The Australian outback town of Alice Springs has issued a three-night stay-at-home order after a weekend of violent incidents.
These include a brawl involving 80 people and a knife attack on a 42-year-old woman.
Both residents and visitors are subject to the 10 p.m.–6 a.m. restrictions, with people only able to enter the curfew zone for purposes such as work, attending an event, or seeking safety or medical treatment.
Police on Tuesday said they were pleased with the first night of the policy, except for the theft of three vehicles from a business on Ghan Road.
Police commissioner Michael Murphy said the curfew was not the only solution and suggested limits on liquor supply and learning from the March curfew could help.
But Catherine Liddle, the CEO of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (Snaicc), said there was “no evidence that snap curfews like this work.”.
Liddle said Monday’s announcement of a three-day lockdown was different from the “genuine circuit breaker” that occurred in March when the NT government imposed a three-week curfew for anyone under 18 after a series of brawls.
The emergency declaration was made using new laws passed by the Territory Parliament in May that let the police commissioner impose a three-day curfew that can be extended to seven days if the police minister approves.
The three-day curfew was imposed under new laws implemented in May, which empower local police to take such action.
Police on Sunday night also arrested three youths for an “aggravated robbery” at a service station on the Stuart Highway in Alice Springs.
Alice Springs, home to mostly First Nations or indigenous people, saw a curfew for the second time since March.
The Northern Territory is a vast federal territory in Australia famed for its outback desert landscapes. It houses Australia’s indigenous community.
The region’s Chief Minister, Eva Lawler, had ordered restrictions for two weeks in late March following group violence that saw people hurling stones at each other.
The curfew was imposed after Alice Springs witnessed unrest between families and groups following the funeral of an 18-year-old youth who died in a crash in early March.