Category Archives: Australian police and policing

Man charged after allegedly riding lawn mower through Queensland town while drunk

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Police allege the man was driving through Ingham with almost four times the legal blood-alcohol limit

A Queensland man has been charged with high-range drink-driving after he was caught allegedly riding a lawn mower through the town of Ingham while drunk.

The man, 51, was stopped by police who had seen him driving the ride-on mower in the wrong direction down Herbert Street last Sunday.

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Sydney deputy school principal jailed for sexual chats with ‘teenage girl’

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Damian Wanstell was arrested after sending explicit texts to undercover police posing as 14-year-old

A former deputy principal has been jailed after sending protracted sexually explicit chats to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

In sentencing Damian Scott Wanstall on Wednesday, judge Andrew Colefax asked how, as a father, he could discuss sexual acts and arrange to meet up with someone so young for that purpose.

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Three killed in Bruce Highway crash in Queensland involving vehicle stolen at knife-point from family

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Isuzu MU-X had been taken from a mother and her three children in carjacking in Gympie on Thursday, police say

Three people have died in a horror road crash in Queensland, which police say occurred after a man allegedly attempted to ram another vehicle while driving a stolen car, causing both to cross on to the wrong side of the highway.

Both vehicles then collided with a third car on the Bruce Highway at Federal, south of Gympie, at about 4am on Friday.

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Dramatic police chase through Sydney suburbs ends in crash

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A 39-year-old male driver and 37-year-old female passenger were arrested after the lengthy chase ended near Parramatta

A US-style police pursuit of a car allegedly speeding through the suburbs of Sydney has ended with the arrests of a man and a woman after they crashed in the city’s south-west.

The chase was sparked on Thursday when New South Wales police officers detected a suspected stolen vehicle travelling on the Hume Highway in Prestons, south-west of Liverpool, about 9.30am.

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NSW police lose court bid to exclude Scott Johnson killing from gay hate inquiry

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Force had argued Johnson’s death was outside terms of reference because case was solved with man sentenced for manslaughter earlier this year

A bid by New South Wales police to exclude a high-profile killing from a gay hate inquiry has been rejected.

The death of US mathematician Scott Johnson is one of dozens of cases under the spotlight at a special commission of inquiry into suspected gay hate crimes in Sydney between 1970 and 2010.

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Clare Nowland: family sues NSW government after 95-year-old allegedly Tasered in nursing home

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Exclusive: civil proceedings against the state were initially filed while aged care resident was still fighting for her life in hospital

The family of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who died in May after being allegedly Tasered by police in an aged care home, is suing the New South Wales government.

The civil case against the state was listed to appear for the first time before a court in Bega in south-east NSW on Tuesday morning.

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Publisher withdraws former police officer’s memoir after force questions Port Arthur massacre claim

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Victoria Police says Christophe Glasl was not in Tasmania at the time of Port Arthur massacre, despite his claim to have been involved in its resolution

A publisher has pulled a former police officer’s memoir after the force questioned his claim he attended the Port Arthur massacre.

Hachette confirmed parts of the book Special Operations Group by former Victorian police officer Christophe Glasl were inaccurate, and that it had been removed from shelves.

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Magistrate berates prosecutors as police officer charged with Tasering Clare Nowland appears in court via video

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Kristian White was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to 95-year-old grandmother

A magistrate has berated prosecutors for allowing the police officer accused of Tasering a 95-year-old grandmother not to appear in person before court.

Snr Constable Kristian White appeared before the Cooma local court via video link on Wednesday over the Tasering of Clare Nowland, who later died from injuries sustained in the incident.

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Teen felt ‘degraded and belittled’ by former University of New England vice-chancellor, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour over an alleged incident in March 2022

A teenager who was allegedly assaulted and subjected to offensive behaviour by the former vice-chancellor of the University of New England at an International Women’s Day event last year has told a court that the incident left her feeling “ degraded and belittled”.

Prof Brigid Heywood, 65, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event on 8 May 2022. She was a panellist at the event.

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Domestic violence advocates outraged over potential for ‘watered-down’ Queensland police integrity unit

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Expert says anything less than the ‘full implementation of an independent police integrity model’ will fail to prevent the continuation of misconduct

The daughter of a domestic violence murder victim, who a coroner found was systematically failed by Queensland police, is urging the state government to stamp out the practice of police investigating themselves.

