A violent crime spree in Melbourne's west, including home invasions and assaults, has been described as "thuggish and abhorrent behaviour" by Victoria Police.

In the most terrifying of the series of incidents, a woman who was ambushed in her Hillside home by 10 men was 'slapped across the face', leaving her with cuts and bruises, Victoria Police Commander Russell Barrett said at a media conference on Friday.

"This is incredibly concerning," he said. "The behaviour is abhorrent, it is just thuggish behaviour by a group of young people who have no apparent care for the rights and well-being of their fellow citizens."

Commander Barrett said it was too early to determine whether the violence was linked to the same group of young offenders, however, it is likely they were given the crimes were committed within a few kilometres of each other.



The number of young men involved is yet to be determined, Commander Barrett said, but all the victims had told police the offenders were of "African appearance".



"There is no doubt, as Victoria Police has called out in recent days, some of these young people are behaving (like) street gangs," he said. "We're not saying it's organised crime yet, it is too early to determine."