High Court Rules on Offshore Detention
In a long-awaited landmark judgment, the High Court of Australia ruled this week that the Federal Government’s policy of detaining refugees in offshore detention centres is legal. The case was brought by the Human Rights Law Centre, acting for a...
Australians Sick of ‘Coward Punch’ Attacks
By January 2014, Australians were sick and tired of young people’s lives being destroyed by mindless violence during nights of heavy drinking. Devastating one punch attacks, which were then referred to as “king hits”, were causing increasing concern. At that...
11-year-old Bashed by Prison Guards
Many of our blogs have discussed the use of excessive force by police officers, but there are also several instances of prison guards abusing their position of power- even, it seems, when dealing with vulnerable children in custody. The Brisbane...
AFP Puts Victims’ Lives at Risk
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is billed as Australia’s primary federal law enforcement agency, responsible for keeping the community safe from harm. With an annual budget of almost a billion dollars and close to 7,000 employees, the Australian taxpayer would...
Hero Cop Down and (Almost) Out
Sadly, not all police officers act with the level of professionalism and integrity that we expect of the force. But while several instances of police misconduct have made the headlines recently, there are also many officers who go above and...
Police Accused of Excessive Force as Arrest Video Goes Viral
The Queensland Police Union (QPU) has defended a police officer who was filmed pushing a mother to the ground during the arrest of her son at their Brisbane home over the weekend. The QPU says the officer acted “entirely appropriately” despite...
Man Faces Court for Allegedly Spreading HIV
The Downing Centre Court has only been open for two weeks since the summer break, but has already seen its fair share of interesting cases. Perhaps one of the most disturbing so far is that of a man accused of...
Police Face Fines for Preventing Public from Filming Them
Almost everyone has a camera phone these days - a handy tool for capturing timeless memories. But the proliferation of camera phones and CCTV cameras also has a valuable law enforcement function - increasing the likelihood of those acting outside...
Police Officer Assaults Cyclist
In the latest scandal to rock the NSW Police Force, a police officer has reportedly been observed pushing a cyclist off a bike on a busy intersection in peak hour traffic, endangering his safety and causing minor injuries. Witnesses report...
Caught on Camera: Police Bash Man Then Charge Him with Assault
Most of us would not bash another person for an obscene hand gesture - but the relatively minor act of ‘flipping the bird’ quickly turned violent for a young Perth man who was enjoying a night out with his girlfriend....
