‘Don’t call them gangs’ | Police make plea to media

Victoria Police has taken the extraordinary step of calling on the state’s media to stop referring to the African youths behind recent riots and police assaults in Melbourne as “gangs”.

Two youths have been arrested and police are still searching for another five following a Werribee riot where officers were pelted with rocks.

The tag “MTS” – standing for Menace To Society – was sprayed on the walls of the Werribee house.

The same tag has been sprayed all over community facilities at Tarneit.

However, deputy police commissioner Andrew Crisp says referring to offenders as “MTS or APEX” is only feeding their ego.

“There is no evidence or intelligence to suggest we’ve got a gang,” he said.