What the Law Says if You Attempt to Help Someone Escape the Country to Avoid Attending Court
Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. A mother from central Queensland has been sentenced to four years behind bars for her role in helping her son escape Australia by yacht so that he could side-step facing court over serious drug trafficking charges. Elizabeth Turner faced the District Court in Brisbane via video link from Townsville ...continue reading
Federal Government Seeking to Ban Refugees from Utilising Phones
By Poppy Morandin. A proposed bill by the Federal Government may effectively further liken the experience of refugees in detention centres to individuals within corrective centres. The Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020 will allow mobile phones and other internet-capable devices to be deemed “prohibited items”, the searching of detainees ...continue reading
The New Laws on Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System: The Diversionary Pathway
There is an available legislative framework for a NSW court to determine criminal proceedings where the accused or defendant has mental health issues relevant to the case. This legislative framework is echoed in The Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) (‘The Act’). It is a response to the increasing contact with the criminal ...continue reading
NSW Police Leak Private Information of Complainants
By Poppy Morandin. The NSW Police have leaked the emails of over 150 complainants who contacted them in order to raise concerns regarding officer’s use of force following the Sydney Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday, 6 June. Samuel Leighton-Dore was not present at the confrontation between the protestors and police at Central Station, ...continue reading
Concerns Reignited for Prisoners Amid Further Outbreaks of COVID-19
By Poppy Morandin. There are reportedly 70 inmates in lockdown within Silverwater Correctional Complex after coming into close contact with a staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19. Within their advocacy efforts, The Greens have issued an open letter to Anthony Roberts, Minister for Corrections detailing the “significant concerns…about the lockdown at Silverwater ...continue reading
Law on the Age of Criminal Responsibility in NSW: An Interview with Greens MP David Shoebridge
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. Despite a strong campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, the decision has been deferred to 2021, following concerns that further work needs to be done regarding processes and services for children who exhibit offending behaviour. The issue was discussed at the meeting ...continue reading
Minister David Elliot Cleared of Impersonating Police Officer by Internal Review Without Following Proper Process
By Poppy Morandin. An internal review into Police Minister David Elliott allegedly impersonating a police officer in a road-rage incident with a P-plater, has cleared him of wrongdoing before consulting legal advice. Last October, the Minister’s car was allegedly clipped by a young man on Windsor Road in Baulkham Hills, with both cars progressing ...continue reading
Inquest Into the Death of Indigenous Man in Custody Highlights the Need for Change: An Exclusive Interview with Barrister Stephen Lawrence from The Wigs
By Poppy Morandin. Following recent weeks in which Indigenous deaths in custody have been at the forefront of discussion, an inquest has heard that a treating nurse of an Indigenous man who died in his cell at Tamworth Correctional Centre was not informed of his seizures. In September 2017, Tane Chatfield died following being ...continue reading
NSW Police Aim to Conduct 200,000 Mobile Drug Tests Representing an Increase From the Previous Year
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. It has been revealed that NSW Police have set a target to detect almost 300,000 crimes this year and are using area-specific goals to achieve this result. The approach covers a number of detections in numerous categories of crime including theft, robbery, sexual assault, and drug detection. The ...continue reading
Law on Correctional Employees Engaging in Sexual Conduct or Intimate Relationship with Inmates in NSW
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. A Sydney prison guard is facing the grim possibility of two years behind bars over an alleged sexual relationship she had with an inmate that continued for several months in the confines of a Western Sydney jail. Melissa Goodwin was provisionally stood down in May 2020 by her ...continue reading