Suburb tense after 4th night of violence

CANBERRA - Police were again patrolling the southwestern Sydney suburb of Macquarie Fields in strength yesterday in a bid to head off a fifth consecutive night of violence.

Although raids on local houses and arrests made during more riots on Monday night targeted suspected ringleaders in the violence that has continued nightly since last Friday, the suburb remained tense yesterday.

But with further community meetings and the presence of officers equipped with riot gear, police were hoping tempers were cooling to prevent another night of street fighting.

Police have been pelted with firebombs, rocks and bricks since two teenagers died in a stolen car that crashed into a tree after being chased by an unmarked police car.

Locals blame police for the deaths.

The violence has also drawn in youths from other troubled areas of Sydney, including western suburbs with similar levels of unemployment, disadvantage and frustration, and the Aboriginal enclave of Redfern.

Redfern erupted last year after teenagers Thomas "TJ" Hickey was impaled on a fence while fleeing police.

"Certainly the intelligence systems available to us would indicate that there is an element of rent-a-crowd at Macquarie Fields," New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney told Sky News.

"There's no difficulty with people exercising a democratic right and having free expression, but that free expression cannot be associated with violence."

Already subjected to death threats and graffiti warning "we will kill you dogs", police have also now been forced to defend themselves against charges of brutality during the riots.

Moroney has denied excessive force, but defended the tactics used.

"The police have got to be able to respond," he said. "I believe the response to date has been appropriate.

"There are many, many fine people in Macquarie Fields, and in particular in Eucalyptus Drive [the scene of the violence] and we owe it to them to restore order.

"I haven't been and I won't be an apologist for how we drive down crime and reduce the fear of crime."

Police have also been criticised for allowing the driver of the stolen car in which Dyllan Raywood, 17, and Matthew Robertson, 19, died, to go free.

He reported to police under terms of a court order the day after the accident, but could not be questioned in relation to it because of a lack of evidence at the time and what Moroney described as "unrelated operational reasons".

But police said they expected an early arrest.

They have already taken 19 people into custody, some of whom appeared in court yesterday, and say that although the crowds have been large, the actual violence has been carried out by only about 30 to 40 people.

"There was a large element of rubbernecks out there, people just coming to have a look - the stickybeak factor," Moroney said.

Monday night's violence broke out after police carried out raids in the area.

But State Premier Bob Carr defended the police actions and said he trusted his senior officers' judgment.

He also rejected comparisons with last year's Redfern riots.

"This is bad behaviour by a criminal few that's bringing discredit on a whole community."