Alcohol the problem, Brumby says

Alcohol, not Sudanese migrants, is the common problem in violent attacks in Victoria, Premier John Brumby says.

Mr Brumby was speaking after a group of drunken youths assaulted a police detective in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park following a wake for murdered Sudanese teenager Liep Gony early today.

Police say assaults on officers are common and not confined to attacks from the Sudanese community, pointing out there were two other unrelated assaults in Victoria last night which had not received the same level of publicity.

Mr Brumby said it was unfair to blame migrants for causing the violence.

"In all cases, the common element was alcohol. So, I don't think it's at all helpful to put a racial characteristic to this," Mr Brumby told reporters.

"The principle problem that we're dealing with here is alcohol."

Mr Brumby said a special squad of 50 police had begun patrolling city nightclub areas, in a crackdown on alcohol-fuelled violence in the city's centre.

"There's a lot of assaults and they are driven by young people, generally young men, drinking too much alcohol," he said.

Mr Brumby said people needed to be responsible for their own behaviour and respect police.

"It is never acceptable, never acceptable, to hit, assault a police officer. Their job is to uphold the law, their job is to protect the safety of all of us."

He urged Victorians to bear in mind the benefits of multiculturalism.

"We live in a wonderfully rich and diverse community," he said.

"That's what's made our community stronger, better, fairer and the most successful multicultural community anywhere in the world."

The Age