Road safety experts say more needs to be done to reduce fatalities by focusing on young men
Men would be banned from getting a driver’s licence until they are 21 under a “controversial” proposal being made to the New South Wales government.
The proposal is one of several being made by road safety experts, who say more needs to be done to reduce road fatalities by focusing on young drivers – and particularly young men.
Continue reading...Cousin of NT man shot dead during arrest says she livestreamed as family gathered outside police station out of fear of media, police
A relative of Kumanjayi Walker has told an inquest she feared for the lives of her family following the 19-year-old’s death and said the shooting had led to deteriorating relations between police and the Aboriginal community.
Walker was shot three times by police officer Const Zachery Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in November 2019.
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Continue reading...Rolfe was acquitted of murdering Walker in March, unleashing grief and anger in the remote community of Yuendumu
It’s already been the subject of a high-profile murder trial and now a coroner will examine the outback police shooting of Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker.
Walker died on 9 November 2019 when Const Zachary Rolfe shot him three times in the remote community of Yuendumu 290km north-west of Alice Springs.
Continue reading...Indigenous academic alleges treatment by two officers during 2018 arrest amounted to unlawful discrimination on basis of her race, a claim the officers and state government denies
Two Queensland police officers who arrested and handcuffed prominent First Nations writer and academic Chelsea Watego have told a tribunal they did not also approach or investigate an allegedly “aggressive white man” who was also the focus of nightclub security guards at the time they arrived.
The Queensland civil and administrative tribunal heard this week that police arrested Watego, a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman, within 18 seconds of arriving at the front of The Beat nightclub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in 2018.
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Continue reading...Tactical police fired bean bag rounds into Tarek Zahed’s black BMW on Edgecliff street
Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed will face a Sydney court on a murder charge just months after narrowly surviving an attempt on his own life.
The sergeant-at-arms of the outlaw motorcycle gang was arrested in dramatic scenes on Sunday when tactical police fired bean bag rounds into Zahed’s black BMW on an Edgecliff street.
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Continue reading...Man became a top 10 player at the Star Gold Coast after being banned from Melbourne and Sydney casinos
Star Entertainment allowed a patron barred from casinos in two states and allegedly linked to the Italian mafia to continue gambling in its Queensland venues for years, an inquiry has heard.
The man became one of the top 10 players at the Star Gold Coast after he was banned from the Crown Melbourne in 2014, and New South Wales police barred him from attending The Star, Sydney, seven months later.
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Continue reading...Commission examining responses to domestic violence says Katarina Carroll’s appearance led to ‘further communications’ from officers
Queensland’s commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence has unexpectedly reopened submissions to the public, citing the reaction to evidence given by the state’s police commissioner as a driver for the decision.
Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, was interrogated for more than eight hours at a public hearing in Brisbane last week after she initially declined an invitation to attend.
Continue reading...The 43-year-old was allegedly armed with a sharpening file when he was shot outside home
A man will undergo surgery after being shot twice by a Queensland police officer he had allegedly lunged at with a large metal sharpening file during a “horrible incident” at a house in Brisbane’s south.
Queensland police said the 43-year-old’s wife and four sons – aged seven to 14 – were at home during the confrontation on Sunday night.
Continue reading...Exclusive: More than 4,400 strip searches were carried out in total between July 2020 and May 2022
The New South Wales police have been accused of misunderstanding their own strip-search powers after data showed officers continued to use the controversial practice on thousands of people, including children as young as 13, during the height of Covid.
Data reveals police in NSW carried out more than 4,400 strip-searches between July 2020 and May 2022, which includes a Delta-wave lockdown that lasted more than 100 days.
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Continue reading...Katarina Carroll declined invitation on same day police said they will ‘fully cooperate’ with domestic violence inquiry
Advocates say it was “disingenuous” for Queensland police to claim the commissioner would “fully cooperate” with a domestic violence inquiry when she had declined an initial invitation to attend.
The Queensland police service’s (QPS) commissioner, Katarina Carroll, told the inquiry on Thursday that she initially rejected an invitation to appear at a public hearing on 5 August.
