Mike Edmonds: Herald Sun | September 13, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24337433-2862,00.html
MELBOURNE’S Indian and Pakistani taxi drivers are being bashed and robbed by African youth gangs.
And there are fears the number of attacks reported to Victoria Police is only the tip of the iceberg.
The hot spot for inter-racial violence is Melbourne’s inner north. This year between May 8 and August 2 there were 12 reported robberies on taxi drivers in Flemington, Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale.
Police will not officially acknowledge any particular ethnic group is a target, or that any other group is carrying out the crimes.
But in every case the victims told police their attackers were African and there was always more than one. Knives are the weapon in most taxi robberies reported to police, but meat cleavers and screw drivers have also been used.
Ten of the 12 victims are from the Indian sub-continent, but police are not prepared to say Melbourne’s foreign student taxi drivers have become targets…
Liberal MP Bernie Finn, whose electorate covers the danger zone, said police had to start acknowledging they had a gang problem.
“What we need to do is round up the ringleaders of these gangs and send them home,” Mr Finn said.
“We are more than capable of producing our own thugs and thieves without importing them.
“The biggest hurdle we face is that we have a chief commissioner of police who refuses to accept that gangs exist. She won’t even say the word gang.” [more ...]
Comment:
At least one politician has it right. Ship those muggers back.
Cailen.