other legal and human rights groups, have long argued for restorative means to alleviate crime, rather than punitive measures.
Evidence shows the rate of recidivism is increased when children are exposed early in their life to the criminal justice system.
The NT has recently raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and Mr Sharp praised the $44 million in funding for therapeutic residential youth justice facilities in Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs, and Tennant Creek, as well as $4 million to support the establishment of an alternative to custody faculty for men in Central Australia.
"Smarter solutions like these that support people to address the underlying drivers of the behaviour and break free from the cycle of reoffending," Mr Sharp said, saying the NT needed intensive support programs, along with diversion, education, and related services – "not knee-jerk reactions and Band-Aid policies".
