Sydney police begin beach patrols

Police fear the summer heat could reignite racial tensions

Police in Australia have begun to patrol beaches in the city of Sydney in order to prevent a repeat of last year's serious racial clashes.

Around 80 officers will police popular beaches throughout the summer as part of "Operation Beachsafe".

The patrols will send a tough message to potential troublemakers, New South Wales Police Minister Carl Scully said.

Severe clashes took place in December 2005, with mobs of youths clashing on and around the city's beaches.

Mr Scully said that police would patrol Cronulla, Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands beaches.

"The message to anyone intent on causing trouble or upheaval is quite simple - the police will be cracking down hard on you," he said.

The new patrols will be backed up by canine units, a helicopter and an offshore patrol boat. Traffic officers will also scan car number plates for known troublemakers.

Ethnic tensions

More than 1,500 police had to be deployed in Sydney last year to end the fighting.

The clashes began when mobs of white youths attacked people of Arabic and Mediterranean appearance on Cronulla Beach, apparently in revenge for an attack on two lifeguards.

The violence escalated, with hundreds of rioters urged to congregate in the area by text messages, and led to two nights of fighting and vandalism.

The New South Wales state parliament passed emergency measures giving police new powers as they fought to end the unrest.

Police fear that a hot summer could spark a return of the violence.

On Friday, a group of people, reportedly Asian, were attacked by around 20 men at Maroubra beach as they unpacked for a barbeque.

But the state police commissioner, Andrew Scipione, played down the suggestion that ethnic tensions were escalating.