By CHARLENE MACAULAY
ASSAULTS and thefts by African youths are on the rise, according to new police statistics.
Victoria Police has revealed for the first time that Somali and Sudanese born Victorians are being over-represented in crime statistics, with a significant increase in crime over the past 12 months – particularly in the West, which boasts a high African population.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said Somali and Sudanese born Victorians were five times more likely to commit a crime than the rest of the community, with the bulk of offenders under the age of 21.
A total 87.8 per cent of alleged Somali offenders came from the North West metropolitan region, while 61.1 per cent of alleged Sudanese offenders were processed in the North West.
Up to 30 per cent were arrested over assault offences, while thefts, robberies, and property damage were also common offences.
However, the number of alleged Sudanese and Somali offenders still constitutes a low percentage of the total number of offenders prosecuted state wide, making up only 0.92 per cent and 0.35 per cent of offenders respectively.
Asst Comm Fontana said if left unattended, the situation could escalate into Cronulla riot proportions.
“I don’t think I have concerns at this stage; we are doing a lot of work in the community, however we do need to think about if we don’t stop the trend now, in the future we could have concerns,” he said.
“Its early days yet, the real issue is the support these particular communities need to break the cycle of offending by young people.”
Victoria University researcher Elleni Bereded-Samuel said the West housed Victoria’s largest African community, with migrant families first moving to Footscray or Flemington and now heading out to Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham as house prices go up and the inner West becomes gentrified.
Mr Bereded-Samuel said Footscray had now become a popular hang-out for Somali and Sudanese youths.
“All the action in the West is happening in Footscray,” she said.
“They come to Footscray and when they are together, that’s when all the trouble happens.”
Ms Bereded-Samuel, who migrated to Australia from Ethiopia more than 17 years ago, said many of the youths had spent most – some all – of their lives in refugee camps before coming to Australia, and had trouble adjusting to the Australian way of life.
“They’ve never been in school, they’ve never had a pen and a pencil.
“A 16-year-old would have to fit in, in year 10 in a new country, in a new environment, where the language is different, the people around them are different. It’s too much stress.
“These kids get confused, and then they get angry.
“The street life is the easy life – because they have no boundaries.”
