Sarah Farnsworth
Sarah Farnsworth has been an ABC Journalist since 2005. After starting her news career in Victoria's south-west, she spent two years covering regional affairs before moving to Melbourne. She has covered general news for both ABC radio and TV. For five years, Sarah was the TV court reporter in Melbourne, covering major crime cases for the 7PM news and News 24. She can also be heard regularly on 774 Local Radio and has worked in TV current affairs.
Police hit out at no-pursuit policy in wake of Bourke Street deaths
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Victoria Police members say the contentious no-pursuit policy is leaving police hamstrung, and needs a complete overhaul after the deaths of five people in a car rampage in Melbourne's CBD.
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, police, law-crime-and-justice, laws, melbourne-3000
Victoria Police consider race data collection
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Victoria Police scraps its stop-and-search receipting program but the controversial idea of race data collection remains on the table as the force mulls over whether it would provide transparency or create more harm.
Topics: police, crime, discrimination, community-and-society, race-relations, population-and-demographics, melbourne-3000, vic
Drug use in Victoria Police risks harm to public, IBAC probe finds
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Victoria's anti-corruption commission exposes evidence of illegal drug use by Victoria Police and deficiencies in how drug issues are handled, but the state's police union has hosed down the claims.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, police, corruption, drugs-and-substance-abuse, community-and-society, vic, australia, melbourne-3000
MFB mental health report finds bad behaviour, sexism and bullying
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An independent review of Victorian firefighters' mental health finds a high tolerance of poor behaviour, elements of sexism and bullying, and a lack of screening for alcohol and drug use as the United Firefighters Union attempt to stop its release.
Topics: mental-health, unions, government-and-politics, state-parliament, melbourne-3000
'Staggering how little they know': Teaching Melbourne's migrants to swim
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In an old brick building, home to the Brighton Life Saving club, a line of women wearing colourful hijabs and thick jumpers look very out of place but are ready to take their first plunge into the ocean.
Topics: community-and-society, brighton-3186, melbourne-3000, vic
'The story is finished': Black Saturday victims to get payout by Christmas
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Nearly eight years on from the bushfire disaster dubbed Black Saturday, the distribution of $700 million to thousands of victims is approved by the Supreme Court of Victoria, bringing an end to Australia's biggest class action.
Topics: bushfire, courts-and-trials, community-and-society, kinglake-3763, marysville-3779, kilmore-3764, vic
Police killer parole changes 'interfere with judicial independence'
Posted
The Victorian Government's move to keep police killers behind bars for life is "dangerous", "unnecessary" and interferes with the independence of the justice system, a human rights group says.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, laws, police, states-and-territories, vic
South Sudanese 'constantly stopped' by police due to Apex stigma
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The term Apex gang is being used like a "dog whistle" to stigmatise the South Sudanese community in Victoria, a legal expert says, while one university-educated youth worker says he has been pulled over by police and asked for his registration papers.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, crime-prevention, youth, community-and-society, police, immigration, melbourne-3000, vic
Statistics raise questions about calls to deport youth offenders
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Police statistics show the majority of violent youth crimes in Victoria are committed by people born in Australia, not overseas, despite commentary to the contrary.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, crime-prevention, youth, community-and-society, police, immigration, melbourne-3000, vic
Rabbi inaction failed abuse victims in Yeshiva community, royal commission says (photos)
Posted
Abuse victims at Yeshiva Melbourne and Yeshiva Bondi were let down by rabbis and their "confused" adherence to the principle of the Jewish law, the royal commission finds.
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, royal-commissions, australia, melbourne-3000, sydney-2000
Religious extremists not the only terror threat, police commissioner says
Posted
Victoria's top cop warns terrorism threats are broader than religious extremism, as the likely return of foreign fighters increases the chance of an attack on Australian soil.
Topics: terrorism, police, melbourne-3000, vic, australia
Woman found not guilty of murdering abusive partner, judge praises verdict
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A Melbourne woman is cleared of murdering her lifelong partner after suffering years of abuse at his hands, including him knocking her unconscious and placing her in a wheelie bin.
