Inside the youth gangs running wild on the streets of Melbourne
In a Leader Community News investigation into Melbourne’s gangs, a youth gang insider opens up about a lifestyle where street brawling, carjackings and home invasions are a badge of honour and reveals he never feared police and knew he would get bail for his crimes.
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Teen gangs with members as young as 13 have been linked to a crime sprees across Melbourne, which include street brawls, carjackings and terrifying home invasions.
A Leader Community News investigation has identified at least eight rival gangs who use social media, including Instagram and Snapchat, to organise street fights, post videos of the violence and recruit.
In the past year, criminal youths have also been linked to liquor shop thefts and snatch-and-grab robberies at popular electronics stores.
Leader Community News — which spoke with gang members including one who served time in prison — found dozens of Instagram accounts featuring teens waving guns and knives.
They openly brag about stealing phones, luxury items and selling drugs.
Most members wear designer goods including Gucci messenger bags, high-end accessories and other brand names to show their “gangster” status.
In one shocking video, a boy who appeared to be about 16 bragged about stealing cars and showed what appeared to be several stolen car keys, several $50 notes and two iPhones.
One boy, 16, who “ran with the Sudanese gangs” for two years until he was jailed for several aggravated burglaries and car thefts, said he was lured by the thugs at 14 after they promised him cash, phones and cars.
“I met one guy at school and he introduced me to his mates. Basically, the more risks you take the more you’ll be accepted,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“At the start we were stealing things like phones, speakers and other stuff from different shops.
“Then things started getting more serious when they asked me to steal cars and rob houses with them.”
The teen said he was arrested on several occasions but “knew he would just get bail” and continued to run amok.
“It didn’t stop me and I continued to fight and steal stuff from the shops until I was caught by the cops and sent to jail.”
He said his experience in jail was “hell” and vowed he would never go back.
“The gangs in jail are worse than the ones on the street. If you don’t know anyone you’ll get bashed — I hung out with the Sudanese so I was lucky.
“They have different units where there’s Maoris, Sudanese and Aussies — we were separated at all times.”
The teen warned youth gangs were “out of control” and had no fear from authorities.
“They have no fear of police and will take a risk by smashing into someone’s home at any time of the day — even if they’re home.
“They also don’t care if they’re hitting up shops to steal phones and iPads — they will take the risk and they still brag about this stuff on social media.”
He said despite having quit the gangs, his family still wasn’t free of them.
“As soon as you get out of prison, they hunt you down and want you to come back to the old life — and they’ll make your family’s lives hell.”
One present Islander gang member, 16-year-old Jermaine, said rival gangs organised fights on social media. And Dandenong was the common “central location” to punch on.
“We fight to claim our territory, but we don’t think we’re gangsters like some other groups,” he said.
He said teens as young as 13 were being recruited into gangs across Melbourne.
“They see how far you can go. If you have no fear stealing stuff and can brawl then you’re in — but if you’re a pussy or they think you snitch to the cops, then you’re f--ked.”
Leader Community News witnessed police disperse gangs in Dandneong’s CBD last month, but another group of youths then began to storm the precinct, with police quickly arresting one of them who was heavily intoxicated.
“F--- you dogs,” one shouted.
Another yelled: “You’re racist. I don’t care, arrest me — we’re not scared of the law and police.”
One of the officers who was abused said the teens were “out of control”.
“I do fear someone will get seriously hurt soon. There’s just so many of them. We are doing the best we can to stop them,” she said, adding with a glance at their designer clothing: “Just look at them — how do they afford to dress that way when none of them work?”
Swinburne University criminology expert Associate Professor James Roffee said gang members could be lacking purpose and facing difficult home lives.
“There is no simple solution to solve this. When these youths are locked away it doesn’t stop the problem because another group will then cause trouble,” he said.
“What we need is community groups and all levels of government to come together to help these youths – we need to find a solution rather than just giving them a criminal record.”
Commander Tim Hansen of Victoria Police said officers were “working around the clock” to put a stop to youth offending.
“Police employ a multi-pronged approach to not only manage known youth offenders but also take quick and decisive action if and when high-impact, high- harm youth offending occurs,” Cdr Hansen said.
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“We are also working closely with business owners to address security issues, implement crime prevention measures and ensure those working in the retail sector are working in a safe environment.”
He said police were confident they knew the identities of the majority of young people involved in this behaviour and would continue to disrupt criminal activity.