Moomba Festival: Dozens arrested in Melbourne in crime crackdown

Updated March 12, 2017 15:52:44

Photo: There was heavy police presence along Melbourne's Swanston Street on Saturday after a violent brawl last year. (ABC News)

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Map: Melbourne 3000

Weapons have been seized and more than 50 people have been arrested as part of a police crackdown on Melbourne's Moomba Festival.

About 100 police officers were dispatched to the city's CBD after a gang of youths ran amok at the festival last year and social media posts suggested plans were afoot to cause trouble again.

Victoria Police assistant commissioner Andrew Crisp said more than 100 young people came into the city looking to "engage in disruptive behaviour" on Saturday night.

But he said police were able to maintain the peace with the help of community leaders.

"There were a couple of very small fights where someone might have got close to someone else, but there was certainly no major fights in the city last night," Mr Crisp said.

More than 53 people have been arrested since Friday, including nine for weapons-related offences, two for assaulting police and five for riotous behaviour.

More than 800 weapons searches uncovered a "disturbing" haul, including knives, a taser and a knuckle duster, police said.

Assistant commissioner Crisp said police used pepper spray on groups of young people wanting to fight at Federation Square, but reports the area had been shut down at around 11:00pm due to a riot were "not exactly right".

"You had mainly young men from some different groups who wanted to get together and to fight," he said.

"Our members were there, they were well prepared, they kept these groups apart, they used [pepper spray] as a tool to actually do that."

He said additional police were brought into Federation Square and people may have voluntarily left the area due to the use of pepper spray.

Two police received minor injuries as part of the operation and several people had to be treated for secondary exposure to pepper spray.

Strong police presence to continue

Victoria's Police Minister, Lisa Neville, said last year's incident left a "scar" on the Victorian community.

"Last year we experienced quite early in the evening a situation where it felt very out of control, where Victorian families were affected in their ability to enjoy Moomba," she said.

"That was not the case yesterday and last night, or Friday night, and to see 53 arrests made over the two nights — which is about 10-15 more than you would see on a usual weekend — suggests that police were very well prepared."

She said the event still had two days to go and police presence would continue to be strong until the festival wrapped up on Monday.

Victoria's Shadow Attorney-General, John Pesutto, praised Victoria Police for their efforts but criticised the Government for its handling of youth justice.

"Although Daniel Andrews wants to talk a tough game when it comes to smashing these gangs, what's very clear from last night's activities is that many of these individuals simply don't believe the Premier, or they don't take him as credible on this issue," he said.

Despite the tensions, more than 1 million visitors are expected to visit the banks of the Yarra River throughout the weekend for Moomba.

The festivities include water skiing, fireworks, sand sculpting and a carnival.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said Moomba would be more spread out this year, with festivities on both sides of the Yarra, an indication of its growing popularity.

"When I first became Mayor I must admit I thought Moomba was pretty sad and we had a decision to make then; either bring it back to life or euthanase it," he said.

"We decided to bring it back to life and I think that was one of our best decisions."

Topics: community-and-society, community-and-multicultural-festivals, youth, police, law-crime-and-justice, melbourne-3000, vic

First posted March 12, 2017 09:49:10