Business Owners told to ‘Learn Martial Arts’ Amid Violent Crime Wave

Hundreds of local residents walked through streets to demand tougher bail laws and more police to stop random knife attacks and robberies.

Signage on a police vehicle in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 16, 2022. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

With violent crimes and aggravated burglaries on the rise in the affluent eastern Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda, residents took to the streets earlier this week to demand stronger action.

Several hundred residents marched through the streets and held up trams during the “Make Port Philip Safer” community walk on Jan. 20, which concluded at Acland St Plaza, where many small businesses have been targeted by thieves.