{"id":570981,"date":"2026-03-29T00:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T00:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570981\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T00:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T00:17:13","slug":"proposed-model-for-policing-in-remote-nt-community-of-pine-creek-not-viable-residents-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570981\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed model for policing in remote NT community of Pine Creek ‘not viable’, residents say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents in the outback town of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory say a dwindling police presence in the community is driving up crime and could cripple the town’s tourism trade.<\/p>\n

The former gold rush town, one of the few stops on Stuart Highway between Darwin and Katherine, has joined a growing list of communities that no longer have a 24\/7 police presence.<\/p>\n

While the town does have a police station, officers who work there do not reside in the community and instead travel in from other areas.<\/p>\n

“Over the past two years, Pine Creek Police Station has operated with the model of two permanent members, which doesn’t allow for 24\/7 coverage or consistent police presence in the community,” Acting NT Police Commander Terry Zhang said.<\/p>\n

\"Low-angle<\/p>\n

NT Police say in emergency circumstances, officers can be deployed to Pine Creek from Katherine, which is 100km away. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, police said they met with members of the community to “address misconceptions about the station’s future” and “discuss a proposed policing model as part of broader remote policing reform”.<\/p>\n

Commander Zhang said under the proposed model, Pine Creek would receive “regular, scheduled visits from general duties police and specialist units targeting seasonal and emerging crime issues”.<\/p>\n

“Katherine Police would continue to respond to urgent incidents as required,” he said.<\/p>\n

Katherine is located nearly 100 kilometres south of Pine Creek.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Pine Creek is more than a two-hour drive from Darwin. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Crime increasing as police presence shrinks, residents claim<\/p>\n

Graham Wilcox, who has operated a tavern and caravan park in Pine Creek for more than a decade, said the shrinking police presence in the town had been felt.<\/p>\n

“We have had more antisocial behaviour in the last few years than we’ve had in the whole 10 years I’ve been in Pine Creek,” he said.<\/p>\n

“In the last few months, I’ve called Triple Zero on three occasions.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Graham Wilcox says he has seen criminal activity in Pine Creek increase in recent years. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Mr Wilcox said one of those occasions involved armed youths on the roof of his tavern.<\/p>\n

“They responded at 4pm the next day,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If we had local coppers, it would have been a quick phone call, 200 metres down the road and we could have had someone here.”\"A<\/p>\n

Pine Creek residents and business owners say the minimal police presence in the community is driving up crime. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

With limited infrastructure and no major mining operations left<\/a>, the handful of businesses left in town rely on travellers, especially during the Top End’s dry season months.<\/p>\n

“The tourism industry is what we survive on,” Mr Wilcox said.<\/p>\n

“Not having police in town is worrying for travellers.”<\/p>\n

After businesses clawed their way back from the economic hardship of COVID-19, he was worried fewer police could be a step backward for the area.<\/p>\n

“We want tourists to come back, we want them to feel safe when they’re driving through or staying in a town like Pine Creek,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Building<\/p>\n

The Lazy Lizard is a tavern and caravan park in Pine Creek. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Residents concerned about ‘domino effect’<\/p>\n

Edward Cheong Ah Toy, 88, has lived in Pine Creek all his life<\/a> and said he was shocked and disappointed to learn there would no longer be a police officer living in town.<\/p>\n

“When you’ve got police in Pine Creek it deters people not to play up, they know police are just next door,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Eddie Ah Toy \u2014 now 88 years old \u2014 has lived in Pine Creek his whole life. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Mr Ah Toy said a constant police presence was an effective way to deter crime.<\/p>\n

“They’re thinking of manning it from Katherine \u2026 but that’s an hour to come up and it’s just not viable.”<\/p>\n

Mr Wilcox said in years gone by, the town’s local police officers have been embedded in the community, making them trusted and respected among residents.<\/p>\n

“They build rapport with everybody because they’re your local bloke, they come out for a beer, they come out for a meal, they’re in the park, driving around, you give them a wave as they’re going past.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Emma Harbrow says residents want to know that when road accidents happen on the nearby highway, help is not far off. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Another long-term local resident, Emma Harbrow, said relying on police from other areas could have a “domino effect” putting additional pressure on the local health service and emergency responders.<\/p>\n

The town is located next to the Kakadu and Stuart highways \u2014 both notorious for fatal car accidents.<\/p>\n

“[Police] are absolutely essential. We’re located on the gateway to the Kakadu Highway, if there’s an accident it’s a good two hours before emergency services can get here,” Ms Harbrow said.<\/p>\n

Four children believed dead in NT fatal crash<\/a><\/p>\n

Six people were killed in a major crash near Pine Creek in 2023, where a vehicle collided with a road train.<\/p>\n

Commander Zhang acknowledged the feedback from the community “clearly indicated a strong preference for locally based officers”.<\/p>\n

“Many of the concerns raised are longstanding and reflect challenges common across remote locations, which this new model seeks to address,” he said.<\/p>\n

“NT Police remain committed to ensuring Pine Creek and surrounding communities receive a consistent and effective level of policing service.”<\/p>\n

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said she had spoken to some Pine Creek residents and expected a resolution.<\/p>\n

“I have asked for a further briefing from the police commissioner,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents in the outback town of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory say a dwindling police presence in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,78246,48,61163,161302,44,17189,280410,280411,63158,280412],"class_list":["post-570981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-caravan-park","tag-crime","tag-kakadu","tag-locals","tag-news","tag-nt-police","tag-pine-creek","tag-pine-creek-police-station","tag-pub","tag-regional-policing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}