Stealing Wildlife is No Laughing Matter
WA Police were surprised by an unusual visitor at Kensington Police Station over the weekend. A critically endangered radiated tortoise was left inside a backpack at the station. Police later discovered the tortoise, who was showing signs of distress, had...
Defamation Law: Naming and Shaming Suspected Thieves.
Shopkeepers are engaged in an ongoing battle with shoplifters, who pilfered a whopping $2.4 billion from retailers in 2013, despite cutting-edge technologies such as CCTV cameras, advanced security tags and alarm systems. Frustrated with shoplifters, some store owners are creating...
Violent cycles: Homelessness and Crime
Around 105,000 people are experiencing homelessness or housing stress in Australia - with Streetsmart estimating that 1 in 200 of us won’t have a home to go to tonight. The experience of homelessness has both long-term and wide-ranging consequences, often...
Jury Convicts Aboriginal Man on Unreliable CCTV Footage
Imagine being convicted of a crime based on about four seconds of grainy CCTV footage taken at night. This was the reality for Aboriginal man Richard James Slater - who was unfairly convicted of several serious offences on the basis...
Bizarre Ways of Getting Caught Committing Crimes
It’s usually the prosecution’s job to dig up evidence against the defendant - but every so often, a set of unusual circumstances can help make the prosecutor’s job a lot easier. Here are a few strange ways that defendants have...
Naughty or Nice? Top 5 Crimes in Santa Suits
He’s supposed to know when you’ve been naughty or nice - but even jolly old Saint Nick can find himself on the wrong side of the law from time to time. From armed robberies to handing out drugs - and...
Police Target Shoplifters This Christmas Season
As Christmas approaches, we are serenaded by Christmas carols, treated to longer store opening hours and enticed by all kinds of shopping offers to make the most of the festive season. The large crowds and busy sales assistants can create...
Selfie with Stolen Echidna Gets Men into Strife
In August of this year, Tyson Paul Bother and a friend broke into Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in the Gold Coast and took an echidna named ‘Piggie’ after a few too many drinks. According to Mr Bother, they intended to steal...
Australia’s Top 5 Dumbest Criminals
Some people come up with ingenious ways to get away with crimes - but not all offenders are the sharpest tools in the shed. Here we take a look at 5 of Australia’s dumbest offenders. 1. Drug Dealer’s Stupid Selfie...
David vs Goliath: Man Accused of Shoplifting Takes on Police and Myer
Being wrongly accused of shoplifting can be frustrating and insulting – but things can be taken to a whole new level when the shop persists on unfairly targeting you. Fortunately, courts look unfavourably on bullying - as Mr Soo discovered...