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Continue reading...Gregory Walker charged with alleged murder and arson after Haines died from burns following petrol bombing of Sydney house in 1998
The mother of 13-year-old Arthur Haines, who police alleged was murdered in 1998, says she is ecstatic police have arrested a suspect more than two decades after his death.
“I couldn’t believe … finally today is the day,” Julie Szabo said outside Surry Hills police station in Sydney on Friday.
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Continue reading...One person is in custody and more are helping police with their inquiries after girl taken to Darwin police station
One person is in custody and more are helping police with their inquiries after a young girl, allegedly abducted in the Northern Territory, was found safe and well.
A special taskforce was established to find the girl after she went missing on 7 August, with police focusing their efforts on a group they said “continued to peddle ideologies and false information”.
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Continue reading...Paul Taylor apologises for remark at policing conference, which was aired at domestic violence inquiry
A senior police officer has announced his immediate resignation after an inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence heard he had referred to his friend as a “vagina whisperer” at a policing conference.
The deputy commissioner, Paul Taylor, who has been a police officer for 45 years, said he was “deeply apologetic” for the harm his comments had caused and it was never his “intention” to offend anyone.
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Continue reading...Inquiry hears Katarina Carroll was asked if summons was needed for her to appear
Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, rejected an invitation to appear at an inquiry into police responses to domestic violence, prompting the commission to ask if they needed to issue a summons for her to attend.
During a hearing on Thursday, counsel assisting the inquiry, Ruth O’Gorman, said the commission first asked Carroll to give evidence on 4 August after they “formed concerns about lack of resourcing” after the testimony of assistant police commissioner Brian Codd.
Continue reading...Katarina Carroll will discuss the force’s capability and culture after critics questioned why she had not been called to appear
Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, will front a domestic violence hearing this week after the state’s commission of inquiry backflipped on a previous decision not to call her to give evidence.
Carroll will appear at the inquiry’s final public hearing on Thursday to discuss the organisation’s capability, capacity and structure to respond to domestic violence, as well as cultural issues within the force.
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Continue reading...Police say a NSW man, 63, will face court following Sunday shooting that led to evacuation of airport
A man has been charged with firearms offences after a shooting that prompted the evacuation of Canberra airport on Sunday.
A man was arrested at the airport after allegedly firing about five shots inside, some leaving bullet holes in terminal windows, at 1.30pm on Sunday.
Continue reading...Advocates call for immediate action following incidents including suicide attempts among incarcerated juveniles
There have been three suicide attempts by children transferred to an adult prison in Western Australia since mid-July, and 13 incidents of “minor self-harm”, prompting advocates to call for their immediate transfer and wider reform of the juvenile justice system.
Last month the WA government transferred 17 young people, some as young as 14, from Perth’s Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre to an adult jail at Casuarina after “escalating” disruptions from young people. The juveniles are being detained in a separate area from the adult prisoner population.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Queensland crime and corruption commission to investigate officer interactions with victim and her partner before house fire
A homicide investigation is under way into the death of a north Queensland woman who spoke with police officers hours before her home erupted into flames.
The 47-year-old Ayr woman died in hospital from severe burns after her house was gutted by a fire that police said was “probably deliberately lit” early on Tuesday morning.
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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
Continue reading...Intentionally bearing swastikas can now land a person in jail for up to a year and a fine of over $100,000
Intentionally waving a Nazi flag in New South Wales or displaying memorabilia bearing swastikas could now land a person in jail for up to a year, along with a fine of over $100,000.
The Crimes Amendment (prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) Bill 2022 swiftly and unanimously passed the NSW upper house on Thursday.
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Continue reading...Over five weeks of hearings, inquiry has heard allegations of police failures toward domestic violence victims
One in five allegations about Queensland police failures in responding to domestic violence complaints were investigated by officers working at the same station or work group, a commission of inquiry has heard.
The inquiry was told of 126 “failure of duty” allegations against the Queensland police service (QPS) recorded in the year to 30 May. Of those, 26 were investigated by an officer in the same station or work group, while 20 allegations were examined by someone of the same or lesser rank, the inquiry heard.
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