By Ethan Benedicto and Violet Li
The recent brawl at Casey RACE, alongside the assault of a lifeguard at Casey ARC, has prompted the City of Casey’s mayor, Stefan Koomen, to assure that there are “strong procedures“ in place for the safety of the community.
Likewise, these incidents have since fanned discussions amongst local residents and facility patrons on safety, especially considering the presence of younger children.
Koomen said that the council is working with its leisure contractor, Aligned Leisure, to ensure that there are “strong procedures in place to protect the community and staff when there are any serious instances”.
“These two incidents are currently under police investigation, so we can’t comment specifically on them, and we’re working with Victoria Police, our staff, and the contractors, as they do their investigations,” he said.
Koomen also added that on both occasions, it has been confirmed that staff had followed procedure when it comes to responding to these types of incidents.
He further noted that these are “two separate incidents” that took place at different times and places.
The investigation into the assault on the lifeguard remains ongoing, according to Victoria Police, with more information to be made available to the public when there is an update.
The investigation into the Casey RACE brawl also remains ongoing.
The said brawl between youths at the Cranbourne East pools on Sunday 2 February led to a facility-wide evacuation, with police attending the incident.
However, all parties had left the scene before officials could intervene, and no injuries were reported.
About two weeks before the Casey RACE brawl, a group of eight youths assaulted a 19-year-old lifeguard at Casey ARC – another aquatic centre in the City of Casey.
However, sentiments from employees at neighbouring facilities have noted that there have never been any “specific issues”.
“We’ve been here for a while now, and there are always a lot of kids and families in this area with the courts and the pools, but it (fights) is not really a concern.
“I don’t think it’s something to highlight, maybe the issue is just over there but it certainly hasn’t spilled out of it,” they said.
Another worker said that children and youth are common in the Casey RACE area, considering The Shed Skatepark, Casey Stadium, and schools in close proximity such as Casey Grammar, fights and scuffles are few in between.
“It’s not really common, I mean what happened at the other place was different, but things like fights don’t really happen,” a local resident who frequented the area’s facilities said.
“A lot of people come here to enjoy the amenities, so I mean, from my perspective, I think it’s normal for people to not want to ruin that atmosphere.
“I mean it sucks that it’s happened twice at different pools now, but I wouldn’t say it’s a regular occurrence.”
While there is no confirmation from the police if the two incidents are linked, social media is rife with unfounded allegations such as that the same group of teens was involved in the two incidents, with a focus on the ethnicity of the teens.
The suspect images of the Casey ARC assault released by the police have shown that the offenders are of Middle Eastern appearance, while an alleged low-resolution video of the Casey RACE brawl does not exhibit identifiable facial features.
A number of online comments on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) urged the deportation of “Afghan youth gangs” after the second incident.
A racism expert – who did not wish to be named – said the two incidents were a social problem, not an ethnic problem.
“By emphasising that it was a group of Afghan kids, it sounds like it was done because they were Afghans, but it has nothing to do with them being Afghans or other races,” they said.
The expert noticed that the two incidents were used by far-right extremist groups in Victoria to push their ideological extremist agenda.
“I think when people read it, they may not get the bigger idea of those neo-Nazi groups that are driving that. But what they do see is the people, the non-white or the Afghan or the African, they cause trouble. Maybe we should keep them all out,” they said.
“That makes them then more vulnerable or more susceptible or more receptive to the bigger ideological agenda of those groups.
“These groups are trying to gradually bring more people to their ideological mindset with that kind of message. And that’s common across the world. It’s not specific to Australia.”
Acting on safety, Royal Lifesaving Victoria updated a December 2024 release and campaign on tackling abuse against lifeguards called, ‘Keep Your Cool at the Pool’.
According to their research, in 2023/2024, there were over 2000 incidents that involved abuse, violence and aggression directed at staff who were working in aquatic facilities around the country.
The campaign, as stated on their website, sets out clear behavioural expectations for users and “calls for users of aquatic facilities to treat each other and staff respectfully”.
Royal Life Saving general manager, capability and industry RJ Houston said that “violence and aggressions towards lifeguards and swim teachers are unacceptable”.
“Our campaign has been developed to reinforce a culture of respect, cooperation and zero-tolerance for aggression in aquatic facilities.
“Lifeguards and swim teachers provide a critical lifesaving role to the community and are there to keep everyone safe when they give instructions to swimmers, this is to maintain a safe and enjoyable environment for all,” he said.
In depth, the campaign looks to support staff safety and well-being as well as the patrons, by “encouraging responsible behaviour”.
At the same time, it endeavours to improve the confidence of lifeguards, swim teachers and reception staff when it comes to delivering safety instructions to facility goers through the minimisation of instances of abuse and aggression.
Touching on Casey’s endeavour to improve and nourish coherency within the youth, Koomen said that it remains a crucial part of what the council strives for.
“It’s part of the work that councils, schools, sporting clubs do to make sure that we have positive social spaces and activities for young people to be part of,” he said.
“That is a big focus of our work as new councillors, and it’s to make sure that there are those spaces where kids can be active and have healthy activities, so we want to encourage young people to use these facilities, but use them safely and properly.”
For a local shopper and mum of two, the fights have been a “concern”, seeing as that she and her family are frequent visitors to both pools.
“You get the usual kids running around wet surfaces, which is already dangerous in itself,” she said.
“But fights? Someone could get seriously hurt and if it keeps going then it could be sooner than later.”
