The NSW Parliament passed laws overnight which will increase the maximum penalty for being reckless as to whether a fire you created spreads to public land or the private land of another person, from 14 to 25 years in prison. Putting community safety first In a press release, Attorney General Mark Speakman claimed the Community ...
Category: Malicious Damage
12 Reasons to Choose Sydney Criminal Lawyers®
Being prosecuted for a criminal or traffic offence can be a nerve-wracking experience. You may be unfamiliar with the process, unsure of the best way forward and concerned about the outcome. But whether you are charged with a less-serious matter such as drug possession, drink driving or common assault, or accused of something as serious ...
Schoolies Face Hangover From Hell
A group of ‘schoolies’ on the Gold Coast could be facing court for wilful damage after trashing a Gold Coast hotel room, ripping plaster off walls, and damaging furniture and carpets. The group went on a rampage inside a luxury penthouse at Mantra Sun City Resort on the Surfers Paradise, before posting pictures on social ...
Queensland Police Under Attack
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Queensland Police Union has called for an audit into security at police facilities across the state, after a spate of attacks on stations, officers and even their homes. The Courier Mail reported on November 7 that a series of Queensland police service reports suggest that members of the ...
Appeal Court Finds GBH Sentence Inadequate, But Does Not Resentence
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim At 6.43 pm on 6 February 2015, Craig Lulham sent a text message to Bill, the husband of his friend Allison’s mother. It stated, “Bring the cops. I don’t care. It won’t stop me from smashing you are [sic] face in, even when I get kicked out.” As Bill ...
The Cop Who Helped Reduce Street Crime
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Rather than employing heavy-handed tactics and a punitive approach when dealing with anti-social teens, police in the Western Sydney suburb of Blacktown have been tackling youth crime a different way. And the results speak for themselves. When police superintendent Mark Wright first took up his post in Blacktown many ...
Preventative Programs are Primarily Responsible for Decline in NSW Crime
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim A Sydney criminologist believes that the implementation of preventative and diversionary strategies is the primary reason for most categories of crime declining across the state in recent years. Dr Garner Clancey, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, points out that many offences have fallen by as much ...
‘Not White, Not Right’ – Racist Graffiti Scrawled Across Iconic Bondi
The eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi is a tourist Mecca, attracting millions of visitors from all over Australia and abroad each year. The area showcases the best of our nation – a world famous beach with glowing white sand, a range of food outlets and top restaurants, retail stores selling everything from Australiana to Tibetan ...
Brexit Vote Leads to Surge in Hate Crimes
Since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, police in London have made 75% more arrests for hate crimes. In weeks before and after the vote, the number of reported hate crimes has surged by 42 per cent – with 3076 incidents in the fortnight from June 16, an increase of 915 offences on the ...
Islamic College Targeted by Hate Criminals
In the latest of several recent anti-Islamic crimes, a four-wheel drive has been firebombed and racist graffiti sprayed at the Australian Islamic College in WA, while hundreds prayed at a nearby Mosque. The attack has led to calls for greater police efforts to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of hate crimes, and the extension of anti-discrimination ...