Chroming issues at Gapuwiyak, as Karama MLA MIA

POLICE have seen a spike in volatile substance abuse-related incidents in an East Arnhem community

POLICE have seen a spike in volatile substance abuse-related incidents in the East Arnhem community of Gapuwiyak.

It comes after the NT News revealed aerosols had been taken off shelves in shops in Karama following concerns of chroming in the suburb.

Despite a recent increase in reports of chroming across Darwin, police stats also reveal it has reduced over the last three years.

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Aboriginal community Police Officer Jermaine Ostrofski said there had been incidents in the Gapuwiyak where people were stealing spray paint from construction sites to inhale.

“We had a teenager walk up to one of the tradies while he was marking a line, and he wrested the can out of his hand,” he said.

“VSA has been fuelling property crime, so if they’ve been engaging in VSA they’ll break into somewhere, or they’ll break in to find other substances to use.”

Karama MLA Ngaree Ah Kit said she would always raise issues that were important to her constituents.

“As residents know, I have previously raised concerns about an increase in youth disturbances and anti-social behaviour in Karama,” Ms Ah Kit said.

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“There is no silver bullet to these issues that have been around for decades – but what I can say is Terri­torians’ safety always comes first.”

Ms Ah Kit has not made a post about anti-social and crime issues on her Facebook page since November.

Last year around 100 Karama residents met at a community forum to speak about the crime issues in the suburb.

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