Is a Positive Indication by a Sniffer Dog Enough for Police to Search You? Part 1: “Reasonable Suspicion”
We have posted numerous articles and videos about the fact that police cannot undertake random or arbitrary searches upon people - they must have a ‘suspicion on reasonable grounds’ before performing a search. This two-part blog aims to answer the...
UN Finds Australian Government Guilty of Human Rights Abuses
Prisoners being sedated, tied to chairs and subjected to physical abuse - it sounds like something out of Guantanamo Bay, but in reality these horrific activities occur much closer to home. Earlier this week, the United Nations Human Rights Commission...
Drug Detection Dogs Reportedly Providing False Leads
It has been revealed that the majority of strip searches by police based on indications from drug detection dogs do not result in any drugs being found. Government data obtained by the NSW Greens and reported in the media reveals...
Why Have Female Arrest Rates Increased in Recent Years?
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), adult female arrest rates are on the increase. The number of adult female persons of interest in criminal cases in NSW over the last decade has increased by an...
Effect of New Technology on Court Trials
Technology is evolving at a staggering pace and this is never more evident than in the criminal justice system. New technology is continually affecting every stage of the forensic process, from the reporting of crime to the types of evidence...
Should Prison Inmates be Required to Earn their Keep?
In America, some jurisdictions have what they call a “pay to stay” prison fee system, where inmates must pay on a sliding scale in proportion to what they can afford. In others, inmates must cover the costs essentials including their...
No Right to Silence in ICAC Investigations
The right to silence has been a cornerstone of the Australia criminal justice system up until recently, when several legislative amendments have led to it’s dilution. Nowadays, adverse inferences can be drawn from a person’s decision not to answer questions...
Is the Tightening of Bail Laws in NSW making the Magistrate’s Role Redundant?
The flipping and flopping of politicians when it comes to bail laws is enough to make you mad. Just keeping abreast of the likely changes in order to decide whether and, if so, when to make a bail application (now...
Police Complaints NSW: Questions Over Officer Convictions
Due to the nature of their role, police officers are expected to behave in an honest and ethical manner, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Increasingly, we are finding ourselves reading about police breaches of procedure, corruption, and violence...
How Much does a Criminal Lawyer Cost?
It’s no secret that lawyers have a reputation for being notoriously expensive. And with some charging upwards of $800 an hour, perhaps it’s no surprise that lawyers are not amongst the most loved professions in the world. On top of...
