A vigilante-style group is running "safety patrols" in Melbourne's CBD to counteract what it claims is the inability of police to protect the public from rising street crime and gangs such as Apex.

The self-proclaimed "patriot" group Soldiers of Odin Australia – an offshoot of a far-right Finnish group – is patrolling Federation Square, Birrarung Marr and Bourke Street Mall and outside city train stations at night. Its members wear distinctive black uniform jackets emblazoned with a Norse war helmet and Australian flag.

It is believed to be the first time a vigilante-style organisation has operated in the city centre, although "community patrol" groups have reportedly emerged in the outer suburbs amid a spate of publicity about home invasions, bashings and carjackings linked to rising youth crime.

"We're fed up and our communities are fed up," national president Jay B Moore said. "We're going where Apex and other gangs are popping up and causing trouble.