Katherine residents gather en masse to protest rolling youth crime spree

Katherine residents take to the streets to protest rolling crime spree in outback town Fri 7 Aug 2026 at 6:55pm In short: A young mother has shared her harrowing story of a near miss with an allegedly stolen car in Katherine yesterday, saying she feels lucky to be alive. Yesterday's reckless driving is the latest in a string of similar incidents, including one in which a stolen car rolled and killed a 16-year-old earlier in the year. What's next? Local member and cabinet minister Jo Hersey says she will discuss local crime further with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, as some prominent locals raise the option of a youth curfew. About 50 members of the Katherine community have gathered on the Northern Territory town's main street to express their fear and frustration at the region's crime rate after the latest in a string of car thefts. It comes after a group of young people were seen driving around the town three hours south of Darwin yesterday, with footage posted to social media showing a black Volkswagen hatchback being driven dangerously for hours until about 9pm, when it eventually crashed on Stutterd Street. An NT Police spokesperson said in statement "approximately seven" of the occupants were then seen exiting the allegedly stolen car, with investigators later identifying three suspects. The spokesperson said police "understood the frustration" of some community members but defended the choice not to initiate a pursuit prior to the crash, saying it could have escalated the situation and put more innocent people at risk. In response to the incident, local businessman Ben Coutts took to social media this morning, asking residents to attend a planned "coffee with a cop" event at a local cafe to express their frustration with a perceived lack of action on youth crime. "We need help, the community needs help, we're scared, and we're sick of paying the cost," he told the ABC. "We are here as the people of Katherine." Natalie Ellis, who works on the Katherine Justice Reinvestment project with a cohort of around 20 at-risk youth, said some of the commentary on social media had been "vicious against Aboriginal people". Ms Ellis asked the community to remember that "95 per cent of the kids in town are good", saying disengagement from school was the number one problem driving youth crime. "Aboriginal people are victims too, and we need to not forget that," she said. Police resourcing, curfews raised The crowd gathered outside the cafe included members of the Katherine Town Council, who stressed they were appearing in their private capacity. Among them was Toni Tapp Coutts, who said it was time the NT government considered a temporary youth curfew in Katherine like those seen in Alice Springs in recent years. "I think we should have a curfew, the temperature of the town needs to be lowered," she said. "Those kids need to have time to think about their actions, the families need to be forced to confront some of this behaviour in the town, and taking responsibility." Speaking with community members and local media, NT Police Superintendent Virginia Read suggested there could be a case for more police resources in Katherine. "If I had my way, it would be nice if we could have some more police," she said. Member for Katherine Jo Hersey, who was also at the gathering, said she shared the community's frustration and would continue to raise the issue with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro. "People are pissed off," she said. "It's come time now where we do need some more resources in town here." Ms Hersey said she understood the calls for a curfew but questioned whether it would be effective, saying the curfew in Alice Springs just pushed crime "further out" of the city centre. But she said she would raise the option of a curfew with Mrs Finocchiaro "if that's what the community wanted". Mother says she is lucky to be alive Ashleigh Pugh said she was driving home with her two-year-old daughter yesterday when she had a close encounter with the black Volkswagen. Ms Pugh said the car was coming towards her head-on, trying to overtake a road train while evading police before veering off the road at the last moment. "There was absolutely no chance they were going to beat that road train before colliding with me and my daughter, even at the speed they were travelling at," she said. "I thank God and everything above that at the last second they did that. "I pulled over, I caught my breath, I bawled my eyes out, and I turned to my girl and I just thanked everything that we were still there." Mr Pugh said she "used to be proud" to call Katherine home, but no longer felt it was the same town she grew up in. "Yesterday's incident was yet another key highlight of the seemingly never-ending escalation," she said. Locals question crime statistics NT Police crime statistics show overall offending rates in Katherine are down between the 12 months to May this year and the same period last year. The figures show property crime dropped by 8 per cent while crimes against the person were down 14 per cent — with vehicle thefts the notable exception, rising 21 per cent in the same period. But long-time locals Jim King and Patty Buntine both said in their view, overall crime was worse now than any time in their memories. Local cabinet-maker Jeff Usher said he had seen repeated break-ins at his workshop, but often did not bother reporting crimes to police because "nothing happens". "We've had a gutful," he said. When asked whether Katherine's true crime rate was reflected in the official figures, Ms Hersey said statistics were "one thing" but her experience on the ground was "very different". "It doesn't pass the pub test," she said. "I absolutely get the anger and the frustration that everyone is feeling, it is absolutely not OK." Ms Hersey promised to raise the community's frustration at the highest levels of government. "We do not need any more deaths," she said.