Crime and Incarceration: An interview with BOCSAR director Dr Don Weatherburn
NSW crime rates are at their lowest in over forty years, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) figures revealed last month. Crime across most of NSW was found to have either declined or remained stable in most major...
Imprisonment Does Not Reduce Crime: An Interview with UNSW Professor Eileen Baldry
NSW is about to reach its highest incarceration rate for the past century. This week, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released the state’s latest custody statistics, which show that at the end of March the adult...
When “Just Following the Rules” Becomes a Crime
The world watched in horror as footage of Dr David Dao being dragged off a United Airlines flight by Chicago Aviation security officers went viral earlier this month. Airline officials said employees were just following “established procedures,” but to many the...
Replacing Prison Bars with GPS Tracking Devices: An Interview with Professor Mirko Bagaric
Date of publication: 27 April 2017 The Australian prison system is failing, as incarceration rates are at an all-time high. As of June last year, there were 38,845 adult prisoners in corrective services custody, making the national imprisonment rate grow to 208...
Woman Faces Prison for Giving Cannabis Oil to Sick People: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
If you ask the South Australian police what they think of Jenny Hallam, they’ll call her a criminal. Ask many others, and they’ll say she’s their angel. Ms Hallam, a marijuana reform activist, is facing up to 10 years in...
NSW Lawyer Reprimanded for Breaching Practising Certificate Condition
Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim All Australian lawyers are required to hold a current practising certificate in order to practise law in this country. The certificate acts as a licence, allowing a person to provide legal services. In New South Wales, they’re...
Free Speech and Exposing Corruption: An Interview with Wendy Bacon
Wendy Bacon was just 23-years old when sentenced to eight days in prison and sent to Silverwater Remand and Reception Centre for her actions following the publication of a poem. Although she was later released, Wendy’s case became a defining...
Abuse of Children in Australian Detention Centres Continues
Fifteen youths are still being detained on remand (ie with their cases yet to be heard) at Victoria’s Barwon maximum security adult prison on the outskirts of Geelong in a move the Victorian Supreme Court ruled unlawful in December last year. The...
NSW Lawyer Steals Over $300,000 From Clients
Another NSW lawyer has been struck off the roll of legal practitioners. Although, it’s not a common occurrence, there are lawyers who breach their professional obligations and commit serious offences against their very own clients. And when it does happen, the...
A Pioneer of Harm Reduction: An Interview with Dr Ingrid van Beek
There’s been a push from harm reduction experts to implement a system of pill testing at music festivals and nightclub precincts for years now. This evidence-based approach allows drug users to understand what they’re consuming and has been carried out in European...
