0.05 Alcohol Limit for Drink Driving: Has Australia Got it Right?
In Australia, drivers are required to maintain a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of under 0.05% (i.e. 0.05 grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood). Readings of 0.05 to 0.079 are classified as ‘low range’, readings between 0.08 and 0.149...
AFP Puts Victims’ Lives at Risk
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is billed as Australia’s primary federal law enforcement agency, responsible for keeping the community safe from harm. With an annual budget of almost a billion dollars and close to 7,000 employees, the Australian taxpayer would...
Woman’s Day Magazine: Facilitating Revenge Porn?
Woman’s Day magazine has published photographs of Collingwood AFL players, Travis Cloke and Dane Swan, in nude, sexually suggestive poses. The magazine says the players sent the images to two women – who are not their partners – about a...
Hero Cop Down and (Almost) Out
Sadly, not all police officers act with the level of professionalism and integrity that we expect of the force. But while several instances of police misconduct have made the headlines recently, there are also many officers who go above and...
Police Accused of Excessive Force as Arrest Video Goes Viral
The Queensland Police Union (QPU) has defended a police officer who was filmed pushing a mother to the ground during the arrest of her son at their Brisbane home over the weekend. The QPU says the officer acted “entirely appropriately” despite...
Life Sentences Without Parole: A Violation of Human Rights?
In his research paper from this month’s Human Rights Law Review, Andrew Dyer, a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney, argues that not having a statutory charter of rights means Australia has been left without...
Useful Tips for Those with a Loved-One in Custody
Having a loved one in prison can be distressing, but being able to visit them from time to time can make the ordeal a little easier to bear. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to navigate the prison bureacracy in order...
Special Problems Faced by Women in Prison
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the flow of women into Australian prisons, and the amount of time they spend in there, has been steadily increasing for many years. From 1995 to 2002, the imprisonment rate for women increased...
Police Body Cameras in NSW: What Does the Law Say?
Since 2014, the NSW Police Force has spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on “Body Worn Video Cameras” (BWVs), starting first with Sydney and extending to rural areas. We’ve heard a lot about the pros and cons of body...
About Time! Convictions for Gay Sex to be Removed
Gay sex was historically a crime - one which saw hundreds of Australians receive criminal records which could affect their careers and travel plans, not to mention their reputation in the community. Now of course, there is no criminal law...