The intervention into remote Aboriginal communities can be blamed for an increase in the number of murders in the Northern Territory, lawyers say.
Widespread grog bans and welfare guaranteeing were enforced in June 2007 as part of the emergency measures to combat child sex abuse.
While there is anecdotal evidence to suggest there is less violence and more money for children in the communities as a result of the reforms, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) says there have been other side effects.
These include a marked urban shift, with people moving out of their communities into town camps in urban centres - such as Darwin and Katherine - in search of alcohol.
"People come into town to drink," said NAAJA solicitor Michelle Swift.
"When they could, there was some managed drinking that was happening in their communities before, but one of the problems with the policies of the intervention is that it hasn't made alcohol in Darwin any harder to access."
Ms Swift told ABC radio that since March this year, the number of murder and manslaughter cases had increased astronomically.
"It's a result of urban drift, where people that are trying to access alcohol are coming into Darwin and into the town camps," she said.
NAAJA principal lawyer Glen Dooley, who has eight clients facing murder charges, said there had been "unprecedented levels of killing" since the intervention was launched.
"We'd normally pick up six killings a year. At this rate, we'll pick up 20," he told News Ltd.
Critics of the intervention have called the reforms paternalistic and heavy-handed while Mr Dooley said they robbed people of their dignity and self-esteem.
"The intervention could arguably be causing more violence through the levels of dislocation it's caused," he said.
"There's nearly 17,000 Aboriginal people on income management. People are being treated like children.
"Sending the army in, sending the doctors in, sending police in, having your income managed and the mental stress that could arise from that is giving rise to more of this violence."
Ms Swift said Aborigines who moved from their communities into town camps could also feel isolated and stressed, which would feed drinking habits and violent outbursts.
Since coming to power in November last year, the Rudd government has committed to rolling back some of the reforms, such as reinstating permits and Aboriginal-work-for-the-dole.
A review board headed by Peter Yu is investigating the success of the intervention and will report back to the government later this year.