The Alice Springs community is rallying around a local family whose baby has been left with a skull fracture after a violent home invasion. The Northern Territory government has announced new measures to hold parents more responsible for youth crime plaguing the town.
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00:00Alice Springs' mom's banding together in the wake of an horrific attack.
00:07There's a lot of fear but there's also a lot of like clamoring to find community.
00:13But it's a community shaken.
00:15After a two-month-old baby was left with a skull fracture when she and her mom were assaulted by two teenagers with a metal bar during a home invasion.
00:24Concerned locals pulling together to organize a bake sale in support of the family.
00:29I think it's important to show that you're not alone when something like this happens.
00:33The NT government today announced a new mandatory circuit breaker launched in Alice Springs this week to address youth crime and hold parents responsible.
00:42Really is the first very comprehensive wraparound service that we've seen in the Northern Territory.
00:48Children found on the streets at night will be taken home to their parents or another safe place with a follow-up from social services.
00:56The parents of children found on the streets required to engage in a responsibility agreement.
01:02We're saying to them you can't walk away from your responsibility in this.
01:06You have an obligation to make sure that your children are safe, are well cared for, are attending school and are not engaging in behavior that is detrimental to the community.
01:15Some say this integrated response is needed but with just six departmental staff running a 24-7 program it needs the community's help.
01:25There is no way they can do it alone because they're not connected to community.
01:29Meanwhile a federal MP says it's good that parents will be held responsible but any agreements must be court mandated.
01:37We've seen the voluntary agreements happening and families walk away from it.
01:42The NT's chief minister flew into Alice Springs with the police commissioner yesterday morning and is expected to address media later this evening.
01:51In the meantime the weary Alice Springs community is doing what it can to help.