Private security firms are being paid millions of dollars by the Northern Territory government to patrol the streets and deal with anti-social behavior. The guards have no extra powers except to provide a visible security presence.
These are guards from the private security firms paid millions of dollars by the Northern Territory government.
"They don't administer any by-laws," Lord Mayor Kon Vatskallis says. "They can't, legally; the only thing they do is they detect a problem."An interaction between security guards on public patrol and a group escalates.The guards then push an elderly woman and repeatedly drag her away from her nephew, who she's trying to comfort.
We also heard allegations from rough sleepers they were woken from sleeping in parks and quiet spots on the streets, that their alcohol was tipped out, or they were manhandled.Nathias Young, a Ngarinman man from the remote Aboriginal community of Yarralin, says he was "singing out" to his uncle and charging his phone one afternoon in the Darwin CBD when he was approached by security patrolling the streets.
"They do that to a lot of people in Darwin … they do that for every Aboriginal person — tell us to go, tell us to, you know, f**k off or something."Both say security guards told them they were banned from the CBD.TPS security did not respond to questions about the incident. NT Criminal Lawyers Association vice president Clancy Dane says it's not clear what legislation gives TPS or Neptune NT the power to move people on.
"On the news when they grab them and hold them down and can't let them breathe, and they won't let them get back up until probably they're dead.""He grabbed me by my hand and twisted me on my foot, tripped me, threw me down," he says.By chance, NT's Children's Commissioner Nicole Hucks witnessed the altercation.
The security guard, Kristian MacLean, says he asked Jessilyn to leave the property multiple times, but she refused. University of Technology Sydney law professor Thalia Anthony has researched private security in Australia with a focus on Darwin. Neither Chief Minister Natasha Fyles nor Police Minister Kate Worden responded to detailed questions or requests for an interview.
Private Security Northern Territory Guards Anti-Social Behavior Crime Rate
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