Residents of northern Western Australia have issued a desperate plea for help, saying it is only a matter of time before a resurgent youth crime wave sees a child killed.

Crime Stoppers SA says it has no alternative than to go cap in hand to the South Australian public amid concerns about its "declining financial situation".

When your loved ones' murders are turned into a true crime book, what impact does that have on the family left behind and society's insatiable curiosity into the tragedy?

A Townsville boy, whose mother was murdered by his father, and who has been in court over 26 matters in just five months is denied bail after being linked to a crime spree involving recklessly driven stolen cars.

Being bashed in the head with an EFTPOS machine and left with memory loss was just one of dozens of recent crimes inflicted on a Palmerston supermarket worker.

A 17-year-old boy is in hospital after a brawl between two packs of youths in Palmerston just days after a 13-year-old was stabbed in the area.

Police say charges for a 14-year-old boy are expected after an aggressive episode lasting five hours in Darwin's northern suburbs.

Three accused Rebels bikies who appealed to the High Court to overturn an order preventing them from associating with one another have lost their bid, clearing the way for the NSW Police Commissioner to impose strict restraints on them, including a curfew and restricted mobile phone possession.

A high-speed stolen car chase that allegedly included a woman being dragged from her car and a man being threatened with a syringe reignites anger over youth crime in Townsville and prompts demands for action.

Criminologist and former detective Terry Goldsworthy says the move to reduce Queensland's police zones is a key factor behind a rise in the state's crime rates over the past 12 months.

A State Crime Detective Senior Constable is stood down after police discover a dangerous drug, believed to be cocaine, has been stolen from an evidence room.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirming the district court's judgment in favor of the defense and its denial of plaintiff motions to reopen discovery and for relief from judgment in an action challenging a jail's policy prohibiting the delivery of unsolicited commercial mail to inmates because the ban related to legitimate penological objectives and arguments supporting the plaintiff's appeals had been abandoned.

Lawmakers are reacting with outrage to the February killing

Lawmakers are reacting with outrage to the February killing

[I am happy to turn this space over to my former colleague and (I trust) lifelong friend Romans Pancs, who offers what he describes as a polemical essay. It has no references and no confidence intervals. It has question marks. It makes a narrow point and does not weigh pros and cons. It is an […]

For years, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office in Louisiana issued fake subpoenas to witnesses and crime victims. Unlike subpoenas used in ongoing prosecutions, these were used during the investigation process to compel targets to talk to law enforcement. They weren't signed by judges or issued by court clerks but they did state in bold letters across the top that "A FINE AND IMPRISONMENT MAY BE OPPOSED FOR FAILURE TO OBEY THIS NOTICE."

Recipients of these bogus subpoenas sued the DA's office. In early 2019, a federal court refused to grant absolute immunity to the DA's office for its use of fake subpoenas to compel cooperation from witnesses. The court pointed out that issuing its own subpoenas containing threats of imprisonment bypassed an entire branch of the government to give the DA's office power it was never supposed to have.

Allegations that the Individual Defendants purported to subpoena witnesses without court approval, therefore, describe more than a mere procedural error or expansion of authority. Rather, they describe the usurpation of the power of another branch of government.

The court stated that extending immunity would be a judicial blessing of this practice, rather than a deterrent against continued abuse by the DA's office.

The DA's office appealed. The Fifth Circuit Appeals Court took the case, but it seemed very unimpressed by the office's assertions. Here's how it responded during oral arguments earlier this year:

“Threat of incarceration with no valid premise?” Judge Jennifer Elrod said at one point during arguments. She later drew laughter from some in the audience when she said, “This argument is fascinating.”

“These are pretty serious assertions of authority they did not have,” said Judge Leslie Southwick, who heard arguments with Elrod and Judge Catharina Haynes.

The Appeals Court has released its ruling [PDF] and it will allow the lawsuit to proceed. The DA's office has now been denied immunity twice. Absolute immunity shields almost every action taken by prosecutors during court proceedings. But these fake subpoenas were sent to witnesses whom prosecutors seemingly had no interest in ever having testify in court. This key difference means prosecutors will have to face the state law claims brought by the plaintiffs.

Based upon the pleadings before us at this time, it could be concluded that Defendants’ creation and use of the fake subpoenas was not “intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process,” but rather fell into the category of “those investigatory functions that do not relate to an advocate’s preparation for the initiation of a prosecution or for judicial proceedings.” See Hoog-Watson v. Guadalupe Cty., 591 F.3d 431, 438 (5th Cir. 2009)

[...]

Defendants were not attempting to control witness testimony during a break in judicial proceedings. Instead, they allegedly used fake subpoenas in an attempt to pressure crime victims and witnesses to meet with them privately at the Office and share information outside of court. Defendants never used the fake subpoenas to compel victims or witnesses to testify at trial. Such allegations are of investigative behavior that was not “intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process.”

Falling further outside the judicial process was the DA's office itself, which apparently felt the judicial system didn't need to be included in its subpoena efforts.

In using the fake subpoenas, Individual Defendants also allegedly intentionally avoided the judicial process that Louisiana law requires for obtaining subpoenas.

The case returns to the lower court where the DA's office will continue to face the state law claims it hoped it would be immune from. The Appeals Court doesn't say the office won't ultimately find some way to re-erect its absolute immunity shield, but at this point, it sees nothing on the record that says prosecutors should be excused from being held responsible for bypassing the judicial system to threaten crime victims and witnesses with jail time.

