NSW Criminal Court Statistics – News and Trends
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has recently released a summary of crime statistics for the March 2014 quarter. This report shows a number of interesting trends in criminal activity, sentencing and time taken to finalise court...
Child Sexual Assault and the Statute of Limitations in Australia
There is no specific statute of limitations in Australia for criminal offences. However, there are rules that prevent many less-serious offences from being charged long after the incident. For example, police in NSW will not normally be allowed to press...
Is Intimidation a Crime? Has the Law Kept Up With the Many Forms of Intimidation?
Intimidate is defined in the Oxford dictionary as to “frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants”. However, in this modern age of smartphones and cyber bullying, the act of intimidation can be so...
Police Given New Powers to Issue On The Spot AVOs
On May 23rd police powers were increased to give NSW officers above the rank of sergeant the ability to issue on the spot Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) in situations involving domestic violence. As well as issuing AVOs immediately, officers can...
A Guide to AVO Proceedings in NSW
Our Video and Blog post below gives a Guide to AVO Proceedings in NSW. A Guide to AVO Proceedings in NSW You may be in a domestic or personal relationship where you fear for your safety, or the safety of...
Can I Withdraw or Change an AVO?
Relationships between people change over the course of time. If you have taken an apprehended violence order (AVO) out against someone, and the circumstances of your relationship with them have changed, you may want to vary the restrictions of the...
What Does Criminal Law Say About Threatening a Person?
Threatening another person is not always a criminal offence. Whether or not you will be found guilty under criminal law for threatening a person depends on the circumstances involved, and the nature of your relationship with the other individual concerned....
How Can A Lawyer Help With Lifting an AVO in NSW?
An AVO is a court-issued document that is intended to protect a potential victim from harassment, violence or intimidation. If an AVO is issued against you, it sets out strict rules governing how close you can come to the alleged...
Is Crime on the Increase?
If you follow the news, it would appear that crime is an ever-increasing problem, particularly in cities, but how true is this? Is crime really increasing, or could it actually be on a downward trend? The increased coverage of crime...
Domestic Violence, AVOs and Tenancy Agreements
A common outcome of domestic violence and Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) is that the victim decides to permanently end the relationship with the perpetrator of the violence. It’s often the case that one or both of the parties holds a...
