AUSTRALIA’S Race Discrimination Commissioner and Victoria Police are at odds over comments linking African youth crime rates and the Cronulla riots.
Police statistics released on Monday show Somalia and Sudan-born Victorians are five times more likely to commit offences than the broader population of Victoria.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said police were most worried about assaults and street robberies.
“We are concerned about the level of offending by youth of African descent and we’re particularly concerned about the level of violence on these occasions and also the age of the individuals involved – a vast majority are under 21.”
Police are working with community groups, local councils and government agencies on programs to help break the cycle of offending.
Assistant Commissioner Fontana said there had nevertheless been a noticeable rise in incidents over the past 12 months in areas such as Footscray, Sunshine and Melton.
He said Cronulla-style riots were a worst case scenario “many years down the track”.
“We’re saying if you don’t break the cycle now and it continues on, we’re going to have a larger population and there’s always that potential to occur.”
But Race Discrimination Commissioner Helen Szoke told the Weekly this link overlooked the reality of the Cronulla riots.
“The Cronulla riots were fuelled by racists; not by the disadvantaged but by racists. If you look at what happened in the UK with the London riots, that was also different, there was a range of complexities.” Ms Szoke warned race-based statistics could mislead. “When particular crimes become associated with certain groups, police may more heavily target that group, inflating the rate of arrests.”
Assistant Commissioner Fontana said he was aware police risked further stigmatising Melbourne’s African community, but he believed there was a public safety issue and a broader issue about these communities genuinely needing help.
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