Where would you go on a shopping spree?

As recently as yesterday (7/3/24), I had the following published in the Northern Territory News, our daily paper.

It was a comment on the dangers citizens of our Territory cities face.

“I am bemused by charities and groups that provide food, clothing, free accommodation, transport and other amenities for people who come into Darwin from communities with nowhere to go and stay.

While they are here, there are spikes in crime against people and property, along with terrible behavioural manifestations on our streets, in our shopping centres, at the hospital emergency department and around Darwin and Palmerston.

The need for incessant patrolling by the Larrakeyah Nation is never-ending, and ambulance services are on the go 24 hours daily, often having to ramp at the RDH ED. Children are left as free agents to roam, with school and education being the last priority.

All the while, with the support of charity, more and more money is left available for the purchase of alcohol and drugs.

Make no mistake. Our twin cities of Darwin and Palmerston are in a terrible position because of what is happening. Permanent residents, businesses and homeowners are too often victims of nefarious behaviour and alarming crime levels.”

I offer this as a prelude to the question of today.

I would not go on a shopping spree in the Northern Territory for love or money. We have several extensive shopping services in our cities, and I do not consider any of them to be safe. People are constantly on guard, feeling threatened by the fact that they may be robbed or hurt.

I have had recent experience in this regard. A couple of months ago I went into the Casuarina Shopping Centre. While in there, somebody surreptitiously lifted my wallet from my shoulder bag, which was tucked under my arm, and I did not even know that the wallet was gone.

I was back at home, busy cancelling cards and thinking about what I needed to replace, when a car pulled up at our gate, and a lady who worked in the centre told me that she had retrieved my wallet, which had been dumped. I don’t know why it had been tossed to one side, but it could’ve been that I was known to whoever had stolen the thing.

Anyway, I got my wallet back and it was intact. I was desperately appreciating of the lady who retrieved it. I gave her a reward for what she had done.

In this case, I wasn’t actually assaulted physically in order for my wallet to be taken. And so many people visiting our shopping centres are physically or sailed and dealt with. Hurting of people in these attacks is not uncommon.

There would be no way no one that I would go any of our shopping centres after dark. The way in which behaviours are being manifest in our shopping centres by particular subgroups of society is both alarming and distressing. The sad thing is they know that if caught, they will appear in juvenile court or a higher level court and get nothing at all by way of sentence.

It is not uncommon for people to be robbed and physically assaulted in our shopping centres in streets by people who are wearing ankle bracelets as a part of their bail conditions.

There is no time for a shopping spree for myself and many other Northern Territory citizens, particularly those who are older. With each passing day I feel more and more threatened by the likelihood of being assailed By those with nefarious intentions.

NB Another ambulance has just gone past while I was writing this.