"Confronting members of the public, loud behaviour, including running, wrestling in public," he said. "We had a number of concerns raised by the public." The two men were arrested near Donovans restaurant. A 17-year-old North Melbourne male was arrested for assaulting police and was released pending further inquiries, while an 18-year-old Flemington man was charged and bailed for possessing a drug of dependence. It is believed the group who confronted police overnight was made up of males and females from different backgrounds including caucasians and African-Australians.

Superintendent Green said the group was not "homogenous", came from Sunshine, Flemington, North Melbourne and Dandenong and were not part of any gangs. Loading City of Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss said Port Phillip council would announce a suite of new measures to protect beachgoers over summer on Friday. The council is expected to announce CCTV will be up and running along the foreshore by early December, as well as the roll-out of new buggies and personnel to patrol the beach. The mayor said councillors would discuss alcohol restrictions at a meeting on December 5.

Councillor Voss said despite "a few unfortunate incidents", the 11km of foreshore in the council area remained safe, even at night, and said the vast majority of visitors enjoyed themselves. Loading "Yes [it's] very safe, there are a lot of police down there at the moment," she said. "But at the end of the day St Kilda, in particular, is the most popular place to visit outside the CBD. It is a beautiful place and it really is undergoing a bit of a resurgence at the moment." Superintendent Green said the police officer who had been hit by a rock was uninjured and no one from the public had reported any injuries or property damage. He said local traders had praised police for their work.

"We've had positive feedback from some of the areas including local traders ... saying it was good to see police there, it was good to see police in numbers and it was good to see kids going before behaviour escalated into offending," he said. Among those who witnessed the events on Monday was Beth Martinu, the wife of the Liberal candidate for the district of Altona. She said she felt threatened by the group. The marketing and account manager and mother of four said she and her 14-year-old daughter had just left a concert at the Palais Theatre when “30 teens of African appearance walked into the car park in front of the car”. “They were both male and female and seemed hyped up or agitated,” she said. “After a few seconds of loud chatter a tall, solid girl punched a very thin girl in the face and kicked her in the stomach before four or so others dragged the victim away and out of the car park towards the park across the road."

She said police were quickly on the scene and she did not report what she saw. Mrs Martinu's husband Christian is trying to unseat Health Minister Jill Hennessy in Altona with the Liberals campaigning hard on law and order issues. The St Kilda foreshore has long been hotspot for crime for authorities, with police stepping up patrols in the area amid concerns over escalating violence. Officers were at foreshore from 6pm on Monday as a part of Operation Sandsafe, a summer initiative focusing on public order, preventing theft of personal property and road safety, police spokeswoman Creina O'Grady said. "Local police were supported by specialist resources including the Operations Response Unit, Public Order Response Team, Water Police and Transit Safety Division," she said.

On November 2, two men were bashed by a group of youths outside Donovans restaurant. No arrests have been made in relation to that matter. In that incident, as many as 15 youths, whom police said were of African appearance, were seen roaming St Kilda's foreshore before setting upon a young chef Daniel Maetzing and another man. Chef Daniel Maetzing was left bleeding after the attack. Credit:Channel Nine The violent incident spilled onto Jacka Boulevard blocking traffic as it escalated into a melee involving other kitchen staff. Mr Maetzing said at the time he feared he would be killed as the gang punched and kicked him, before clubbing him with a pole and glassing him with a champagne bottle.

Images from CCTV cameras of the youths allegedly involved in the bashing of chefs from Donovans restaurant in St Kilda on November 2. Credit:Victoria Police There were several violent assaults in St Kilda last summer. In December, a large group of youths were alleged to have bashed and robbed beachgoers in a wild brawl on the St Kilda foreshore in the early hours of the morning. Port Phillip council mayor Bernadene Voss said 10 CCTV cameras would be installed at five locations along the foreshore by December. The cameras will be monitored by police.