Police hunt offenders after a teenager was stabbed in a violent Brighton brawl

Up to 20 youths were involved in a teen brawl at a Brighton park, with a boy stabbed in the stomach before the group fled.

A confrontation at Elsternwick Park led to an ugly brawl. Picture: Eugene Hyland

Police are hunting a mob of youths, after a teenager was stabbed in the stomach during a violent brawl in Brighton on Saturday night.

It’s understood up to 20 youths confronted the 17-year-old victim and his friends, who were hanging out at Elsternwick Park about 9.30pm.

Police said a verbal altercation triggered an all-out brawl.

Amid the fighting, the teen from Elwood was stabbed in the stomach before the group fled through the park into nearby streets.

The boy was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

Police have set up a crime scene in Elsternwick Park.

The area is being swept for evidence to help track down the offenders and witnesses are being urged to come forward.

Claire, a waitress who works at a restaurant opposite Elsternwick Park, said she saw authorities attending the scene last night just after 9.30pm.

“There was a whole bunch of emergency services pouring into the area, you could tell something was going on, there was a lot of cars looping around (the park),” she said.

“There was at least four separate police cars at the time..police were coming in from every direction.”

Claire said it was at that moment when she feared something terrible had occurred at the park.

“So I put all of my girls in an Uber when they arrived at the train station (to come home) — you know when you just get that feeling something has gone wrong?”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said he saw “the kids playground cordoned off with police tape” as authorities assessed the area this morning.

His partner did not see or hear the stabbing last night but said the incident had alarmed her.

“I’ve got two teenage sons, so that really concerns me,” she said.

Manoo, a resident who lives across the road from the park, added he heard a “helicopter flying around for about 20 minutes” at about 11pm last night.

Police are keen to hear from people who filmed the incident or residents with CCTV of the youths fleeing the scene.

Anyone with information that could assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

NEW COLD CASE ONLINE HUB

Victoria Police have launched a new online hub to obtain the public’s help to solve cold case murders.

It is hoped the Australian-first initiative, which is based on an approach used in Canada, will bring attention to the more than 200 unsolved deaths currently within the Homicide Squad’s files.

Every case featured in the ‘Cold Case Hub’ includes background on the investigation, a photograph of the victim and a personal appeal from the investigator to the public for information.

The murders that will be selected for the hub will be cases police believe there is a high probability of solving.

Five cases will initially be featured in the hub, with two more added every month.

Murder victim Fiona Burns as a child

Some of the unsolved cases on police books stretch as far back as 1951, with the force adamant the hub will help bring some offenders to account.

“I’m confident that we will see information coming in directly as a result of re-publicising these cases and hopeful that we will be able to get results,” Victoria Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Robert Hill said.

“We are hoping that these cases and the ones you will see in coming months, receive the same kind of support from our community.”

The first five cases which will be featured on the hub include:

• The fatal shooting of 34-year-old Jane-Thurgood Dove outside her Niddrie home on November 6, 1997

• The murders of teenagers Fiona Burns and John Lee, who were last seen hitchhiking between Adelaide and Melbourne in October 1990

• The brutal assault of Samantha Mizzi in St Kilda on March 30, 1994

• The death of 42-year-old Christopher Phillips at his Cheltenham home on May 1, 1990 and

• The fatal shooting of Christos Saristavros in the car park of a licensed premises in Box Hill on October 22, 2000.

The public are being asked to help solve the cold case murder of Jane Thurgood-Dove.

The new hub is based upon a model which is used by the Toronto Police Service in Canada.

That model was observed first hand by Homicide Squad boss Detective Inspector Tim Day during his 2018 Churchill Fellowship.

Detective Inspector Day said the experience was a light bulb moment for him.

“It reinforced with me how much of that success [in solving crimes] is rooted in the willingness of the Victorian public to provide information to police and the trust they have in our capability, Detective Inspector Tim Day said.

“For each case, someone out there knows something and if we have the confidence of the community, the means to allow reporting and the capability to then action that reporting, we can break open any cold case.”

The Homicide Squad Cold Case Hub can be accessed at police.vic.gov.au/cold-cases

Anyone with information about the featured cases is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

‘Normal Joes’ called on to help fight terrorism and organised crime

Meanwhile, bankers, accountants and IT experts are among the targets of a recruitment blitz for intelligence analysts to help fight organised crime and terrorism.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), which provides much of the intelligence to police before they make big arrests and seizures, is keen to hire people from different backgrounds rather than focusing solely on recruiting former police officers.

“The ACIC values life experience and a variety of practical skills and experiences, just as highly as we value formal qualifications and study,” ACIC chief executive officer Michael Phelan said.

“We are not only searching for people who are already in the national intelligence community or law enforcement, but also those who are graduating university, completing further study, those who have recently entered the workforce and those who have a wealth of life experience.”

The intelligence analyst jobs vary in salary from around $74,000 to $123,000 a year and are based around Australia.

ACIC intelligence analysts advise senior decision makers on the highest levels of transnational serious and organised crime threats facing Australia.

This includes targeting “elite level criminal syndicates”, illicit drugs, financial crime, cybercrime, gangs, illicit firearms and national security.

A current intelligence analyst said: “I’ve worked across a variety of serious and organised crime threats, directly contributing to protecting Australia and its interests, its people and our way of life.

In March the Herald Sun revealed secret questioning of bikie members and their associates was being ramped up in Victoria by the ACIC.

The ACIC’s coercive powers means bikies are forced to answer questions or go to jail.

The special powers are used to obtain information where traditional police methods fail and the ACIC is pushing ahead with plans to use its extraordinary powers more.

“The law enforcement and intelligence community face a growing challenge in infiltrating and

disrupting the activities of organised crime,” Mr Phelan said.

“To address these escalating challenges, we need to be open to considering new and improved ways of countering the insidious business of crime, and our intelligence analysts are at the forefront of this.

“Applications to become an intelligence analyst are open to everyone, and the skills you already have may be transferable to our agency.”

For more information go to acic.gov.au