Mildura father’s outrage over ‘out of control’ youth crime

A Mildura father, whose daughter was assaulted on camera, has called on the state government to address the youth crime crisis.

Mildura locals have called on the state government to crack down on an “out of control” youth crime crisis, with kids as young as 12 attacking people at random and then proudly posting vision of their assaults online.

In one shocking incident last week, a 15-year-old girl was set upon by two 12-year-old girls while she stood outside of the local post office.

Footage obtained by the Herald Sun shows one of the thugs punching the victim in the head at least six times. Another video captured the moment she is attacked again while sitting at a Hungry Jacks.

The victim’s father Matt, who didn’t want his surname used, said he was disgusted by the brazenness of the attack, which was posted to Instagram with the caption “Pumped ya s—”.

Several Instagram pages have been made dedicated to sharing videos of young people fighting in Mildura.

Matt said his daughter, who sustained bruises at the back of her head, was incredibly lucky she wasn’t seriously hurt.

Video footage uploaded to social media shows a young girl attacked by two teenage girls in Mildura on January 17. Source: Instagram

Video footage uploaded to social media shows a young girl attacked by two teenage girls in Mildura on January 17. Source: Instagram

He called on the Allan government to ditch plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, claiming youth crime in Mildura is “out of control”.

“Something needs to be done urgently before someone gets urgently hurt or even killed,” he said.

“It’s just bulls—t. I’ve got no words. They just can’t getting away with it.”

Victoria Police said they spoke to two 12-year-old girls from Mildura after the incident. They were “issued cautions for affray and threat to inflict serious injury”.

The most recent crime data revealed crime in Mildura rose by a worrying 14 per cent in 2023 to reach a 10-year high, with almost two alleged assaults or related offences every day within the 12-month period.

There were nearly 6000 criminal incidents in the regional city for the year ending in September, a huge increase from the 5168 recorded in 2022.

While crooks aged 18 to 24-years-old were responsible for the majority of offences recorded overall, children and teens aged 10 to 17-years-old racked up over 450 criminal offences in that period.

Video footage uploaded to social media shows a young girl attacked by two teenage girls in Mildura on January 17. Source: Instagram

The crime crisis has forced fed-up locals to take to social media, with community members creating a petition to warn parents of the escalating war on their children in public.

Mildura Investigation and Response manager Inspector David Rowe said Victoria Police has dedicated proactive policing units designed to steer youth away from a life of crime.

“The majority of young people within our community are law-abiding, well-behaved members of society, with youth offenders making up a very small percentage of the overall population,” he said.

Nationals Mildura MP Jade Benham said immediate action is needed to deal with offenders who often face “very little consequences”.

“Our police members are doing what they can within their policies, but it’s a vicious cycle - wash and repeat,” she said.

“It’s all abhorrent, but filming it and using it for content infuriates me.”

The Herald Sun last year revealed more than 100 fight club videos had been posted to social media within just six months as the trend reached new heights in Melbourne.

In just a four week period, more than 20 videos were posted to one account, glorifying brutal bashings of teenagers at Victorian schools.

Shocking videos showed school children being kicked, punched and stomped on — often by a gang of young thugs in the schoolyard or classroom.

A government spokeswoman said 28 additional police had been deployed to Mildura.

“Our thoughts are with anyone affected by crime and our number one priority is always community safety,” she said.