By Mitchell Clarke
A horrifying bashing in Pakenham which left a 20-year-old man battered and bruised has garnered political attention.
Lachlan Brown was allegedly assaulted by a group of men, believed to be of African appearance, at about 3pm on 2 January outside Pakenham station.
A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed the victim was approached by three men who asked for a cigarette, when it’s understood he ran away.
Mr Brown was chased and assaulted, with the alleged offenders ripping his shirt before they stole his phone, wallet and a bag, leaving him with a swollen nose, fat lip, scratches to the face and bruises across his body.
Lachlan’s mother, Helen Brown, told the Gazette her son would recover physically but the ordeal would “scar him” mentally for a long time.
“They laid into him really, really aggressively,” Ms Brown explained.
“He’s not a fighter, he’s not an out-there kid, and he keeps to himself in his small group of friends. This was completely unprovoked.”
Ms Brown has spoken with La Trobe MP Jason Wood “almost every day” since the attack occurred at the start of the year.
“It’s just horrible. I think I’ve got past being upset and I’m just angry now. I want to do something,” she said.
Mr Wood shared a similar sentiment, admitting he believed there were ongoing issues with youth gangs and violence.
“In our areas we seem to be seeing a number of these really cowardly types of assaults occurring,” Mr Wood said.
“There are obviously ongoing issues with youth gangs and youth violence.
“There has to be strong penalties, if you do this and you’re an Australian citizen, you need to go to jail. If you’re on a visa, it needs to be cancelled and you need to be deported.”
But Mr Wood said early intervention programs such as the Les Twentyman Foundation, which encourages positive intervention for at-risk youth, should be the priority.
“There is no one approach fits all, it’s about early intervention and we need the State Government to come to the party and start putting money into programs and supporting these programs,” he added.
In the meantime, Ms Brown and Mr Wood are calling for protective services officers (PSOs) to be implemented at stations along the Pakenham line 24 hours a day.
“The PSOs really need to be at the station 24/7 because Pakenham is getting out of control, it’s just crazy,” Ms Brown said.
“With the greatest respect to the Premier, I think we need to get PSO’s or transit police on the Pakenham line,” Mr Wood added.
“They should be manning stations on the Pakenham line. I thought it was policy, I don’t know why they weren’t there.”
A State Government spokesperson told the Gazette that PSOs are permanently stationed at Pakenham from 6pm until the last train.
“We’re working with Victoria Police to ensure our PSOs have the resources and powers they need to keep the Pakenham community and commuters safe,” the spokesperson said.
“We changed the legislation to enable Victoria Police to establish a mobile team of PSOs that can be used when and where they’re needed, at different times of day, based on intelligence of harm.
“This team is being used during the day at key hotspots, and could be deployed at Pakenham station if Victoria Police determines it’s appropriate.”
An additional 100 PSOs will be deployed after the State Government invested $3 billion into Victoria Police.
Meanwhile, 180 new police have been deployed or allocated to the Dandenong division, which encompasses Cardinia.
