NSW Criminal Court Statistics – News and Trends
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has recently released a summary of crime statistics for the March 2014 quarter. This report shows a number of interesting trends in criminal activity, sentencing and time taken to finalise court...
Child Sexual Assault and the Statute of Limitations in Australia
There is no specific statute of limitations in Australia for criminal offences. However, there are rules that prevent many less-serious offences from being charged long after the incident. For example, police in NSW will not normally be allowed to press...
Catfishing: A Disturbing Type Of Recent Fraud In NSW
‘Catfish’, not only the name of a rather unattractive type of fish, is also a term increasingly being used to describe a person who pretends to be someone else online, often in the context of romantic relationships. Catfish, in the...
How to Get Sexual Assault Cases Dismissed
Being charged with a sexual assault offence can be very traumatic, and the legal consequences are serious. If you are convicted, you may face a lengthy term in prison and a range of other penalties, including being required to be...
Sexting: A Social Trend with Serious Consequences
Mobile phones are more than just handy communication tools. Most modern phones come equipped with camera and video capabilities, as well as access to the internet. The use of mobile phone cameras to take and send photos via text has...
How do Changing Social Values Affect Criminal Law?
Criminal law is constantly changing and laws are amended, created and repealed on a regular basis. Law reforms often come about due to a number of different factors, including new technology, evolving ideas about justice and what constitutes fair criminal...
What Are the Laws Governing Prostitution in Sydney?
Unlike many other cities and countries around the world, prostitution in Sydney and NSW is legal, but there are a number of regulations governing the sex industry, and how sex workers operate. What is the minimum age for a sex worker? In...
Should the Trials Have Been Separated in the Hughes Case?
There has been a lot of attention surrounding the trial and conviction of Australian TV star Robert Hughes, who played the father in the 1980s sitcom Hey Dad! Hughes was recently found guilty of 10 child sex offences dating back to the...
A Guide to Indecent Assault Penalties
Have you been charged with indecent assault? There are a number of indecent assault penalties, ranging from avoiding a criminal conviction altogether by getting a ‘section 10 dismissal or conditional release order’ all the way up to a term in prison....
The Reliability of Confessions in the Daniel Morcombe Case
The highly publicised trial of child sex offender Brett Peter Cowan for the murder of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe has cast a spotlight on a number of different legal issues, including the reliability of confessions. Cowan was earlier this month convicted...
