Police in Bendigo are cracking down on unruly young people in the Hargreaves Mall following an escalation in antisocial behaviour during the past six weeks.

Senior Sergeant John Dalton said problematic behaviour in the mall had been an issue for many years, but the disturbances had recently escalated, including instances of property damage and physical fights.

He said police had met with traders, Department of Health and Human Services staff and the City of Greater Bendigo this week to discuss strategies for addressing the issue.

“It’s a case of several groups of youths hanging in the mall for no particular reason and with little to do,” he said.

“So we’ve joined up with other government agencies such as the DHHS and we’re going to look at different ways to address this matter.”

Senior Sergeant Dalton said police would step up patrols in the mall over the coming weeks to target unacceptable behaviour.

“We can reassure the public and the traders that they will be seeing more police patrolling those areas, particularly on foot,” he said.

“We’ll be throwing quite a significant amount of police resources at the issue.”

He praised central business district traders and the City of Greater Bendigo for being proactive in backing the police effort.

“Traders are very patient but they have businesses to run and we appreciate that, and the general public should be able to walk down the street and do their shopping without feeling worried about doing it,” he said.

Senior Sergeant Dalton said the DHHS and council had committed to help tackle underlying issues involved in youth offending, before young people came into contact with the justice system.

“That’s where the other government agencies are helping us, because boredom is a big issue,” he said.

“These kids need to be engaged into programs, and also if they should be at school they actually should be at school so the education department are involved in these talks as well.”

Police have been called to Hargreaves Mall a number of times in recent weeks, with at least two people taken into custody this week.

Senior Sergeant Dalton said new custody management officers which joined the Bendigo Police Station this week were already having an impact in freeing up resources to tackle issues like youth offending.

“That whole concept of introducing the PCOs is to enable the front line to get back on the street and get more front-line police back there to address matters such as this,” he said.

“And with the introduction of those we’ve already started seeing more police back on the street because of it.”