Karama residents concerned by spike in children chroming, passing out on street

Residents of a tiny Darwin cul-de-sac are calling for improved intervention measures following a spike in kids using their neighbourhood as a chroming hotspot.

For consecutive weeks, locals have reported seeing kids chroming in the streets near the Karama Shopping Plaza. Picture: Supplied.

Residents of a tiny Darwin cul-de-sac are calling for improved intervention measures following a spike in kids using their neighbourhood as a chroming hotspot.

The calls come after disturbing photos showed multiple girls – one of them passed out – chroming by the road side on Kwinana Court at Karama.

Chroming, the term for the inhalation of volatile substances, is a dangerous practice which can lead to death.

Located a two minute walk from Karama Shopping Plaza, Kwinana Court resident Liz Conway told this publication she had noticed a rise in chroming in the area for “several months”.

“It’s scary, I’ve had three attempted break-ins in the past few months and now I’ve got young girls passing out on my doorstep,” she said.

“They go to (Karama) shopping centre, get deodorant, hair spray, shampoo – whatever they can get their hands on – then they come back here, pass out and nearly die.”

Ms Conway says her neighbourhood has become collateral to chroming activity due to its proximity to the shopping centre. Picture: Harry Brill.

Ms Conway said she had returned from work multiple times to find girls aged “between 13 and 15” lying motionless on the road or driveway.

“It’s very sad, but people need to know this – a lot of people think this is a bit of an embarrassing problem, and so they’ll say ‘It’s all good’, but it’s not,” she said.

“We need to actually put some safeguards in (place), so I don’t have some 14-year-old dead on my doorstep.”

Many of the walkways around Karama are locked between certain hours of the day. Picture: Floss Adams.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said she had noticed a rise in chroming.

“(The kids) steal at the shops, take their stuff into the streets and sniff it there,” she said.
“It’s bad; really bad for you.”

Ms Conway, who calls emergency services each time she sees a motionless child on the street, said the situation had not improved.

“I’m just speaking out now, because I think that the government needs to know that this is happening in our suburbs,” she said.

“Maybe it’s a little bit worse in Karama, but it’s just not acceptable and we need to be looking at early intervention and drug and alcohol treatment.”

In response to local complaints, the City of Darwin has been sending a daily patrol to mop up the area after any chroming activity.

A Karama Shopping Plaza spokesman said retailers were doing their part to stop vulnerable getting their hands on dangerous products. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

A Karama Shopping Plaza spokesman defended the centre’s retailers, claiming businesses already had strong measures in place.

“Any anti-social behaviour, whether it be shoplifting, theft, or chroming is not going to be resolved by simply blaming some products being sold by a local supermarket,” he said.

“It’s a community issue that won’t be resolved by simply removing certain products.”