Cardinal Pell Again Avoids Attending Royal Commission
The man at the centre of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has been excused from giving evidence in person - much to the outrage of victims and their families. The 74-year-old Cardinal has been accused...
Report says: Focus on Child Sex Offences Rather than Targeting Bikers
Queensland has gained a reputation its stance against motorcycle groups, with former Premier Campbell Newman waging a war on motorcyclists during his time in power. Newman made headlines after his government introduced the controversial and provocatively named Vicious Lawless Association...
New Laws Claim to Make it Easier for Children to Testify
Testifying in sexual assault cases can be a difficult and confronting experience - especially for children. But the NSW government aims to make the process less traumatic by trialling new ‘Children’s Champions’ in the Downing Centre and Newcastle District Courts...
Female Child Sex Offenders: More Common Than You Think!
The phrase ‘child sex offender’ may conjure up images of depraved old men waiting outside schools to prey on their victims. Indeed, the media generally tends to focus on male sex offenders and neglects to mention the fact that females...
Paedphiles Identified through Personal Features
Criminologists have been searching for the magic formula for identifying criminals for hundreds of years, without much luck. Scientists have tried all sorts of things - from cruel experiments on live humans during medieval times and in Nazi Germany, to...
Females Sentenced to be Gang Raped
While there are certainly problems with the Australian criminal justice system, we are lucky enough to live in a society where punishments are not designed to inflict cruelty, degradation and humiliation. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for some countries,...
Chemical Castration of Child Sex Offenders: Is it Effective?
There has been a national crackdown on child sex offending in recent months, with NSW Premier Mike Baird announcing tougher maximum penalties and ‘standard non-parole periods’ earlier this year. But NSW Justice Minister Troy Grant wants to go one step...
Eviction for Public Housing Tenants who Commit Crimes
There are currently 60,000 people on the waiting list for public housing in NSW, signifying the huge demand that exists for the service. And the wait is becoming excruciatingly lengthy - with families in Grafton, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie and...
Does Prison Overcrowding Warrant Lighter Penalties?
Prison overcrowding is a major problem right across the state, with some prisons already operating at more than 70% beyond capacity. Many of our previous blogs have discussed the impact of overcrowding on the ability of inmates to access education...
Inmates Throw Human Waste at Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes, the former Hey Dad! Star, ended up in prison after being convicted of the sexual assault and indecent assault of four young girls. Back in April 2014, he was found guilty by a jury in the Downing Centre...
