For decades, long-termers in the Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy would leave their doors unlocked, but now, some say a surge in crime has meant they can't even leave their homes at night.
The idyllic north-east Arnhem Land township that sits against the shores of the Arafura Sea has been battling a wave of property crime, with various businesses hit in recent days.
Among those is the town's childcare centre, where its owners have been left picking up the pieces from thousands of dollars worth of destruction and theft.
Centre owner David Suter said the crime was "very disheartening that this can be happening here", hundreds of kilometres from the territory's capital, Darwin.
"This is not an isolated issue for us. This is happening all the time here as well," Mr Suter said.
"Even to the extent [that], this morning, I found that my car had been broken into … all the street got done over last night.
"It's starting to really get a grip out here, for some particular reason."
Mr Suter — who has lived in Nhulunbuy for 50 years — said: "The last couple of years, it's really been like someone's got a thumb on your head, pushing it down, trying to squash you."
"I speak to a lot of people about this, and a lot of people are very disheartened, and a lot of people have left because of it," he said.
As well as the childcare centre, other businesses in the town — including the post office and hardware store — have also been the victims of long weekend break-ins.
NT Police say up to six youths involved in Nhulunbuy spree
Northern Territory Police confirmed they were investigating the spree.
"Around 1am [on Monday] morning, police received reports of an unlawful entry at a shopping centre on Arnhem Road, Nhulunbuy," a police spokesman said.
"Each of the businesses within the shopping centre were also reportedly damaged.
"Property was also stolen from a number of the businesses, including a vehicle.
"Also around 1am [on] Monday morning, a separate shopping centre on Endeavour Square was also unlawfully entered.
"At 9pm on Sunday night, a report was received of an unlawful entry at a childcare centre in Gove, where a number of small technology items were stolen."
Police said they were working through CCTV footage and that forensics had been taken at a number of locations.
"It is believed up to six youths were involved at the unlawful entry on Arnhem Road," the spokesman said.
Chief Minister defends government's response
Nhulunbuy resident of 37 years Ivor Alexander said the ongoing crime was having a "devastating effect" on impacted businesses and residents.
Mr Alexander said his feelings of personal safety had shifted dramatically over recent years.
"We rarely go out at night now and, when we do, we're extremely careful," he said.
"[In the past] you never locked your vehicle — you always took your keys with you, but you never locked anything.
"Now it appears to be open slather."
Both Mr Alexander and Mr Suter called for more solutions from the government and the justice system.
"You don't seem to be getting much action from the government on it," Mr Suter said.
"They might say they're doing stuff, but they really need to look at the fact that what they're doing isn't really working.
"The proof is in the pudding."
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles on Tuesday defended her government's response to the territory's ongoing crime wave.
"In terms of how we're tackling these issues, there's not one individualised solution," Ms Fyles told ABC Radio Darwin.
"We're working across government and with non-government organisations to tackle these issues.
"They're incredibly complex, and there's not one thing we can say, or do, that will fix it.
"But territorians need to know this is the absolute priority."
The latest crime spree in Nhulunbuy coincided with an equally destructive weekend rampage in Darwin, which saw multiple businesses ram raided, and two post offices robbed for electrical goods.
