Crime slumps as police hail move to lock up more people

Sex assault offences are down by 38 per cent, burglary of commercial properties by 31 per cent, and motor vehicle thefts by 29 per cent.

The reduced rates reflected the hard work of frontline police, community support and new bail laws that led to more people being locked up, Detective Superintendent John Ginnane said.

"While very pleasing for us, this does not mean that police can take their foot off the pedal," he told reporters in Darwin.

Since being elected in 2024, the NT's Country Liberal Party government has introduced tough anti-crime measures including new bail laws that have put more people in jail, with hundreds more prison beds provided.

The tough measures have been criticised by legal and Indigenous rights groups for targeting First Nations people.

Det Supt Ginnane said the more people that were in jail, the less offending there was in the community.

"I don't think anyone would shy away from that."

Very few in the prison system were first-time offenders and if they were behind bars they couldn't commit offences in the community, Det Supt Ginnane said.

"From a policing perspective the changes in the bail laws have been extremely helpful," he said.

"It was morale sapping for frontline police to be arresting the same people for the same things seven times in seven days. That's not happening any more."

The figures show property offences in Alice Springs were down almost 50 per cent and motor vehicle thefts had dropped 49 per cent.

In Darwin, motor vehicle thefts were down by 50 per cent, commercial break-ins by 48 per cent, and house burglaries by 33 per cent.

But in nearby Palmerston, domestic violence assaults were up 10 per cent, assaults rose three per cent, and alcohol-related assaults increased seven per cent.

Across the territory, assaults decreased by eight per cent, domestic violence assaults were down by nine per cent, and alcohol-related assaults had dropped by eight per cent.