Indictable Drug Supply Cases Can Now be Finalised in the Local Court
Until recently, cases of drug supply which involved more than the ‘indictable quantity’ but less than the commercial quantity could not be finalised in the NSW Local Court - they were ‘strictly indictable’ which meant they had to be committed to...
New Laws Will Allow the Use of Military to Break Protests
The Turnbull government recently introduced legislation into parliament designed to lower the threshold for calling out the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to assist state police forces with public incidents. The Defence Amendment (Call Out of the Australian Defence Force) Bill 2018 revises...
Brain Stimulation Could Reduce Likelihood of Offending
A new study has found that electrical brain stimulation could reduce the likelihood of offending, which researchers hope may help to subdue the violent impulses of psychopaths and other offenders in the lead up to their release into the community....
Report Recommends Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility
The Queensland government is considering a recommendation by former Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years to 12 years. The minimum age that a child can be criminally prosecuted in Australia is...
Northern Territory and ACT Fight to Legalise Euthanasia
The Northern Territory and ACT may soon have control over their euthanasia laws, after a motion was recently introduced in the Federal Senate. The motion, brought by Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm, would see territory governments free to legislate on...
Family Shooting Raises Concerns About Gun Ownership
It has been reported that last week, handgun permit holder John Edwards shot dead his two teenage children at West Pennant Hills in North-Western Sydney, and later took his own life, because he was denied contact in a child custody...
NSW Police Face Brutality Hearing over Brutal Assault of Naked Teen
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) has called for a second public hearing into the brutal arrest of a naked sixteen year old boy in the Northern New South Wales town of Byron Bay. The Commission is investigating the use...
Does a Rise in Immigrants Correspond with an Increase in Crime?
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that any rise in undocumented immigration will lead to increased crime rates. “It’s looking like [the Democrats] really want open borders, and they want really crime to pour in,” Mr Trump has said,...
Queensland to Open Serco-run Private Women’s Prison
Queensland corrective services minister Mark Ryan announced on 3 July that Borallon Correctional Centre will be expanded to accommodate 349 more male inmates. Once the new cells are ready, the men will be transferred from the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre....
Criminal Laws Only Deter When They Are Seen as Just
Politicians often invoke tough-on-crime rhetoric to win votes - playing to popular perceptions that penalties are too weak and that, when dealing with defendants, magistrates and judges should ‘lock’em up and throw away the key’. There is also a popular...
