There is a clear and urgent risk to racial harmony in Australia if the public debate about Sudanese-Australians and crime continues as it is, says Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane.

He says Australia should have open debates about multiculturalism, immigration and crime.

"But we've got to do it with a measure of perspective and responsibility," he told The World Today.

"Unfortunately we are seeing right now the return of race politics and the fuelling of racial fear and anxiety.

"And if we're not careful about this, we risk doing some serious damage to our racial harmony," he warns.

'It's not about putting your head in the sand'

Victoria Crime Stats, year ending September 2017 Country of birth Number of offenders pc of offender population Australia 59,048 71.7 pc New Zealand 1,826 2.2 pc India 1,155 1.4 pc UK and Ireland 1,063 1.3 pc Vietnam 920 1.1 pc Sudan 846 1.0 pc Source: Crime Statistics Victoria

The commissioner says debates should involve facts, evidence, and not unfairly single out communities in connection with crime.

"If you're talking about crime statistics in Victoria — and most of the debate about African crime, or so-called African crime, has been focused on Victoria, let's be clear — we have an over-representation of Australian-born and New Zealand-born criminal offenders as well," he pointed out.

"Yet the focus seems to be placed squarely on African-background offenders, particularly those born in Sudan."

Sudanese-Australian community members recognise that there are a small number of offenders in the community, and that they require attention, said Mr Soutphommasane, but the matter is complex.

"We are talking about issues around youth crime that are bound up in economic and social disadvantage.

"If we reduce this to race and ethnicity alone, we risk creating division and creating more problems than we solve."

'Dangerous position', not dangerous city

Sorry, this video has expired South Australian federal MP Christopher Pyne was asked if he was afraid to go to restaurants in Melbourne.

The Chief of Police in Victoria, Graham Ashton, said in press conference that the situation involved "a few hundred offenders in a city of 4.5 million people".

He refuted the assertion that people feel unsafe in Melbourne, describing it as "complete and utter garbage".

He has said there is no reason to focus on African youth as opposed to broader youth problems, and that the problems are more about socio-economic issues that are faced by African-Australians.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton with African community leaders, January 10, 2018. ( ABC News: Simon Winter )

"Absolutely, because we're not talking about something that should be reduced to racial or ethnic backgrounds," said Mr Soutphommasane.

"If that were the case, we should be focusing for example on the racial backgrounds of those who created a violent brawl at the AFL last week in Geelong.

"Why isn't there attention focused on the racial backgrounds of murderers such as Adrian Bayley or Roger Rogerson or Carl Williams?"

"We're in a dangerous position if we focus on race and ethnicity only for some groups but not for others."

Community advocates, like Anthony Kelly from Smart justice, have previously explained the stigma and discrimination faced by young African migrants as a result of media coverage of the "gang crisis".

"Being stopped prolifically is a very common experience for African young people in Melbourne — being stopped by police and being asked what they're doing and to account for themselves," Mr Kelly has told the ABC.

Youths from African cultural backgrounds have also told Mr Soutphommasane that when they congregate in groups on the streets, they get mistaken for gang members.

"I've had youth tell me that in walking from a train station to a sporting event, they have been stopped by police because there have been members of the public who have been alarmed at seeing a group of African-background youths," he said.

'A sure recipe for racial disharmony and crime'

The Race Discrimination Commissioner has warned against pushing young people away and making them feel rejected.

"Because that's a sure recipe for racial disharmony and for crime," he said.

He proposed that reason and fact should be the basis of any conversation or debate on this issue, and he warns there will be consequences otherwise.

"If we don't get it right, if we fuel anxiety and panic, what we can end up doing is normalising racism and bigotry and making it acceptable to air prejudice and to exercise discrimination against others. "That would undermine our society, it would diminish our society, and it would do damage to all of us."