Father of stabbed Darwin man calls for action on NT crime
Damian Crook, whose son was killed in a Darwin bottle shop, has urged the government to tackle crime in the city.
The father of a man stabbed to death in Darwin this month has urged the Northern Territory government to crack down on crime in the city.
Damian Crook’s son, Declan Laverty, 20, was killed at the Darwin Airport Tavern bottle shop after he refused to serve a teenage customer.
🚨 I spent the night in Alice Springs talking to the youth gangs responsible for TERRORISING the remote town.
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) February 22, 2023
And then I spoke to their victims.
Full report: https://t.co/YDSG1t6laV
SUPPORT: https://t.co/DPWelESsjJ pic.twitter.com/Cn164f9tZ0
A 19-year-old man has been who was on bail at the time of the killing for an alleged aggravated assault with a bladed weapon, has been charged with the murder.
Crook said a rise in violent crime meant people in Darwin were afraid to leave their homes.
“People just don’t want to work, they’re too scared. So we need to get something done now,” he said.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles announced a review of bail laws in the wake of Declan’s death.
She also announced the government would pay for crowd controllers to be stationed at takeaway food outlets in Darwin for the next three months.
The crowd controllers would be a stop-gap measure while the government figured out what else it could do to stamp down on rampant crime.
Crook, whose son lived with him, said he would never recover from Declan’s death.
“He was just a good kid. All kids go through stuff but the last two years he had been studying, he had been working almost full-time, and writing all his own songs," he said.
“He was a true friend to other people as well. I’m going to miss that boy.”
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