Northern Territory Police warned Alice Springs residents to avoid the CBD last night after three stolen vehicles, including a Toyota Prado from the ABC compound on Gap Road, were observed driving in a dangerous manner and targeting police vehicles.
Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole said it was an extreme but necessary measure.
"We had some stolen motor vehicles being driven around the CBD in extremely dangerous manner, targeting vehicles and aiming at vehicles head-on," he said.
"It really was a public safety issue to say to the public, 'If you don't need to be there, please don't come into town because you are at risk.'"
Assistant Commissioner Dole said it had been a horrific week for stolen vehicles.
"There's there's no sugarcoating it — it's been terrible," he said.
"What we've seen is these completely high-risk and unacceptable behaviours from these young criminals."
Assistant Commissioner Dole said police would not be baited into putting lights and sirens on.
"We've got to stop this becoming a game and stop it being entertaining for these young people," he said.
"[We're not going to] chase people like the movies through the CBD with lights and sirens on, because that's a public risk."
Five people were arrested in total.
Three who were apprehended in connection with dangerous driving in the CBD were taken home.
Assistant Commissioner Dole said police cells were not places for children but said they will face consequences.
"When there's a public risk, obviously we apprehend them, we bring them in whilst we're working out sufficient evidence to bring charges before these children," he said.
"The fact that they were taken home doesn't mean there's not going to be consequences.
"It doesn't mean they're not going to be placed before the court.
"It just means at some stage we have to release them from police custody and put them in a place of safety."
In a statement, police said they expected to charge a 13-year-old boy with aggravated unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
The statement said two 12-year-olds, an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old would be dealt with under the Youth Justice Act 2005.
'Too scared to talk about it'
Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson described the overnight events as "absolutely disgusting" and called on the Northern Territory government to approach the situation in the same manner as the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I have often compared it to COVID with this government — that they can change things on the fly," he said.
"They did it very well.
"They kept saying, 'We're the safest place in the world', the Northern Territory.
"Well, right now I think we're the un-safest place.
"What we need to do is have that addressed quickly because this is an emergency.
"To have advice from the police to not go in our CBD is absolutely mind-boggling, because of crime and stolen cars."
Mr Paterson said control over the Central Australian town had been lost.
"Usually the mayor is the person that runs a town, and the council as well," he said.
"This community is being run by 30 to 50 kids who've just got no care or respect for anyone."
He urged the NT government to fix a "broken" system and gave a stark prognosis of events to come.
"We need something tonight, so I can say to my community, 'This is what's being implemented for you to be safe,'" Mr Paterson said.
"We're too scared to talk about it because of things that have happened in past lives.
"An innocent person is going to die, or these kids are going to die.
"There's no coming back from that — and that's going to happen in Alice Springs in 2022."
Mr Paterson also reiterated his support for a youth curfew.
"I'm not going to knock anyone for trying something in the current climate," he said.
"We just need to write something."
Call for 'boots on the ground'
CLP Member for Braitling Joshua Burgoyne, who grew up in Alice Springs, said he could not recall the last time police issued such a warning to residents.
"What we really need to acknowledge now is we've had a crisis for a long time, we now need an emergency response," he said.
"When you have police saying that their vehicles are being targeted by perpetrators that are in stolen vehicles, I think that is a serious, serious issue that we now have."
Mr Burgoyne, the shadow minister for Territory Families, said there was "absolute carnage" in the community.
He called for additional police resources and "boots on the ground".
"This is a serious emergency that we're in now," he said.
"We have guardians, parents that are just completely either not accepting their children's behaviour or they are complicit in it."
