The group patrolled the Aboriginal town camps on a regular basis to help minimise violence using non-violent methods. The Night Patrol operates throughout the municipality but its effects are more readily observable with the Central Business District of Alice Springs. Due to the activities of the Patrol, in cooperation with the Police, the Todd Mall has become a pleasant venue for an evening stroll. The members of the patrol use negotiation rather than confrontation and have earned the respect of offenders as well as law enforcement agencies. Patrol members are sensitive to situations and groups which have the potential for violence or other crime, and seek to defuse aggression by friendly advice and assistance.
Patrols regularly convey people home or to appropriate shelters or even to hospital if necessary.
They endeavour to assist drunken people and provide follow-up assistance in an attempt to break the alcoholic cycle. Children are a particular concern to the Patrol and attempts regularly are made to provide them with transport and accommodation. Moves are also under way to set up a supervised recreation area for young people. By December 1992 the police noted a considerable reduction in criminal damage and street disorder within the Central Business District since the introduction of the Night Patrol. The Tangentyere Night Patrol now has a protocol agreement with the Northern Territory police and the Alice Springs DASA Sobering-up Centre allowing the Patrol to convey persons requiring protective custody due to intoxication to the shelter for care.