Police have conceded they need to change their approach to dealing with out-of-control parties after they were unable to stop a Footscray house being trashed.
The owner of the short-term rental house watched on helplessly in the early hours of Sunday morning as party-goers smashed windows and knocked holes through walls.
They later hurled furniture, including a television, on to the street.
Kelly, who did not want her surname used, has owned the Ryan Street house for about four years and had been renting the house out for short-term stays.
She took a booking for Saturday night through Booking.com for five guests, but as the night went on, more than 100 people arrived.
Neighbours first called Kelly at 2am. She raised the alarm with police, but officers warned her against going into the house.
She said she was told that because people had rented the house and invited the guests, officers were not able to enter the property.
“I stood out there with the police and we all looked in as, basically windows were being smashed, massive holes in the walls, doors knocked through,” Kelly told radio station 3AW.
“It felt like I was watching my house burning down. The police say because these guests … invited people to the house they had a right to be there and they [police] were not able to enter the building.”
Kelly left, but at 7am neighbours contacted her again – this time informing her that the party-goers were throwing furniture and a television out into the street.
She believes fake names were used to make the booking.
Police confirmed that when they got to the house at 7.30am they found people throwing furniture on to the street. A 19-year-old Point Cook man was arrested for drunken behaviour.
Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane told 3AW on Tuesday he had asked senior police to work on an operational response plan in the wake of a string of similar incidents.
“We certainly have an issue around short-term rentals,” he said.
“Our lawyers are telling us that this is a lease, even though it’s a one night-lease, not a six-month lease.”
He said that meant police did not have the authority to enter the premises.
The incident follows similar outbreaks of trouble in North Melbourne last weekend and Altona and Werribee in recent months.
– with The Age
