No dog squad, but police defend response after youths trash Airbnb rental

Claims police didn’t have the resources to stop a wild party tearing apart a Melbourne apartment have been rejected by senior police.

The apartment block at 200 Spencer Street, Melbourne.

Senior police have rejected a leaked incident report which claims local officers did not have the resources to properly combat an out-of-control Airbnb party involving up to 40 youths of African appearance in Melbourne’s CBD.

The African Australian youths allegedly tore apart a short-term rental apartment in the Neo200 tower on Spencer Street on Saturday night with police arriving early Sunday to find holes in the walls, doors off hinges, plates smashed, and broken bottles on the floors.

It was later revealed there were two aggravated burglaries in apartments on the same floor of the tower as the party.

And police are now investigating another robbery outside the tower.

Four men, aged between 17 and 20, have been arrested over the robbery outside the tower and will face courts in the coming days.

Melbourne’s 3AW radio reported this morning that a leaked report from police who attended the scene said a range of police resources — from dog squads to air patrols — were not available and that the critical response unit would not help unless someone was stabbed.

Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner Deb Abbott told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell that the dog squad and air wing were unavailable on the night, but said other claims in the report were not accurate.

“All these resources, when they are available, are that the beck and call, and can be called,” she said.

Mr Mitchell asked: “Is it right that the critical incident response team will only turn up if a person’s been stabbed?”

“Incorrect,” the Assistant Commissioner responded. When asked if senior officers who drew up the report had made incorrect claims, she said: “Yes … we’ll absolutely be talking to them.”

The leaked report suggests that police were unable to initiate a “party disruption plan” but Assistant Commissioner Abbott said that the youths had left the building by the time police arrived, and that the disruption plan was put into action to “scoop up” any offenders still in the area.’

“The notes that we got (from officers on the scene) were that people were dispersing down the stairwells and possibly with knives … we got people there very quickly, they had already dispersed,” she said.

“We’ve actually arrested four people, that’s for the robbery … we’re now investigating whether all these incidents, including the aggravated burglaries in the towers, are related.”

The out-of-control party at the Neo200 tower is the latest in a string of disruptive Airbnb parties linked to African youths.

New laws passed the Victorian Parliament last month that can blacklist apartments used repeatedly for wild parties and offer compensation of up to $2000 for neighbours. Guests can also face fines of up to $1100 for damaging property or behaving badly.