Violence on Streets

       Australia and in particular Melbourne has been the scene of  street violence  and while not new it has become a major problem amongst the young people. In the last two to three years gangs have emerged and carried out unprovoked attacks especially in the night club areas where deaths have occurred at one hotel/club and also trouble has reared its head in our docklands area which has been recently established. It seems that the problem initially starts with people being effected by alcohol or drugs or both. At the beginning it was those who wanted to look for trouble or indeed liked their chances on the street would venture to the King street area and it’s been a chain reaction ever since. The Police are stretched to the limit with their numbers  limited through government budget and promises, they have Police officers on overtime being borrowed from outer city locations. We have seen Police adopt a New York style of offensive but still it’s a war zone out there. Night clubs have tighter alcohol trading laws placed on them as well. It seems it’s an ongoing battle where citizens are not safe to go out after dark in these areas at least. There have also been instances of robbery of individuals by groups of four or more for cash and mobiles, a run off for drug money once more. The realization that this also happens in America and the world for that matter its a trend that is being followed yet again and threatens our city as a safe tourist destination. We wonder what are the answers to this situation and set of circumstances we find ourselves in. We have also seen our judicial system as weak and lenient in serious crimes. When you see the victims, some deceased whilst others seriously injured facing a life-time of care as they can be to some degree paralyzed or perhaps in a vegetative state, having to learn life skills all over again.