‘Very high risk of criminalisation’ of youth when they have ‘contact with police’

NAAJA Advocacy Manager Jared Sharp says there is a “very high risk of criminalisation” of the youth in Alice Springs when they have “contact with police”. Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has declared an ‘emergency situation’ in the Alice Springs CBD to combat crime. A two-week youth curfew will be put in place as part of the response. “In any context where young people are having contact with the police, there is a very high risk of criminalisation of young people,” Mr Sharp told Sky News Australia. “That’s what we have seen over the years. “The big risk is if the police powers aren’t clearly defined to start with … then police don’t have that certainty.”