An appalling incident in Alice Springs where a stolen car was used to ram a police car has reinforced how important the CLP Government's focus on law and order is to help keep Territorians safe.
In Alice Springs last night, a stolen Nissan Qashqai rammed a police car on Bath St while police travelling in a different police car along Elder St had rocks thrown at them.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said: "This is violent and dangerous behaviour to deliberately target police officers by ramming a car and throwing rocks at them."
"I have spoken to the police officers in the rammed vehicle and am relieved there are no injuries. Attacks on our police are disgraceful and shows the high level of lawlessness and disrespect left to grow under the previous Labor government." she said.
"Community safety is my government's first priority, and we are on track to deliver our promised reforms on bail and increased police powers in the first sittings of Parliament, which starts on 15 October.
"Declan's Law and other measures including criminalising bail breaches, electronic monitoring for people on bail, ram raid legislation where it will be an offence to use a vehicle as a weapon, reducing the criminal age of responsibility, and minimum mandatory sentences for assaulting frontline workers will be ready to be passed to help keep the community safe.
"We will back the Territory's police with the laws they need to do their job."
Police later caught six of the seven alleged offenders who fled from the vehicle after a police pursuit.
The six arrested, aged 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 20, remain in custody with charges expected to follow today.
"I want to congratulate our hardworking police in Alice Springs for apprehending the alleged offenders despite the volatile, dangerous and confronting situation."
