Geelong CBD ‘thugs’
Preacher uses Bible as shield in mall attack
LITTLE Malop St is again at the centre of concerns over violent incidents filmed and posted to social media.
In the past week, two videos were widely shared of incidents on the small strip.
On December 22, a video was shared to Facebook of a young man being brutally punched while already seemingly unconscious on the ground at the west end of Little Malop St.
Just four days later, another video was uploaded to social media, of a barefoot woman verbally and physically abusing a Christian preacher who had been shouting an apparent sermon at bystanders in the mall.
She eventually raises her fists at the victim before another person stepped in to drag her away.
Despite repeated attempts to quell the situation, the woman’s behaviour escalates and the victim raising his Bible to protect his face during the assault before police arrive.
The videos follow a 2015 incident where a 14-year-old girl was arrested and charged for her part in the bashing of a 12-year-old girl — again filmed and posted online.
Questions have again been raised of what is being done to improve safety in the heart of Geelong.
Liberal MP Andrew Katos said violent incidents were largely a result of lenient sentencing through the legal system.
“These are thugs, and that sort of behaviour is despicable behaviour,” the South Barwon state MP said.
“The problem we’ve got is we’re not getting proper sentencing for people’s actions, there’s no responsibility and these people under this government know you can get away with it.
“People have got to understand that Labor has been in power in Victoria for 14 of the last 18 years, and they’ve made the vast majority of appointments to our judiciary — so they have to accept some of the responsibility for lenient sentencing.”
Geelong state Labor MP Christine Couzens could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The latest round of much-publicised violence on Little Malop St comes after a Safe City Summit organised by Geelong Council and Victoria Police in September.
The summit proposed a range of initiatives to improve the area, including the relocation of the busy bus interchange, providing outreach support services in the mall, and the need to activate the area through al fresco dining, a playground, big screens and all-ages events.
Following the summit, City of Greater Geelong chief administrator Kathy Alexander said she would draw up an action plan that would detail specific roles of different agencies.
It is not known if Ms Alexander completed this plan.
City of Greater Geelong acting chief executive Linda Quinn said addressing antisocial behaviour was a community-wide challenge.
Ms Quinn said the Safe City Summit identified improvements to address issues on Little Malop St.
“An action plan addressing these elements will guide the work conducted by the City during 2018,” Ms Quinn said.
“The City will continue to work with Victoria Police, the Local Safety Committee and the G21 Regional Justice Reference Group to make the Little Malop St Mall a safe community space.”