Mayor backs closure of Karama laneway, permanent police presence as crime escalates

Residents living near a notorious Karama laneway say every second house has been broken into and are demanding more action than just ‘get a dog’.

Locals living near a notorious Karama laneway say every second house has been broken into, with itinerants congregating on the narrow street each night.

Resident Dean White and Waters ward Councillor Brian O’Gallagher shared their experiences of rising crime on Koolama Court, Karama at Tuesday’s City of Darwin council meeting.

The laneway allows pedestrians direct access from McMillans Rd to the residential streets surrounding Karama Shopping Centre.
NT Police Commander Danny Bacon has described the northern Darwin suburb as a “crime hot spot”.

Karama resident Dean White has lodged a petition with the City of Darwin to close Koolama Court overnight amid an escalation of anti-social behaviour. Picture: Supplied.

“My neighbour’s been broken into six times,” Mr White said.

“He actually had to spend thousands of dollars to raise his fence.

“The police just say, ‘get a dog mate’.

“That’s all we get.

“Everybody in the area has to raise their fence, get security cameras – but they don’t give a shit about cameras.

Darwin residents have been advised by authorities to take additional security measures into their own hands. Picture: Floss Adams.

“In the last week, there’s only been one morning they haven’t woken me up being blind drunk, yelling and screaming.

“We used to get a few break-ins every year, now it’s every month.

“It’s just caused chaos.”

After being presented with a petition signed by more than 80 affected locals, Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said he would support a permanent overnight closure of the laneway.

“I’m very familiar with your pleas,” Mr Vatskalis said.

“It’s logical to close it at night when it’s not needed and have it open again at seven in the morning.”

“I would support it.”

The petition is currently with council administration staff, who will report back to councillors with possible solutions after consulting the community.

Mr O’Gallagher is also pushing for a permanent police presence to be established at Karama Shopping Centre in light of Mr White’s story and others.

“Residents are fed up and want to see an immediate increased and visible police presence,” he said.

“It could be a mobile van – I’m not asking for a big station, like the one at Nightcliff that isn’t properly resourced.

“The escalating crime and anti-social behaviour is destroying their neighbourhood and lifestyle.

“A permanent police precense would really help in terms of response times to incidents around Koolama Court.

“The police are currently coming from Casuarina and there can be up to an hour and a half wait due to high demand.”

Waters ward Councillor Brian O’Gallagher. Picture: Ivan Rachman.

Mr O’Gallagher, along with Member for Karama Ngaree Ah Kit, has tabled a petition signed by more than 1100 residents demanding action to reduce crime with the NT Legislative Assembly.
One supporting resident has described the suburb they’ve lived in for nearly 40 years as a “literal war zone”.
“I don’t feel safe taking my children with me to the shop,” another local said.
“I would rather drive to another location for our groceries than go to Karama shops, which is killing local business.”
Mr O’Gallagher said: “The views of all of the 1168 residents must be listened to – and genuinely acted upon.”

“Policing is a Northern Territory government responsibility and it is for the Northern Territory government, including Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Police Minister Kate Worden and the Member for Karama Ngaree Ah Kit to listen to and act on behalf of our community,” he said.
The petition will either be referred for debate or to Ms Worden.