Police have slammed "ridiculous" Ballarat hoons who allegedly desecrated the Avenue of Honour overpass memorial and other prominent landmarks in the city - then shared the footage on social media.
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A 45-year-old Sebastopol man, a 40-year-old Sebastopol man and a 22-year-old Alfredton man have been arrested and charged with reckless conduct endanger serious injury over the incidents.
Police allege the trio form part of a group that routinely gather in hoon hangouts.
See social media footage of some of the alleged hoons here.
Ballarat Uniform Division acting senior sergeant Paul Allen said the operation tracked the hoons over a number of months to achieve this outcome.
"It's been an ongoing investigation into some hoon behavior in the Ballarat and Moorabool areas, mostly involving a group of motorbikes, which would engage in burn-outs and hoon behaviour," he said.
"They engaged in some pretty disruptive behaviour which would place a number of other road users and pedestrians at risk.
"We've had a number of complaints over a number of months so we launched a larger investigation which involved Ballarat Uniform, Ballarat [Divisional Response Unit], with assistance from specialists units."
In footage that was posted to Instagram, motorbikes can be seen blocking traffic and doing burn-outs across the revered Avenue of Honour overpass which honours the district's fallen World War One soliders.
Other locations spotted in the posts include in front of the Town Hall on Sturt Street, near the Arch of Remembrance, Albert Street in Sebastopol, and in regional towns Clunes and Beaufort.
Police also executed three search warrants in a raid early Wednesday morning across Sebastopol and Alfredton, seizing two Harley Davidson motorbikes.
The arrests took place as part of Operation Achilles, which has seen police focus on known hoon hotspots, and relate to incidents between April 2021 and March 2022.
Since July last year, Operation Achilles has resulted in more than 210 offenders being charged, over 11,000 charges being laid, and more than 140 vehicles impounded.
See footage of the arrests here.
Acting senior sergeant Allen said the investigation came to a head following an incident at Greendale on ANZAC Day, with police striking on Wednesday - coinciding with the statewide day of action for Road Safety Week.
The Road Safety Week day of action saw highway patrol and general duties police specifically tasked to target pedestrian safety and distraction, which has been a factor in several pedestrian deaths this year.
"We obviously want all road users to use the road responsibly, if we identify behaviour on the roads that places other address, they can pretty much rest assured that we'll take action and resolve the issue," acting senior sergeant Allen said.
"The roads and vehicles are a dangerous place at times, and everyone should always take care when they're out there to make sure that they behave in the manner expected of everyone else around them."
The three men have been bailed to face Ballarat Magistrates' Court on December 1.
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