Gold Coast Cops No Longer Allowed to Patrol in Groups
For many years, officers patrolled Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in groups of four or more, but a new ‘anti-violence initiative’ means many are now walking the beat in pairs. The move has officers claiming they are fearful for...
NSW Government Slashes ICAC Funding While Being Investigated
NSW corruption watchdog ICAC will be forced to reduce staff numbers after the State Government announced funding cuts of 9.5% for the next financial year. ICAC commissioner Megan Latham says the decision has created a “funding crisis”, announcing that the...
Sexual Assault Victim Re-Victimised by Criminal Justice System
In January 2015, former Stanford University swimming champion Brock Turner, aged 20, sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman behind a garbage bin after a fraternity party. He was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and faced a maximum penalty...
Police Officer Imprisoned for Domestic Violence
Shaun Perry stared at his estranged wife and children as he learned he would spend more than two-and-a-half years behind bars for offences including spitting in his wife’s face, pulling her hair, and assaulting her with a weapon. Perry, a...
The Footage Police Fought to Keep Hidden
It’s the CCTV footage the Victorian Police Association fought to prevent the public from seeing: police officers dousing a woman with pepper spray, forcibly dragging her along the floor of the police station, standing on her legs and kicking her...
Lawyer Ordered to Pay Police Officer $150,000 for Online Accusations
Sergeant Colin Dods says he thinks about the shooting of Tyler Cassidy every day, and that the dates of the young man’s birth and death are ‘seared’ into his mind. Officer Dods has been awarded $150,000 in damages, after a jury...
Getting a Reduced Sentence for Providing Assistance
Where appropriate, criminal lawyers are required to advise clients that helping police with their inquiries may result in a reduced sentence. That said, lawyers are certainly permitted to explain the potential risks and requirements associated with giving assistance. For example,...
Electronic Frontiers Australia: An Exclusive Interview with Jon Lawrence
Since its establishment, Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has been one of the more influential, if not obscure, lobby groups in Australia. Founded in 1994, it’s been leading the burgeoning movement to secure what we now call “digital rights”, campaigning for...
Criminal Lawyer Punished for Pressuring Sexual Abuse Victim
Victorian criminal defence lawyer Alex Lewenberg has been suspended from practising law for 15 months and ordered to pay the Legal Services Commissioner $55,455 in costs after pressuring a complainant not to assist police in the prosecution of an alleged...
Degrees of Harm in Assault Offences
Assault charges are differentiated by a number of factors, including whether the act was done ‘recklessly’ or ‘intentionally’, and the extent of injury (if any) caused. ‘Common assault’ is an offence under section 61 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)...