Shayne Probert’s mother, Doreen Langham, was killed when her ex-partner set fire to her townhouse, south of Brisbane, in 2021.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Celine Cremer: waterfall and river to be searched for missing Belgian tourist in Tasmania

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Police say swift water will be examined on Tuesday ‘before we begin to scale back the search’

Police will search waterways as they continue looking for the Belgian tourist Celine Cremer, who has been missing for two weeks in remote Tasmanian wilderness.

Officers say they will examine the Philosopher Falls area more closely on Tuesday before scaling back the search.

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Children locked in cells for up to 23 hours at South Australia’s youth detention centre

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Child protection watchdog says distress at Kurlana Tapa caused by prolonged detention is leading to self-harm

Children are being locked in their cells for up to 23 consecutive hours partly due to staffing shortages at South Australia’s youth detention centre, with the system in crisis amid a spate of “shocking” self-harm incidents, the state’s guardian for young people says.

Shona Reid, the guardian and youth detention inspector, said children were becoming so distressed due to prolonged detention that they were harming themselves at the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre.

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Calls for Victorian government to scrap Covid fines as data shows minority groups more likely to be penalised

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Some community leaders say report is evidence of officers targeting people based on their ethnicity, which Victoria police rejects

African, Middle Eastern and Indigenous community leaders are calling for the Andrews government and Victoria police to review Covid fines after a report revealed ethnic minorities and First Nations people were more likely to receive infringements for breaching lockdown rules.

Released on Tuesday, the report revealed people of African and Middle Eastern appearance were four times more likely to receive fines for breaching the state’s lockdown rules in 2020, accounting for share of the population. Victoria police have rejected the allegation by the report’s lead researcher that officers targeted certain racial groups.

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Victoria police accused of racial profiling, as data shows minority groups more likely to receive Covid fines

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African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people up to four times more likely to be fined for Covid-19 breaches

Victoria police officers have been accused of racial profiling, with a report showing they disproportionately targeted people of non-Anglo appearance during the pandemic.

African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people were up to four times more likely to be fined for COVID-19 breaches, when considering their share of the state’s population.

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‘Very effective use of force’: Queensland police chief defends officer filmed punching crash driver

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Footage appears to show driver being repeatedly punched through a car window before he was Tasered

Queensland’s police commissioner has defended an officer’s actions after “confronting footage” emerged of him repeatedly punching a man involved in a head-on crash in Brisbane’s north.

The footage, first published by Nine, appears to show the officer repeatedly punching and hitting the driver through a car window before Tasering the man, on Thursday.

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NSW police removed mention of Taser and knife from first statement about Clare Nowland

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The 95-year-old died after she was Tasered during a confrontation with police at a nursing home in Cooma in May

Documents show New South Wales police removed mention of paramedics, a knife and a Taser in their first statement about the Tasering of a 95-year-old grandmother.

Clare Nowland was Tasered during a confrontation with police while walking with a frame and holding a steak knife at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma on 17 May, according to subsequent police statements.

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Real-time reporting to monitor Aboriginal deaths in custody

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New data dashboard to provide up-to-date information supplied by states and territories

Governments will be held more accountable for their criminal justice systems with the launch of a new source of information on Indigenous deaths in custody.

Since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody released its report in 1991 there have been more than 540 First Nations deaths in custody.

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Climate protesters block coal shipments in three states as Minns warns against ‘dangerous’ situations

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Blockade Australia’s coordinated action targets ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne

Climate protesters have disrupted coal shipments and motorway traffic at ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne.

A climate protester has suspended herself from a rail bridge at the Newcastle coal ports, blocking trains, as coordinated protests were mounted at ports in Melbourne and Brisbane. The woman was livestreaming her solitary protest online and police were on site.

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Drowning of Indigenous man during police chase sparks call for water safety review

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Coroner makes recommendation following inquest into death of Brandon Clark, who fled into dangerous waters after vehicle stop

Police did everything they could to save the life of Indigenous man Brandon Clark who fled into dangerous river waters while evading officers and drowned, a coroner has found.

Clark had been pulled over by police during a vehicle stop when officers discovered an alleged breach of bail. He was also affected by illicit substances at the time.

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Police and crime researchers fear social media’s affect on crime in NSW and Victoria

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Data released in both states suggest online posts may have contributed to a rise in certain types of crime

Social media platforms allowing teenagers to brag about crimes might be contributing to an increase in youth offending in Australia’s most populous states, Victorian police and New South Wales’ crime statistics agency say.

In Victoria, data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released on Thursday reported that home burglaries committed by 10-to-14-year-olds increased by almost 87% in the 12 months to 31 March, compared with the prior year. This is despite youth offending being down by almost half, compared with a decade ago.

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