By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim A Queensland Police Service (QPS) employee has been arrested and charged after allegedly stealing weapons from a police storage facility and stockpiling them in his Brisbane home. The actions of the 33-year old man were allegedly uncovered when he called an ambulance after accidentally shooting himself in the hand ...

Being prosecuted for a criminal or traffic offence can be a nerve-wracking experience. You may be unfamiliar with the process, unsure of the best way forward and concerned about the outcome. But whether you are charged with a less-serious matter such as drug possession, drink driving or common assault, or accused of something as serious as ...

By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim An Indigenous woman has been sentenced to 3 months in prison for consuming a soft drink inside a rural grocery store. It’s just one example of the harsh and unfair punishments which are regularly handed-down to Indigenous Australians, contributing to their overrepresentation in prisons. The 29-year old woman drank ...

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Another NSW lawyer has been struck off the roll of legal practitioners. Although, it’s not a common occurrence, there are lawyers who breach their professional obligations and commit serious offences against their very own clients. And when it does happen, the consequences can be dire. Ms Tereze Dzitars recently found ...

By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim Crime rates across NSW have dropped to their lowest in 40 years. The latest annual report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has found that most major categories of crime have fallen or remained steady over the 24 months to December 2016. Specific Crime Rate ...

By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim A Sydney criminologist believes that the implementation of preventative and diversionary strategies is the primary reason for most categories of crime declining across the state in recent years. Dr Garner Clancey, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, points out that many offences have fallen by as much ...

By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim A Sydney solicitor has been ‘struck off’ after the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found he grossly overcharged, misled and stole money from clients. Professional misconduct Last week, 86-year old Bruce Hocking was removed from the roll of lawyers when NCAT ruled he is “no longer a fit and ...

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim According to Victoria police, a good way to deal with the state’s crime problem is to deport young adult gang members. A parliamentary body is also considering whether those under the age of 18 can also be turfed out of the country. A list of people who are said ...

By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim. Mangoola Rural Fire Brigade worked tirelessly last week to protect the Hunter Community from several large blazes. The volunteers selflessly put themselves between raging fires and property in an attempt to keep people, livestock and homes out of harm’s way. Despite their brave work, firies returned from their campaign ...

Australian attorney-general George Brandis announced on Wednesday that the Coalition plans to refer One Nation senator Rod Culleton to a High Court probe on Monday. The investigation will consider whether the Western Australian senator was eligible to be elected to parliament. A former associate of Culleton’s, Bruce Bell filed an action against the senator on ...