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Victoria’s police chief has backed a senior detective who called for harsher punishments for youth crime following the murder of two boys in Melbourne’s west.
In an internal message to police officers, seen by this masthead, Chief Commissioner Mike Bush supported comments by Detective Inspector Graham Banks, who broke ranks with the courts and state government on Sunday and said the existing penalties in Victoria did not reflect community expectations.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush.Credit: Justin McManus
Police are investigating the murders of 12-year-old Chol Achiek and 15-year-old Dau Akueng, who were stabbed to death in Cobblebank, near Melton, just before 8pm on Saturday.
The deaths come after bins were installed around the state for people to surrender machetes and large blades, which have been banned in an attempt to tackle violence among youth gangs.
Addressing journalists after the murders on Sunday, Banks said rising crime in Victoria was “a really significant issue” and not just a policing problem.
“The policing position’s always been that there needs to be a strong deterrent for this type of behaviour, for carrying weapons, for people who break into homes with weapons, for people who carjack, for people who assault people with weapons,” he said.
Cobblebank stabbing victims Dau Akueng, 15, (left) and Chol Achiek, 12.
“Whether that balance is right is really a matter for the community and the courts and ultimately the government.
“But as I stand here before you, I think the penalties aren’t in balance with what community expectations are or mine.”
In a message sent to police, Bush said Banks had his full support as the force faced challenging times and responded to “unacceptably high levels of crime.”
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“I also want to acknowledge the comments of Detective Inspector Graham Banks ... who said what many [of] us think when asked in a media conference yesterday about the penalties which are being handed down in the courts for our worst offenders,” Bush wrote.
“He has my full support, there must be consequences for those who commit these crimes, which drive fear in our community, be that home invasions, an armed robbery or a carjacking.”
He said while police would always respect the independence of the courts, he understood the frustration of police officers.
Investigators believe the two stabbings in Cobblebank on Saturday, which occurred about 150 metres apart and on separate streets in the small suburb, were targeted attacks and connected.
Elbino Akueng, the father of Dau, said his son was walking home with friends after refereeing a basketball game when he was attacked on Saturday night.
Dau Akueng’s father, Elbino Akueng.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Akueng said he was at work when he found out two children had been killed in Cobblebank. When he frantically called his son’s phone, there was no answer.
“I need answers for my son. My son is just gone like this – he was a basketball player, not a criminal,” he said on Sunday.
Chol’s father, Cauti Nuong, described his son as clever and active.
“He is a good boy. Very clever, very intelligent. He is always active,” Nuong told Nine News.
“I know all the kids are equal, but sometimes there is one child that touches your heart.”
Nuong also said he wanted justice for his son, who was the second youngest of seven children.
Two men were also killed in separate incidents in Derrimut and Ivanhoe last week, while a woman was stabbed in Wyndham Vale. Police believed all three were targeted attacks.
Bush said he had written to police to also acknowledge the work of officers investigating the Ivanhoe and Derrimut killings as the force mourns two colleagues allegedly shot dead by Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah 13 days ago.
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In May, as he took on the top job, Bush vowed to make significant changes within Victoria Police and shift towards a “prevention mindset” to tackle the recent surge in crime rates, particularly youth offending, which has soared to the highest level since electronic records began in 1993.
He said community engagement and consultation was crucial to reversing the trend, which he insisted was not unique to Victoria.
“You have to get in front of these things, and having a prevention mindset and a prevention focus at the front is really, really important,” Bush said at the time.
With more than 40 years’ policing experience, Bush invoked Sir Robert Peel, who founded the London Metropolitan Police Force in 1829.
“We actually exist to prevent crime and harm,” Bush said.
More to come
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