Northern Territory (NT) police have launched an operation to tackle property offending and assaults in Alice Springs following a week of increased criminal activity. Operation Thayer, which got underway this week and will run for seven days, saw the deployment of additional police resources across known locations and reported hot spots. Assistant Commissioner for Northern Territory Police Force Regional and Remote Operations Martin Dole said the Alice Springs community had had enough after a major spike in property offending and anti-social behaviour. “This past week, we’ve seen a significant increase in property crime, including unlawful entries, stolen motor vehicles and random assaults on members of the public,” he said. “Our existing members have been addressing these issues rightly so, but with the current situation and the upcoming peak season for the southern region, we’ve re-directed officers to provide a zero-tolerance response.” Dole added that the closure of COVID-19 border checkpoints …