Drug Detection Dogs Reportedly Providing False Leads
It has been revealed that the majority of strip searches by police based on indications from drug detection dogs do not result in any drugs being found. Government data obtained by the NSW Greens and reported in the media reveals...
Why Have Female Arrest Rates Increased in Recent Years?
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), adult female arrest rates are on the increase. The number of adult female persons of interest in criminal cases in NSW over the last decade has increased by an...
Inexplicable Incompetence or Pure Stupidity? How Dennis got Disbarred
When retaining a lawyer to represent you in court, you’d expect them to fight hard to protect your rights - especially if they are charging you an arm and a leg to defend your innocence. The vast majority of lawyers...
AC/DC Drummer charged over hiring a hitman to kill two people, charges then withdrawn
Renowned AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, after it was alleged that he hired a hitman to kill two people. He was charged with attempting to procure a murder, threatening to kill and...
The zero-tolerance approach: do we really need to get ‘tough on crime’?
In 1989, President Bush proclaimed “The rules have changed: if you sell drugs, you will be caught, and when you’re caught, you will be prosecuted; and once you’re convicted, you will do time.” Many have declared the “war on drugs”...
Six Police Charged following an ICAC Investigation
The latest in a long string of ICAC investigations has surfaced in South Australia. Today’s headlines announced that six South Australian police officers were charged with serious offences and faced court today. The investigation by ICAC and the state’s anti-corruption...
Legalisation of Cannabis Moves Closer
The campaign to legalise cannabis for medical purposes has taken an unexpected leap forward with support from the prime minister, and a clinical trial to go ahead in NSW. Prime Minister Tony Abbott wrote a letter to well known talkback...
What penalties do the courts really hand-down for drug possession charges?
Ever wondered what the penalties are for drug possession ? Not the maximum penalties – but the penalties that are really handed-down by the courts? It might surprise you that most people who are guilty of drug possession receive criminal...
Will Australia ever ban cigarettes?
The tobacco industry has millions of dollars to invest in marketing and lobbying, and increasingly tough government measures are forcing cigarette companies to be inventive to stay in the market. The Daily Telegraph recently reported that one cigarette brand, British...
Drugs and the white collar sector
A record number of 86,918 drug seizures were made in Australia according to the latest Illicit Drug Data Report by the Australian Crime Commission. But not all of these will make front page headlines or prime time news. The population...