‘Our hands are tied over wild parties’: Victoria Police

Police in Victoria are rethinking their approach to out-of-control house parties after a spate of wild gatherings.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane. Picture: Jay Town

Victoria Police is rethinking its approach to out-of-control house parties after a spate of wild gatherings mostly involving youths of African appearance led to claims of police inaction.

A senior Victoria Police officer yesterday said he was reviewing police responses to parties such as the one in Footscray at the weekend where up to 150 youths of ­African appearance trashed a short-term rental and police waited hours to intervene.

The homeowner said police did not act when first called because the “guests” were invited to the property by the people who had rented the home overnight, and because the officers were uncertain the property was being damaged.

The Footscray party, one of two such incidents in 10 days, has also put the spotlight on the African Australian Community Taskforce set up by police in January in the aftermath of a wave of mug­gings, home invasions and wild parties involving youths from Melbourne’s African community.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane yesterday said he has asked his officers to set up a new plan to deal with out-of-control house parties.

“I don’t think it’s a good look ... I’ve asked senior police to work on an operational response plan,” he told 3AW radio, “so that we can be much quicker in our responses to these things and that we can escalate and have enough of the right police there, and have senior police there to take charge.

“I don’t want to see these ­stories on the front page of the paper.”

Commissioner Leane declined to answer The Australian’s ­questions over whether the ­African Community Taskforce was effective.

However, he said the rise in popularity of short-term leases caused challenges for police, who needed to be trained on the extent of their powers.

He said lawyers had warned police against going into short-term rentals unless there was proof of damage, as those occupiers had the same rights as long-term renters.

“We certainly have an issue around short-term rentals ... our lawyers are telling us that this is a lease, even though it’s a one-night lease, not a six-month lease,” he told 3AW.

“It’s a civil matter, so you’re off to VCAT if you want to try and exclude them from the premises.”

He said police had identified other people who attended the Footscray party and “anticipate that further arrests will be made in due course”.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton declined to comment yesterday on the issue of out-of-control parties and the effectiveness of the African community task force.

Mr Ashton has not made any comments to the media since news of the latest out-of-control party broke.

Clyde Sharady, the owner of Africa Media Australia and a former member of the African ­Australian Community Taskforce, said the police-community group could not change things overnight.

“The task force is still really being set up — it can’t do much in the next few weeks as most of these issues stem from deeply rooted social problems,” he said.

South Sudanese Community Association chairman Ring Mayar did not respond to a request for comment.

The Footscray house was trashed by youths, mostly of African appearance, on Sunday morning with doors smashed, paintings ripped off walls, and a television thrown out of the top-floor window.

Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville said the state government had introduced tougher laws on short-term rentals, including fines of up to $1100 for guests who damaged properties or disturbed neighbours, but these plans were still sitting in the upper house of parliament.

“Police have powers to enter a private property in response to a breach of the peace ... they are constantly reviewing and ­adapting their response to emerging public safety challenges,” she said.