Category Archives: Australian police and policing

Liberal MPs break ranks to call for inquiry into Brittany Higgins’ leaked text messages

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Andrew Bragg and Bridget Archer make call after Network Ten asks AFP to investigate alleged leaking of evidence in Bruce Lehrmann trial

Liberals Andrew Bragg and Bridget Archer have broken ranks to call for an inquiry into how Brittany Higgins’ text messages were leaked, with Bragg labelling debate in the Senate where the Coalition is pursuing Katy Gallagher “very ugly”.

The pair made the call after the finance minister denied misleading the Senate about her knowledge of Higgins’ allegation before it aired and Network Ten asked the Australian federal police to investigate how Higgins’ texts became public.

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Australian federal police abandon two alleged murder investigations into Ben Roberts-Smith

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The long-running investigations into murder allegations in Afghanistan will be replaced by new inquiries because of concerns about evidence

Two key criminal investigations into alleged murders involving Ben Roberts-Smith have been abandoned by the Australian federal police because of concerns over potentially inadmissible evidence.

The long-running investigations – into murder allegations at a compound codenamed Whiskey 108 and in the southern Afghan village of Darwan – will be replaced by new inquiries undertaken by a new joint taskforce, staffed by officials from the Office of the Special Investigator and federal police investigators not previously connected to the cases.

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Murder charges to be laid over death of Perth police officer dragged under car during arrest

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Constable Anthony Woods, 28, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, three days after he was run over by a car allegedly bearing stolen plates

Murder charges will be laid against the accused driver of a car that ran over and killed a West Australian police officer.

Constable Anthony Woods, 28, was in an induced coma at Royal Perth hospital after the incident on Thursday but WA police on Sunday night confirmed that he had succumbed to his injuries.

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Boy, 16, charged after woman and girl allegedly found stabbed in family tragedy in Queensland

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Police say emergency services found woman, 39, and girl, 11, with a number of wounds at home in Rosewood, west of Brisbane

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a woman and a girl were allegedly found stabbed in a family tragedy in Queensland.

Queensland police said emergency services went to a home at Rosewood, west of Brisbane, on Thursday night, where they found the woman, 39, and the girl, 11, with a number of wounds to the abdomen.

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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Indigenous deaths in custody at record high and public perception of police worst in 10 years, report finds

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Productivity Commission report on government services says 26% of Australia’s state-owned Indigenous housing is overcrowded

Indigenous deaths in custody are at their highest in the 15 years that records have been kept while public perceptions of the honesty and fairness of police officers has reached a 10-year low, according to new data from the federal Productivity Commission.

The Report on Government Services also found overcrowding in public housing is on the rise, while the number of public housing properties of an acceptable standard has sharply dropped.

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School bus driver and two camels killed in central Queensland crash

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The man was on his way to work when he crashed into the escaped animals in Livingstone, police say

A school bus driver has been killed after he crashed into two escaped camels in central Queensland.

Both camels were also killed in the crash on Emu Park Road in Livingstone, east of Rockhampton, shortly after 5am on Monday, police said.

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Father charged with the murder of his three-year-old son in Sydney

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The boy was found dead in a unit in Riverwood with his father, Nathan Vikatos, who was arrested in hospital after life-saving surgery on injuries

A father has been charged with murder over the death of his three-year-old son in Sydney’s south-west.

The toddler was found dead alongside his father, 45-year-old Nathan Vikatos, who had serious injuries, inside their Riverwood apartment on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

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‘Incredibly concerning’: new study highlights policing failures in deaths of Indigenous women by domestic violence

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Researcher found clear patterns when she identified how women were killed and how police and the justice system responded

A “damning” new study of the deaths of more than 150 First Nations women at the hands of their partner or former partner has found patterns of policing failures, with the lead researcher saying most were preventable.

The study by Monash University examined 151 coronial court investigations and inquests of First Nations women and girls who were killed by intimate partner violence over a 20-year period.

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Woman found dead in Sydney after police failed to locate source of alleged domestic dispute

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Man charged with domestic violence offences including stalking and contravention of an AVO

A man has been charged with domestic violence offences after police found a woman’s body inside a western Sydney apartment, after earlier failing to locate the source of a domestic dispute.

Police received an anonymous phone call about an alleged domestic dispute at a Liverpool apartment block about 11.45pm on Friday.

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‘A festering tree’: growing calls for parliamentary inquiry into NSW police use of force

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Justice experts say there needs to be a more rigorous process for when Tasers and guns can be deployed to change the way officers manage incidents

Calls are growing for a parliamentary inquiry into use of force by New South Wales police, with justice experts saying too much focus is being placed on the actions of individual police officers rather than the “festering” systemic problem.

“This isn’t a case of a few bad apples, it’s a case of a festering tree,” said Samantha Lee, a lawyer at Redfern Legal Centre.

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Bruce Lehrmann inquiry: Senior officer held serious concerns about perceptions of collusion with defence

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AFP acting assistant commissioner tells inquiry she was concerned police and defence counsel interactions were feeding ‘conspiratorial ideas of collusion’

A senior ACT police officer has told an inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann for rape that she held serious concerns that there were perceptions her officers were colluding with lawyers for Lehrmann’s defence.

AFP acting assistant commissioner, Joanne Cameron, was a commander in charge of ACT policing investigations when Lehrmann faced trial last year over allegations he raped his former colleague Brittany Higgins in parliament house in 2019.

