Girls as young as 12 reportedly recruited into Melbourne gangs

An all-female Melbourne crime gang has reportedly tried to recruit girls aged as young as twelve.

Police fear the ‘Aces’ gang’s criminal activity is escalating with random attacks at nightspots becoming increasingly more violent, the Herald Sun reports.

It's believed the group is linked to the notorious Apex gang, the newspaper reported.

The ‘Aces’ gang is believed to operate in the Dandenong area, which is where the Apex gang formed, with other all-female gangs operating in Sunshine and Laverton.

Several youth workers said there had been an increase in gangs consisting of girls, many of whom were from a disadvantaged background and craved a sense of belonging.

Les Twentyman, a youth outreach worker and founder of the 20th Man Fund, told the newspaper the at-risk girls were “locked out of education, they’re locked out their families and they’re locked out of employment”.