Posts tagged Police
WA urged to scrap practice of locking people up for unpaid fines as coronial inquest recommences into Ms Dhu’s death in police custody

With the coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody recommencing on Monday, family members and human rights lawyers are urging the Western Australian Government to urgently scrap the practice of locking people up for unpaid fines.

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Stop locking up women who are in family violence situations, says Ms Dhu’s family on White Ribbon Day

The coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody has heard that Ms Dhu was in a violent relationship with her partner, Dion Ruffin, at the time of her arrest. Mr Ruffin was taken into custody together with Ms Dhu and was known to police as someone with a violent criminal history.

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NGOs speak out about the need for adequate compensation and investigation of police misconduct

The Human Rights Law Centre has joined with 12 other NGOs to urgently call for greater accountability for police misconduct in Victoria in the wake of a UN Human Rights Committee finding in favour of Ms Corinna Horvath who was brutally assaulted by police in 1996 and is yet to receive adequate compensation for her injuries.

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New Victorian move-on powers unreasonably limit free speech and protest rights

Proposed new ‘move-on’ powers for police in Victoria will unreasonably limit human rights and are susceptible to misuse. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, said protest rights and free speech are particularly threatened, but the proposed laws may also have an impact on young people and the homeless.

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Police shooting in Windsor highlights the need for independent investigation

The fatal shooting of a man last night in Windsor by a Victoria Police officer highlights the need for independent investigations into police-related deaths. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Anna Brown, said that the current practice of police investigating themselves undermined public confidence in police and breached international human rights guarantees.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Supreme Court decision highlights failure of police complaints system

A decision by the Victorian Supreme Court, Bare v Small, has failed to uphold the right to the independent investigation of complaints of serious mistreatment at the hands of Victoria Police. The case was brought by Youthlaw and pro bono counsel on behalf of a young African man, Nassir Bare, who alleged serious assault, including being capsicum sprayed while handcuffed, and being racially slurred by police in a February 2009 incident when he was 17 years old.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Victoria Police to commence public review following racial discrimination court settlement

Victoria Police will commence a public inquiry aimed at stamping out racial profiling in police practices as a condition of an agreed out of court settlement in Haile-Michael and Others v Commissioner of Police and Others [Court no. VID 969 of 2010] – a racial discrimination claim brought by Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre and a pro bono legal team on behalf of six young African-Australian men.

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Taser use at crisis point in Australia

Horrifying footage of a young Aboriginal boy being repeatedly Tasered, together with damning Coronial findings into the death of a Brazilian student and a Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission report indicating increased reliance on Tasers by police, demonstrate the urgent need for more rigorous police training and more stringent regulation of police use of force.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Expert Roundtable on Tasers

Together with our friends at the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the Human Rights Law Centre convened a roundtable discussion on the use of Tasers with international expert Professor Rob Gordon, Director of the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. The roundtable was generously hosted by Allens and attendees included senior members of Victoria Police, policy makers from the Victorian Government Department of Justice, academic experts and community lawyers.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Four Corners report highlights need for independent investigations of police related deaths

When the police shoot someone, the resulting investigation should be independent of the police force. Following an ABC Four Corners program about the police shooting of Adam Salter, Public Interest Advocacy Centre Chief Executive, Edward Santow, said there is an urgent need for independent investigators to assist Coroners when the police are involved in someone’s death.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Four Corners report highlights need for independent investigations of police related deaths

When the police shoot someone, the resulting investigation should be independent of the police force, according to two of Australia’s leading human rights organisations. Public Interest Advocacy Centre Chief Executive, Edward Santow, said last night’s Four Corners program about the police shooting of Adam Salter, highlights the need for independent investigators to assist Coroners when the police are involved in someone’s death.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Police shooting: Coroner's findings highlight urgent need for reform of police training on use of force

Victoria Police must take a new approach to handling confrontation with people in crisis, the Human Rights Law Centre has said, following today’s release of the findings of the coronial inquest into the 2008 police shooting of Melbourne teenager Tyler Cassidy. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Anna Brown, said it is important to keep in mind that the police shooting of Tyler Cassidy was not a one off.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Taser Expansion May Harm the Vulnerable

The announcement that Victoria Police will conduct a trial to roll-out Tasers to all uniformed and traffic management police in Bendigo and Morwell leaves vulnerable groups at risk of greater harm. “This announcement reflects the race to the bottom in the Victorian Government’s pre-election law and order agenda. We are seeing good, evidence-based policy being discarded in favour of policies that won’t work and that will place Victorians at greater risk, particularly our most vulnerable groups,” said Emily Howie, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Law Resource Centre.

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MichelleBennettPolice
Chief Commissioner of Police v Coroner Bryant

Centre Granted Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae in Right to Life Test Case On 17 June, the Centre was granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in the Victorian Supreme Court in the matter of Chief Commissioner of Police v Bryant (in his capacity as Coroner).

The case concerned a coronial inquest into the death of a cyclist in December 2006 and, in particular, the Coroner's powers and the scope of matters into which the Coroner may inquire pursuant to s 19 of the Coroners Act 1985 (Vic).   The Chief Commissioner of Police sought an order in the Supreme Court prohibiting the Coroner from inquiring into certain systems, policies and practices.

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