Machete-wielding teens ‘roaming’ bayside suburbs
Students across bayside suburbs are being menaced and “mauled” by young thugs and parents are considering taking drastic action.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Bands of armed youths — some carrying machetes — are menacing students from several affluent bayside schools as a crime wave plagues the southeastern suburbs.
And frightened parents are threatening to “take matters into their own hands” as youth crime continues to take a toll on Melbourne’s affluent suburbs.
Members of a bayside crime watch group said that if “police don’t step up” the public would have to “defend themselves and their families”.
A young group member, who did not wish to be identified, said a group of local students were recently confronted while walking in Mentone as part of a school excursion.
As the group walked along Mentone Parade in Mentone, they were “called over” by a group of six teens sitting at a bus stop outside St Bede’s College and Mentone Girls Grammar.
“I turned around to check if we were being followed then found one of them pulling up his shirt to show a machete,” the student said.
They said young offenders were known to be “circling around the Kingston area picking off year 7s and 8s and younger” and warned all students to “stay alert”.
The incident was reported to police who “attended immediately” the student said.
A Mentone mum also said she had seen teens armed with machetes while walking her child to school.
“This is real, they are roaming Mentone with machetes under their jumpers,” she posted on social media.
A prominent Mentone trader said a shocking attack on a Mentone Grammar School boy took place inside his shop last month.
“There was a group of five or six thugs attacking this boy,” the trader said.
“It spilt into my shop where the boy was punched in the head ten times.
“There was blood everywhere. He suffered a broken nose and cheekbone.”
The trader also watched on in horror last week as police arrested three youths with “long kitchen knives” after a 14-year-old boy was threatened with a knife at Mentone train station.
“These thugs are carrying knives and mauling local kids, it’s a massive problem.”
The trader said he was told by police on Wednesday that a 3pm patrol would be introduced in Mentone.
“It’s good news. We need a visible police presence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mentone schools have urged parents to talk to their children about staying safe after several students were caught up in the youth crime wave.
Mentone Girls Grammar wrote to parents on August 17, urging them to talk to their daughters about personal safety in light of ongoing incidents outside the school grounds on Palermo Street.
“Incidents have involved damage to cars and antisocial behaviours from a group of youths unknown to the schools” the letter said.
“Police are informed and investigations are ongoing.
“You may wish to reinforce the importance of (your daughters) being alert and aware of their surroundings and remind them to seek assistance if they feel unsafe.”
St Bede’s College also alerted parents after an incident on August 8 when students were confronted by teens who did not attend the school.
The letter did not detail what happened during the confrontation, but said the “perpetrators” had been “identified and apprehended by Victoria Police”.
“Both students have been offered counselling and ongoing support at school,” the letter said.
Sandringham state Liberal MP Brad Rowswell has called for more police resources to tackle increasing youth crime in Mentone and across the Bayside and Kingston local government areas.
He said residents and traders had witnessed violence and assaults by a group of young offenders including attempted home invasions, drug deals and theft and damage of private property.
“It is evident that more local police resources are needed to fight local crime, given that criminal incidents in our local community have increased by almost 18 per cent in the past year,” he said.
Mr Rowswell suggested extending the powers of Protective Services Officers (PSOs) so they could patrol local streets in the area.
“I understand there is a resourcing issue for police and that it takes time for new recruits to move through the academy,” he said.
“This could be an interim fix.”
According to the most data from the Crime Statistics Agency crime is up 17.8 per cent across Kingston, the biggest surge since incidents rose by nearly nine per cent in 2019.
Neighbouring local government area Bayside experienced the same 17.8 per cent increase in crime.
However, divisional commander for Kingston, Glen Eira and Bayside Superintendent Jodie Buckley said the areas were “overwhelmingly safe places to live”.
“The latest independent crime data shows Bayside is the third safest area of all metropolitan LGAs, while 13 metropolitan LGAs recorded more criminal offences than Kingston,” Insp Buckley said.
“Robberies in these areas were also comparatively low compared to other parts of Melbourne, with less than 100 combined recorded across Bayside and Kingston for the year.
“By way of comparison, some other LGAs recorded more than 300 robberies for the year.”
Inspector Buckley said officers conduced 24-hour intelligence-led patrols in the community, targeting areas of concern and to keep residents safe.”
She urged residents not to take vigilante action.
“If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, get to safety and call police,’’ she said. “Officers are trained to deal with these situations, and the last thing we want to see is a community member getting hurt by trying to take matters into their own hands.”
In a letter to Mr Rowswell, Police Minister Anthony Carbines said police youth officers were working with at-risk young people and support agencies to stop youth crime by “targeting the underlying causes of this behaviour”.
Meetings were also being held to start a Mentone Neighbourhood Watch group.
St Bede’s and Mentone Girls Grammar have all been contacted for further comment.