I recently travelled to Pittsburgh, USA, to present the paper “From Playing Games to Committing Crimes: A Multi-Technique Approach to Predicting Key Actors on an Online Gaming Forum” at eCrime 2019, co-authored with Ben Collier and Alice Hutchings. The accepted version of the paper can be accessed here. The structure and content of various underground … Continue reading From Playing Games to Committing Crimes: A Multi-Technique Approach to Predicting Key Actors on an Online Gaming Forum →

The platforms, providers, and infrastructures which together make up the contemporary Internet play an increasingly central role in the business of governing human societies. Although the software engineers, administrators, business professionals, and other staff working at these organisations may not have the institutional powers of state organisations such as law enforcement or the civil service, … Continue reading Three Paper Thursday: The role of intermediaries, platforms, and infrastructures in governing crime and abuse →

Just as in other types of victimization, victims of cybercrime can experience serious consequences, emotional or not. First of all, a repeat victim of a cyber-attack might face serious financial or emotional hardship. These victims are also more likely to require medical attention as a consequence of online fraud victimization. This means repeat victims have a … Continue reading Three Paper Thursday: Exploring the Impact of Online Crime Victimization →

Reports of hate crime in Scotland have increased and research indicates that the trauma experienced by victims of hate crime can be more enduring and harmful than non-hate related offending and that it has detrimental effects on communities as well as individuals. There is a clear role for criminal justice social work in this area in working with perpetrators.

Rania Hamad, City of Edinburgh Council spoke to us about her research on the topic. It aims to:

• define 'hate crime' and highlight the complexities around definitions
• provide an understanding of the scope and nature of hate crime in Scotland and Edinburgh
• explore the causes of hate crime, including individual and wider structural causation
• outline the 'characteristics' of hate crime perpetrators including a discussion around risk assessment
• explore what can be learned from hate crime interventions
• explore 'best practice' for practitioners in this area of work
• highlight gaps in current knowledgeRead: Hate crime: causes, motivations and effective interventions for criminal justice social work.

Transcript of episode

Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

The core purpose of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) is to carry out high quality, internationally recognised research in relation to crime and criminal justice.

We recorded this conversation BEFORE J.K. Rowling's recent comments on this issue; we'll discuss that in our next episode, but didn't want this to get lost in the meantime.

We discuss Johnny Depp's casting and the issues around it, as well as director David Yates's recent comments on the matter. Please be warned there may be triggering content for those suffering the effects of abuse.

Bernstein delves into Palast’s new book, How Trump Stole 2020, which serves as a warning — and a guide to how we can steal the election back!

The post Election Crimes Bulletin: How Trump Stole 2020<div id='sec-title'>— And How We Can Steal It Back!</div> appeared first on Greg Palast.

Ghost Files: Memory Of A Crime is also included in the Detective Novels Bundle, which includes Noir Chronicles: City of Crime, and Path of Sin: Greed. Product Info: Developer: Artifex Mundi Publisher: Artifex Mundi Website: Games from Artifex Mundi Twitter: @ArtifexMundi

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By the time in 2015 when prosecutors indicted Chris Christie flunkies Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for shutting down Fort Lee’s George Washington Bridge lanes for four days in 2013 to punish the mayor for failing to endorse the big man in Trenton’s reelection, the two sick sycophants had long lost their stupid sinecures in the State House and Port Authority. And Christie had already rightly lost the trust of Jerseyans for building the hothouse in which the lichens could grow.

The heartless bandits with hidden faces are wanted for a violent robbery spree across Brooklyn and the Bronx over the past five weeks that includes beating an 83-year-old man, pistol-whipping a woman and shooting a bread deliveryman who survived a bullet to the pancreas.

Critics, including the state sheriff's association, don't seem to know how bail works.

Persecution in Tibet: More schools use Chinese as the main teaching language, denying a people their culture. Dare to question the policy and land in prison.

The 2013 scheme by associates of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to close traffic lanes to punish a political opponent remains a scandal for the ages.

Steph Cha doesn't expect much in the way of good crime fiction to spring from the coronavirus outbreak.

Authors Steph Cha and Joe Ide swapped crimes stories and favorite books during the L.A. Times Book Club's first virtual event.

In 'Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery,' the critic travels to Nordic cities to investigate the society that shaped a global phenomenon.

In an excerpt from "Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery," the essayist Wendy Lasser recommends her favorite writers in the booming genre.

The Los Angeles County district attorney says work was already underway on reducing L.A.'s jail population before a zero-bail order was issued.

TEXTILES: brace yourselves. We have a new hate crime on our books.

POLICE in Essex have admitted the decision was made to "take no further action" on many low level traffic offences last month as road crimes hit record levels.

Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are accused of fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, will not face hate crime charges. Here's why.

In our state, sex without consent is not a crime unless there is force, the threat of force or incapacitation, a letter to the editor says.

Four people were shot at a popular park on the south side of Indianapolis early Wednesday morning.

Gregg got a boxing heavy bag for his birthday, and he's ready to beat up Derek — hey, that's what he said! — on the latest Doyel and Derek Podcast.

British Crime Survey reveals the chances of being a victim of crime are lowest for 20 years.

Key facts, dates, events

Those are being committed by the Democrats, Republicans say.