Topics: courts-and-trials, domestic-violence, law-crime-and-justice, melbourne-3000, vic
Abattoir owners deny knowledge of abuse captured on camera
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The owners of a Victorian abattoir at the centre of animal cruelty allegations say they were unaware of the mistreatment that was recorded taking place at the slaughterhouse.
Topics: animal-welfare, law-crime-and-justice, food-processing, beef-cattle, state-parliament, echuca-3564, melbourne-3000
Echuca animal mistreatment 'worst case' in Victoria's chief vet's career
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Victoria's chief vet has described footage of animal cruelty at an Echuca abattoir, which shows animals being stabbed in the neck, face and head as "the worst" he has seen in his career.
Topics: animal-welfare, law-crime-and-justice, food-processing, beef-cattle, state-parliament, echuca-3564, melbourne-3000
Humane devices 'used as torture', abattoir investigated for cruelty
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One of Victoria's oldest abattoirs, Riverside Meats Abattoir, is sanctioned and four staff sacked over poor animal welfare, after secret video reveals mistreatment of animals.
Topics: animal-welfare, law-crime-and-justice, food-processing, beef-cattle, echuca-3564
'Hugely concerning': Hundreds forced to have ECT without legal representation
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Since being diagnosed with drug-induced bi-polar disorder, Lisa*, is among the hundreds of people forced to undergo Electro Convulsive Therapy by the Mental Health Tribunal in Victoria, but only one in five people have legal representation.
Topics: mental-health, health, law-crime-and-justice, melbourne-3000
Teen on parole led police on dramatic chase following crime spree, court told
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Three teenagers, including one who is on parole and wanted by police, led officers on a dramatic pursuit across Melbourne after an alleged crime spree, a court is told.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, courts-and-trials, port-melbourne-3207, melbourne-3000
'She's as tough as nails': Witness praises woman's carjacking response (photos)
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Construction worker Jack Foster, who saw a dramatic carjacking involving a baby at a Coburg school unfold, praises the woman who jumped on the car bonnet in an effort to stop the vehicle.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, coburg-3058
Notorious paedophile Robert Best admits to abusing more boys
Posted
Christian Brother Robert Best, a convicted paedophile, pleads guilty to more cases of child sexual abuse dating back nearly 50 years.
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, geelong-3220, ballarat-3350, box-hill-3128
'Psychopathic' serial rapist jailed 30 years after brutal attacks
Posted
Anthony James Pitt, who preyed "on defenceless young women" and once held a girl captive in a disused mine shaft, is jailed for 16-and-a-half years for brutal attacks on two teenagers in the 1980s.
Topics: crime, sexual-offences, frankston-3199, mildura-3500, melbourne-3000, vic
'Frightening' armed robbery at high-end Melbourne jewellery store
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Melbourne police search for three masked bandits who robbed a high-end Toorak jewellery store during broad daylight, armed with machetes, baseball bats, a hammer and a gun.
Topics: crime, toorak-3142, melbourne-3000
Injured ex-policeman calls for end of WorkSafe bonuses to insurance companies
Posted
A decorated former police officer badly injured after a criminal shot at him, lodging 37 bullet fragments in his head, calls for an overhaul of Victoria's WorkSafe compensation scheme.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, workplace, judges-and-legal-profession, melbourne-3000, vic, australia
'We're running out of cars fast': Arrests after police car rammed
Posted
A man and a woman are in custody after driving their stolen car into a police vehicle in Melbourne's north, with such rammings tripling in the past 12 months.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, coburg-north-3058
Drug-affected man avoids jail after running over Melbourne police officer
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A Melbourne man avoids jail after running over a police officer in a stolen car while under the influence of drugs because he is his mother's sole carer.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, police, heatherton-3202
They love being called 'Apex gang': police chief's warning
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A radical plan to name and shame juvenile offenders in Victoria, floated by the State Opposition, could fuel gang activity rather than address it, the state's police Chief Commissioner warns.
Topics: crime, police, youth, melbourne-3000, vic
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