Robbery Rife in Rio
As the Olympic Games get into full swing and all eyes focus on Rio, the city’s underbelly has its sights firmly set on tourists. A Brazilian newspaper has reported that an average of 15 foreign tourists are falling victim to...
Illegal Use of Tasers and Police Cover-Ups – the Bugmy Case
The case of Phillip Charles Bugmy was one of several incidents leading to a review by the NSW Ombudman into the use of tasers by police. It preceded the highly publicised case of Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti, who died...
KickAss Torrents Kicked Out of the Market
The man behind a popular file-sharing site is the subject of criminal charges in the US for copyright infringement and money laundering. 30-year-old Ukrainian, Artem Vaulin, is alleged to be the mastermind behind Kickass Torrents or ‘KAT’. Vaulin has been...
Terrorists Could Be Kept in Prison Indefinitely
The Australian government is seeking to impose more control over those in prison, ostensibly to protect against terrorism. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has written to state and territory leaders urging them to adopt laws to keep people who have been...
Judge and Accused Murderer Exchange Insults
It started as a routine hearing, but ended with the defendant facing contempt of court charges, and the judge also facing possible disciplinary action over a heated exchange that included profanities and vulgar insults. Denver Fenton Allen, accused beating a...
Female Inmate Attends Court Without Pants
Corrective services in the US have come under fire for sending a female inmate to court with no pants and failing to provide her with sanitary products. Judge Amber Wolf was presiding over a District Court in Louisville in the...
The Norfolk Four: A Miscarriage of Justice
By Blake O’Connor Most would agree that the wrongful imprisonment of a person constitutes a serious failure in the administration of justice. However, the fact that upwards of 300 people have been exonerated in the United States through the ‘Innocence...
Judge Repeatedly Calls Lawyer “Stupid” and “Incompetent”
Transcripts from a Victorian courtroom detailing a heated exchange between a lawyer and judge have been at the centre of an appeal by Michael Cook, who appealed his armed robbery conviction due to the behaviour of the judge. Mr Cook...
Shoplifting: Easier to Commit and Justify than Ever Before
Criminologists are concerned that self-service checkouts are gradually normalising the act of shoplifting. Easier to Steal Professor Larry Neale from Queensland University of Technology’s business school believes the absence of humans at every checkout makes the act of stealing easier...
NSW Government May Ease Lockout Laws
Key figures in the NSW government have withdrawn support for the current regime of lockout laws, including Deputy Premier Tony Grant who believes the laws are doing more harm than good; with the closure of hundreds of businesses in the...
