Vic premier recognises gang problem

There is a gang problem in Victoria but the premier has stopped short of labelling it a crisis.

Premier Daniel Andrews was quizzed about the gangs after a spate of crimes involving riots, home invasions and attacks on police, some involving youths of African appearance.

"You don't fund a gang task force if you refuse to acknowledge a gang problem," the premier answered when asked to agree there is a youth crime issue.

The Labor government had provided funding for more critical incident response teams, a gang squad, and allocated money for hundreds of new police officers, Mr Andrews said.

He told the opposition that hundreds of young offenders had been arrested across the state since May 2016.

"Since May 2016 there's been something in the order of 850 arrests of youth offenders," Mr Andrews said.