Australians should be concerned about any shift to an intelligence model that is based on the introduction of greater powers on the one hand, and less oversight and governance on the other.
- Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University
These days surveillance isn’t just CCTV. Police now have access to body cams, drones and facial recognition systems – and it’s helping police not only solve crime, but prevent it too.
As a police officer, I was involved in many pursuits, investigated serious accidents and later became a researcher. Here’s what I’ve learned about how police make decisions in a pursuit.
At least one child is killed by a parent in Australia every fortnight. The latest report from the Australian Institute of Criminology shows the nature of filicide in Australia.
Murders of women in public spaces by strangers are not commonplace. And murders in Australia in general are on the decline. Compared to many countries, Australia is a safe place.
All three groups are over-represented in the alleged offender population, with Sudan born offenders to a higher degree. But the vast majority of crime is committed by Australian born offenders.
Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said under Premier Daniel Andrews, ‘Victoria has won the unenviable title as the state with the country’s highest rate of crime’. Is that right?
After a violent brawl involving African Australians on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested Victoria Police needed to take a firmer hand – but it’s far more complicated than that.
Are claims that intimate partner violence is the leading cause of death for Australian women aged 18-44 substantiated?
To justify giving police military-style weapons, there must be both a credible threat and an identified deficiency in current police capabilities.
In the wake of the MeToo and Time’s Up movements, a new model of sexual consent is required – one that needs a clear and unequivocal yes from all parties.
Tim Nicholls said the introduction of a youth curfew in the WA suburb of Northbridge ‘saw a dramatic drop in crime and a reduction in the anti-social behaviour of young people’. Is that right?
Did the government-funded gun buybacks introduced after the Port Arthur massacre have “no effect” in reducing gun deaths in Australia, as an audience member claimed on Q&A? Let’s look at the evidence.
The AWU case is not the first time the AFP has been embroiled in politics, nor will it be the last.
Australia now has more states and territories with specific revenge porn laws than those without. But they may not be the most effective way to tackle the problem.
When it comes to homicide rates, the outlook for Australia is positive with continued reduction in the homicide rate. However, challenges remain.
Policing culture is often associated with a lack of transparency and a resistance to external examination.
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said he thought that Victorians have never felt more unsafe, and that burglaries, assaults and murders are rising year-on-year. Is he right?
Any policy governing police pursuits must balance the need to apprehend offenders with the safety of the community.
How real is the threat of pornography? And what are the most appropriate responses?
Cases of homicide by falling are rare. But the Gable Tostee case is not the first instance of a fall from a building causing death being linked to criminal conduct.
What will Queensland’s new laws to combat the bikie ‘menace’ actually achieve?
That Australia has not suffered a successful terrorist attack on its aviation industry is testament to the resilience of our security system.
Was Pauline Hanson right to say that crime is getting worse in Australia?
A report by a taskforce reviewing Queensland’s anti-bikie laws is a step in the right direction for dealing with organised crime as a whole, rather than just focusing on one small sub-group.
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