crime

Freedom and security

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:22 am, August 25th, 2011 - 30 comments

The government is planning a crack down on “organised crime”.  What could possibly be wrong with that?

Just desserts

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:26 am, August 16th, 2011 - 68 comments

The private operators of the new Mt Eden remand prison are using desserts as a reward for good behaviour. It seems to work. But the Right doesn’t know quite how to react: on one hand, it’s mollycoddling prisoners, on the other hand it’s a private operator being innovative. Imagine how they would have reacted if the public prisons started doing this.

London riots

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:19 am, August 9th, 2011 - 201 comments

There have been two nights of rioting, looting and burning in London.  The trigger was the police shooting of Mark Duggan.  But the cause is the alienation of the permanent underclass, and the stresses of the current austerity programme.

Just resting in his account?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:30 am, July 28th, 2011 - 9 comments

Did anyone else see the Herald article beginning: “A priest working as a senior executive at the Auckland University of Technology has resigned after “accounting discrepancies” involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.” and think “the money was just resting in my account“?

No? Just me?

Why Key’s opportunism was sickening

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:02 am, July 26th, 2011 - 55 comments

The Right is whining that Key said “If [the Norway massacre] is an act of global terrorism, I think what it shows is no country large or small is immune from that risk and that’s why New Zealand’s played its part in Afghanistan” . ‘IF! Don’t you see, IF!’ Try to get the point, righties. Key opportunistically framed a tragedy for his political purposes.

1981 Molesworth St commemoration

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:00 pm, July 12th, 2011 - 14 comments

I was in the middle of the scrum on Molesworth Street on the night of July 29th 1981 when marchers were batoned by the police. A front-rowers’ collective has organised a 30-year anniversary commemoration at the Loaves and Fishes for Friday 29 July, and invite others to join them for a night of reminiscing and celebrating. Tickets are $15 to cover costs. If you would like to attend contact Paul Tolich 0275 935595 or Sue Ryall 021 380 176.

We All Have Our Vices

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:13 am, June 30th, 2011 - 31 comments

Yesterday, Dakta Green was sentenced to 8 months prison on drugs charges arising from The Daktory cannabis ‘dispensary’ that operated openly for 2 years in West Auckland. But what harm was caused to justify denying a man his freedom at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars to the taxpayer? More harm than other small vices?

English – sell dams to buy prisons

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:37 am, June 9th, 2011 - 54 comments

So, that’s National’s great big plan: get rid of our electricity assets and use the cash to build more prisons. Not much of a brighter future there. National still hasn’t come up with a convincing reason why we would sell highly profitable monopolistic companies. Instead, we’ve seen a series of weak excuses. Now, English has revealed the truth.

Drug reform: makes a hell of a lot of cents

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:21 am, June 7th, 2011 - 48 comments

I’ve been thinking about the budget. Its economic vacuousness: borrowing and crossing fingers for strong growth, while keeping tax cuts for the rich. The bare-faced cheek of counting the asset sales in its projections and passing Kiwisaver cuts without getting a mandate. But also, the cuts to vital public services without a more imaginative and sensible solution: drug reform.

Operation 8 documentary

Written By: lprent - Date published: 2:48 pm, May 27th, 2011 - 17 comments

I have been bemoaning that I’d missed the Operation 8 documentary. But there are more screenings around the country. Catch a showing near you because by the sound of the current state of the court case, this will not be resolved until next year at the earliest. It has been over three and half years […]

Police planning to screw up again

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:30 am, April 28th, 2011 - 6 comments

Morgan Godfery at Maui Street blog is reporting that the police are preparing to raid Te Whanau a Apanui for protesting against the Petrobas geological survey. The police have to be crazy to think that they can do another raid like the one in 2007. What are they looking for this time? More 0.22″ rounds?

Tilting at drugmules

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:00 pm, April 20th, 2011 - 33 comments

Rex Widerstrom has been a commentator and occassional guest poster here for a while. He has a unique point of view on the political process and its place in society. In this guest post he looks at the never ending “War on Drugs”.

Appealing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:47 pm, April 19th, 2011 - 3 comments

No Right Turn put up a post on the latest in the police foulup that is Operation 8.

Child crime and bullying

Written By: r0b - Date published: 6:43 am, April 5th, 2011 - 41 comments

Under Key’s government we are seeing an escalation in violence committed by children.  Why?  TV and media violence hasn’t noticeably step-changed in the last year.  More likely it is a symptom of the stress that families are under.  Children are the canaries in the coal mine…