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NSW police employee reinstated after pushing barricade at rail workers and calling them ‘bludgers’

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Commissioner says dismissal was a disproportionate response but it was appropriate that imaging technician be denied back pay and issued final warning

A New South Wales police employee who was sacked for telling striking rail workers “get back to work you bludgers” and pushing a barricade towards them has had his job reinstated.

The employee, John Fleming, said he was frustrated when he walked past rail workers who were “sitting outside at a cafe drinking coffee and … having a laugh and enjoying themselves because of the inconvenience they were causing me and other rail commuters” in February last year.

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Australia politics live: Christian Porter will not act in Palmer lawsuit against government due to conflict, estimates told

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Former attorney general received confidential information while in office and has said he will not act for Clive Palmer, senators hear. Follow the day’s news live

Cricket builds friendship between Australia and India, says Albanese

Narendra Modi described the Australia-India relationship last night as the three Cs – commonwealth, cricket and curry, the three Ds – diaspora, democracy and dosti (Bollywood film series and friendship) and the 3Es – economy, energy and education.

There is always a discussion about cricket when Australians and Indians gather and I did get the experience of being day one of the fourth test for a brief time with Prime Minister Modi. It was quite an experience in the world’s biggest stadium there in March and Australians and Indians are very passionate about their cricket but it is part of the way that we build our friendship between our two nations.

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Review needed of police deployment to aged care after 95-year-old woman Tasered, says age discrimination commissioner

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Dr Kay Patterson questions whether mental health team would be more appropriate while David Shoebridge says police tools are ‘wrong resource’

The age discrimination commissioner has said the deployment of police officers to respond to incidents in aged care homes should be reviewed after the Tasering of 95-year-old Claire Nowland.

Nowland, who weighs 43kg and lives with dementia, was Tasered by police after she was found armed with a steak knife in her home at an aged care facility in Cooma. She is in end-of-life care at Cooma district hospital after the incident caused her to fall and sustain life-threatening head injuries.

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Sydney dementia patient ‘didn’t sleep for months’ after police called to subdue her, family say

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Calls for reform grow with daughter of patient saying families should be notified when police are deployed to aged care homes

A family who say they were not told when police were deployed to help control their 79-year-old mother in a Sydney dementia unit are calling for a change to make it mandatory for family to be notified about the use of law enforcement.

On 4 June 2020, paramedics attempted to subdue an agitated Norma Robertson, who had only been in the care of the dementia unit at HammondCare in a Sydney suburb for about four weeks.

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Police did not believe evidence was sufficient to take Bruce Lehrmann to trial, inquiry hears

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AFP’s Scott Moller says he charged Lehrmann on advice of DPP despite investigators not thinking Brittany Higgins’s allegations reached threshold for prosecution

The police officer who investigated an allegation Bruce Lehrmann raped a colleague in Parliament House has told an inquiry he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to take Lehrmann to trial, but charged him on the advice of the director of public prosecutions.

The AFP’s Det Supt Scott Moller oversaw the ACT police’s investigation into Brittany Higgins’s allegation Lehrmann raped her in the Parliament House office of the then Coalition minister Linda Reynolds in 2019.

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NSW police footage shows officers used two sets of handcuffs on 81-year-old woman with dementia

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Exclusive: footage from body-worn camera shows police restraining confused dementia patient Rachel Grahame in 2020

Six police officers used two sets of handcuffs on a distressed and frail 81-year-old woman with dementia after she took a lanyard from a staff member at her Sydney nursing home.

Body-worn camera footage shows Rachel Grahame, who has advanced dementia and weighs just 45kg, howling in distress as a team of police surround and handcuff her late at night at St Basil’s aged care home in Randwick on 31 October 2020.

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NSW police commissioner says she won’t watch video of Clare Nowland, 95, being Tasered

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Karen Webb says it is not ‘necessary that I actually view it’ as Nowland remains in Cooma hospital

New South Wales’ top cop says she will not watch confronting video of a 95-year-old grandmother being Tasered in a nursing home, as the elderly woman’s condition deteriorates in hospital.

Clare Nowland, 95, was using a walking frame when she was hit with a Taser at an aged care facility in Cooma in the early hours of Wednesday, after she allegedly failed to drop a steak knife.

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Shane Drumgold on leave from DPP role as inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann case continues

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ACT government spokesperson says director of public prosecutions is on leave at his request

The Australian Capital Territory’s director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, is on leave as an inquiry into the handling of a case against the former Liberal staff member Bruce Lehrmann continues.

The ACT government executive has appointed Anthony Williamson, who was the deputy DPP, to act in the role of the territory’s top prosecutor until 13 June.

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This article was amended on 18 May, 2023. A previous version incorrectly stated Shane Drumgold was stood down. He is taking a period of voluntary leave.

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Neo-Nazis clash with police and counter-protesters at anti-immigration rally in Melbourne

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Police use pepper spray on crowds outside Parliament House, where a group of masked men performed the Nazi salute

Neo-Nazi and anti-fascist groups have clashed in Melbourne, with police making several arrests and deploying capsicum spray in a bid to quell the violence.

A group led by the self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell was expected to meet at state parliament at midday on Saturday for an anti-immigration protest, which an anti-fascist group planned to disrupt by rallying 30 minutes earlier, according to multiple posts on social media.

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