I don’t live in Darwin, nor have I even visited the NT, so I’m not saying things crime wise are or are not bad, but Jesus Christ what the hell is even happening up there? The government can’t even be arsed hiring more police, so they outsource policing to a private company which hires security guards (who are really just police who wear a different uniform at this point) with 2 weeks of training? The police system isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but at least they get more than 2 fucking weeks of training
And of course that’s ignoring the fact the key issue behind this “anti social behaivour” isn’t even the lack of police, it’s the lack of (affordable) housing, mental health care, and (ooh this is a wild idea that’s going to blow so many people’s minds) the entire system being built on stolen land. Maybe if they addressed some of those issues, there’d be no need for knockoff police and all the abuse of power stuff that comes with hiring such types
The NT is starting to feel like a little enclave of America at this point
I lived in Darwin for 2 years when I was a kid. I didn’t understand much at the time but even at age 8/9 the level of racism stood out to me. And I grew up in North QLD, which is really saying something.
Seriously though, as I understand it the NT Police have been able to do paper-less arrests for years. Essentially the ‘tough on crime’ approach is so cooked in the NT that basic accountability isn’t even required. Private security contractors being able to use brutal force isn’t surprising considering the culture of policing in the NT. At least the Police have had to do some sort of basic training, these contractors likely haven’t but somehow have the same power as Police.
Maybe if they addressed some of those issues
Who is “they”? If you’re talking about politicians, what they tried to do was a voice to parliament after years of bipartisan consultation with indigenous Australians to find out what they thought is the best solution, and we thoroughly rejected it.
I live in Cairns, which isn’t as bad as Darwin but it’s pretty close. In my opinion the fundamental issue is racism. And it’s not an easy one to fix.
Are you guys allowed to defend yourself against them in Australia? I’m not familiar with your laws, but if security doesn’t have the authority of the actual police, then fuck em up.
I think you’d probably have decent odds in court if they did unjustly lay hands on you and you defended yourself, at least if you’re white. You’d need to prove you had valid reasons for defending yourself, and that you didn’t use more than the least amount needed, but they’d also need to prove they did the same. I imagine the courts would have a hard time accepting that tackling and dragging an elderly person is a reasonable use of force, but crazier things have happened
Edit: obligatory IANAL
Thank you. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to assume something and find out there is a specific law in place.
If you inflict “death or serious harm” then no - you cannot be protected under self defence laws (in the NT, not sure about other states).
If you just rough them up a little bit… then yes, there is a self defence provision that will protect you. But only if you get a fair trial, and if your skin is black then you probably won’t get a fair trial - especially in that region of the country. If you call the cops, they’re probably even worse than the security guards.
