Terrorism Charges Expected Over Mosque Attacks
Three men are expected to be charged with terrorism offences over two alleged arson attacks on a Melbourne mosque late last year. The trio of suspects, aged 29, 27 and 25, allegedly started a fire at the Imam Ali Islamic...
The Unreliability of Confessions: Implanted Memories
For many, a confession is indisputable evidence of a person’s guilt. However, a significant body of scientific research has found that people can easily be persuaded to confess to serious crimes that they did not commit. Wrongful convictions In 2014,...
Priests Should be Prosecuted for Failing to Report Child Sexual Assault
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has recommended that clergy who fail to report child sexual assaults disclosed during religious confessions should face criminal charges. The Commissioners heard evidence that confessions of child sexual abuse were...
Man Charged with Making False Emergency Calls
A Canberra man charged with making a series of allegedly false complaints to emergency services has pleaded not guilty, contending that it is “not a crime” to call triple-0. The allegations 61-year old Henryk Jozwik allegedly called emergency services a...
Public Servants Gagged by New Social Media Rules
New social media rules released by the Australian Public Service Commission seek to prohibit public sector employees from criticising government policies on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The rules The new rules were published on 7 August 2017 under...
Police Caught Planting Evidence
Two different groups of Baltimore police officers have been accused of planting evidence at supposed crime scenes, after incriminatory body camera footage came to light. The videos have forced Baltimore prosecutors to drop dozens of cases involving one of the...
Former Labor MPs Face Fresh Corruption Charges
Former NSW Labor ministers Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly have been hit with fresh corruption allegations and may face criminal charges. A report arising from an ICAC corruption investigation has recommended that findings be referred to the Office...
The Dangers of Rewarding Crime Informants
A criminal defence lawyer has accused two key witnesses in a Melbourne murder trial of fabricating evidence against his client in order to get their slice of a $1 million reward. 31-year old Christopher Lavery is on trial for the...
Police DNA Bungle Clears Alleged Child Abusing Priest
Victorian Police have admitted a major bungle of DNA evidence that led to several key suspects being ruled out as suspects in the brutal 1980 murder of Melbourne mother Maria James. The murder investigation hinged on a bloodied pillowcase, which...
Government Agency Fails to Protect Confidential Information
The new meta-data retention laws mean internet service providers (ISPs) must retain the personal information of users for a period of two years, and make that data available to a whole host of government departments without them even having to obtain...
