{"id":596401,"date":"2026-04-09T20:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596401\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:33:09","slug":"inherently-dangerous-and-unnecessary-nt-buses-will-soon-be-patrolled-by-armed-officers-indigenous-australians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596401\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Inherently dangerous and unnecessary\u2019: NT buses will soon be patrolled by armed officers | Indigenous Australians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transit safety and public housing officers in the Northern Territory<\/a> will soon be armed with guns, in what the territory\u2019s First Nations legal service has labelled an \u201cinherently dangerous and unnecessary\u201d move that would \u201cdisproportionately impact Aboriginal Territorians\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first of a new force of armed Police Public Safety Officers (PPSOs) will begin patrolling Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs in June, after an 18-week training program. Legislation to create the new PPSOs was introduced by the NT government last year, in response to what they said was an increase in antisocial behaviour on public transport.<\/p>\n

But the legislation has been heavily criticised by Indigenous MPs, legal services and advocacy groups.<\/p>\n

Ben Grimes, chief executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), said there is \u201cno evidence that bringing guns on to buses is needed, or that it will create safer public transport\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people have told NAAJA that the presence of guns on buses will make them feel less safe, rather than more safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing guns on to crowded and confined buses is inherently dangerous and unnecessary,\u201d he said. \u201cSituations on public transport should be managed through skilful de-escalation, not through use of force. In rare situations where force may be needed, guns should not be the preferred weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Grimes told Guardian Australia there were \u201cbetter and more cost-effective ways to address antisocial behaviour\u201d, which included more visible support staff and Aboriginal night patrol workers at key sites, as well as culturally safe engagement and youth outreach in drop-in centres.<\/p>\n

Grimes also said there had been no meaningful consultation with Aboriginal communities \u2013 who are disproportionately represented in death in custody statistics \u2013 before the bill was passed. An NT police spokesperson said Aboriginal community organisations and local councils were invited to an information session in March.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the NT government said \u201ccommunity safety\u201d was their number one priority, and that the first squad of 24 PPSOs had commenced their training in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly, 12 of these recruits are already working as Public Housing Safety Officers, Transit Safety Officers, or police staff,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gradual transition means services will continue without disruption, while strengthening the work already being done to address antisocial behaviour and public drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NT government did not respond directly when asked if there was any evidence that arming transit safety and public housing offers would reduce crime and antisocial behaviour. However, an NT police spokesperson said the new officers would create \u201csafer public spaces through a highly visible and readily engaged police capability\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe PPSO model supports this commitment by deploying trained officers into metropolitan and regional areas experiencing increased service demand,\u201d they said. \u201cThis will enable target prevention and response to antisocial behaviour, whilst also minimising harm associated with alcohol misuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn doing so, the PPSO model supports community confidence, and a safer Territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labor MLA and shadow attorney-general, Chansey Paech, accused the CLP government of \u201creading the Trump playbook\u201d and said the new policy was \u201calarming and worrying\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving people guns is not the answer to overcoming social challenges and problems in our community \u2026 we are not America,\u201d the Arrernte and Gurindji man said.<\/p>\n

Yingiya Mark Guyula, an independent NT MLA, said giving transit and public housing officers guns would only \u2018intimidate, harass and create widespread fear\u2019. Photograph: Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory<\/p>\n

Paech told Guardian Australia the government should instead focus on the root causes of crime and antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people in the Northern Territory are living below the poverty line and that is seeing an increase in crime, and the drivers of crime are further falling backwards which is driving crime up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When the bill passed in September, Yingiya Mark Guyula, a Yolngu man and independent MLA, took to social media to warn Aboriginal people \u201cnot to go to town if they don\u2019t need to\u201d out of concern they would be targeted by PPSOs.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Guyula told Guardian Australia that giving transport and public housing officers guns was only going to \u201cintimidate, harass and create widespread fear\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see community members with significant mental health and drug and alcohol issues, and young people who need programs and support,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead of helping people to address the underlying problems, they are filling the jails, making bail impossible to get and increasing the number of guns to be used against us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Transit safety and public housing officers in the Northern Territory will soon be armed with guns, in what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-596401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596401","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=596401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}