America's Guardian Angels began patrolling Sydney trains Thursday despite being told they were unwelcome by Police Minister Ted Pickering, who described them as "loonies."
But New Yorkers Curtis Sliwa, founder of the group, and Sebastian Metz, the group's international coordinator, said they were determined to patrol trains to protect commuters from attack.The group claimed to have already recruited 40 Australians and hoped to increase this number to 100 to man their patrols.
In New York, a spokesman for the Guarduan Angels, Francisco Nazario Boricua, said Australians had asked the group for help in fighting crime.
"There are a lot of crime problems in Sydney," Boricua said. "We received petitions from Australians for help, so we sent a training team to Sydney."
Pickering issued a stern warning to the group, threatening to "come down on them like a ton of bricks if they step out of line."
"I have a message to the so-called Guardian Angel group - thanks, but no thanks," Pickering said. "We don't need your kind of assistance and as far as I am concerned you can go home. Anyone who takes the law into their own hands can clearly be described as loonies and will be dealt with according to the law."
He said police had been instructed to watch them closely to ensure they stayed within the law, but nothing could be done to stop them from boarding trains.
Pickering said he had witnessed first hand the work of the Guardian Angels in New York and rejected their methods.
"They get hold of crack sellers and bash them up," he said, "and then they go to court where they are let off. This sort of law we don't want in this country."