Police call on northern NSW community to stop brutal youth fight culture being showcased on social media
More footage has emerged exposing a horrifying youth fighting culture in northern NSW after a child street fighting phenomenon was uncovered. WARNING: DISTRESSING VIDEO
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More disturbing videos have emerged exposing a brutal youth fighting culture across northern NSW after a child fight club phenomenon was uncovered in Casino.
It comes as a top cop warned those who had posted the videos online could be arrested.
Recent social media videos filmed across the region, from Coffs Harbour to the Tweed, show teens engaging in bare-fisted brawls while onlookers record and cheer on the violence.
It’s no new phenomenon though – police have stated Instagram accounts featuring fight videos in the region date back to 2020, at least.
Many of the latest fights on Instagram and other platforms appear to be recorded on school grounds, with students seen in uniforms huddling in circles, with bathrooms and playgrounds in view.
“Hit him. Get him boys. Let’s go,” kids can be heard yelling in the shocking videos.
Several of the videos appear to include pre-teen combatants.
Youths can be heard begging for help in some videos as their peers watch on, laughing and mocking them until teachers and other adults step in.
Commenters on a social media page encouraging videos to be submitted applaud the violence.
Youths can be heard begging for help in some videos as their peers watch on laughing and mocking them until teachers and other adults step in.
Police have recently investigated incidents of violence at Grafton and Woolgoolga skate park, for example, but the fight videos span northern NSW – and details are often unclear.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood said: “These social media trends go beyond stupidity and recklessness, and ultimately are acts of crime.”
“Posting the videos online is a sure-fire way to get yourself arrested.”
Commissioner Wood said officers, including police Youth Command, were using a mix of programs and initiatives targeted at young people to prevent similar offending down the line.
“But this isn’t just a police issue – this is also a community issue,” he said.
“Everyone has to take responsibility.”
Commissioner Wood said police would work with social media platforms to remove the footage.
“We have an ongoing relationship with a large amount of social media providers, including the regulative authority, which includes the capability and capacity to have vision like this removed,” he said.
Last year, worried parents reported instances of teen violence at skate parks across the region.
Police said at the time they were “proactively engaging with local youth through presentations” – and called on youths and the wider community to respect each other.
Know more? Phone local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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