law and “order”

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Second “Roast Busters” report released

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, March 19th, 2015 - 120 comments

There are many failings outlined. Police were  found to have largely treated women and girls with respect and compassion but their investigations were not robust or thorough, inadequate follow-up enquiries…

Pike River – Charges against Peter Whittall withdrawn

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, December 12th, 2013 - 45 comments

The charges that Peter Whittall faced concerning the Pike River deaths have been withdrawn.  And he and the then directors of Pike River are paying $3.4 million compensation to the victims families.  While it is pleasing for the families to receive some compensation for their loss does the sanctity of our justice system require that the prosecutions should have continued?

It’s not just about cyber-culture, Judith

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 pm, November 4th, 2013 - 310 comments

The reports of the Roast Busters are chilling.  Watching 3 News tonight was very upsetting.  Reported responses by the police, John Key and Judith Collins are inadequate.  Key & Collins seem to be shifting the focus to cyber-bullying and away from the brutality of the physical acts. [Update: Scuba Nurse – positive steps to make a difference]

How to spot fascism

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 pm, May 23rd, 2013 - 95 comments

This. This is fascism. Giving spies the powers that they have in the States could prevent the kind of terrorism that just happened … in the States. The fascist author of this piece that the Herald disgracefully published even wrote: “if you have nothing to hide from the GCSB, then you have nothing to fear.” Do people actually say that and mean it? Yes, fascists do.

Police actions unlawful

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, May 22nd, 2013 - 215 comments

The report on the Urewera raids from the Independent Police Complaints Authority is (unlike some other reports we could mention) certainly no whitewash.

NRT: “The worst of the worst”

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, April 30th, 2013 - 176 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the difference between what was promised of the “3 strikes” law and the way it is being used in practice.

Falling crime

Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, April 3rd, 2013 - 24 comments

Falling crime is good news – but the reasons are probably not the ones that occupy most of the politicians and the commentary.

Boot camps

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, February 19th, 2013 - 27 comments

We knew from overseas that military-style boot camps are expensive, don’t reduce recidivism, and breed sadistic violence towards inmates. It’s not just overseas experience; these were all reasons we got rid of borstals. National knew this when they introduced boot camps but they did it anyway for the populism. Now, boot camps have failed again, can we stop this stupidity?

Banks private prosecution begins

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 11th, 2012 - 36 comments

The hearing into the private prosecution of John Banks over his ‘anonymous’ mayoral donations begins today. That the private prosecution has got this far shows the judge believes there is a prima facie case – which puts the Police to shame for failing to take Banks to court. Banks is trying to avoid taking the stand, but I don’t see how he ultimately can.

Will Key read the GCSB report?

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 am, September 26th, 2012 - 75 comments

Key has said we all have to wait and see what is in the Neazor Report on the GCSB spies’ illegal spying on Kim Dotcom.* He won’t even answer basic questions like: ‘what section of the law did the GCSB breach?’ Funny that Key’s so keen for us to wait to read this report. But will he read it? Or will it be like the Banks Police Report, which he won’t read?  And when will anyone get to read Banks’ statement?

Sunday Reading

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 16th, 2012 - 8 comments

My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: torture, charter schools, economics and development.

Equal before the law?

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 pm, July 26th, 2012 - 53 comments

Police will not lay charges over the so-called banks.com saga. Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess held a press conference this afternoon at Police National Headquarters in Wellington. Minister John Banks would be issued with a warning over the matter, Burgess said. While he only received a warning, Banks’ actions were illegal and future occurrences were likely to be prosecuted.

Justice denied for Dotcom

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, July 11th, 2012 - 10 comments

Shades of the Urewera shambles as Dotcom’s extradition drags out. It’ll be a year between the raid and his day in court. Meanwhile, they’re using extra-judicial punishment: bankrupting him by freezing his assets while his legal bills stack up. Going to end in Dotcom not being extradited because the evidence against him was gathered illegally. Then, he’s going to sue the Crown for millions.

Police to march?

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, June 21st, 2012 - 34 comments

Who guards the guardians if the police march on Parliament?

The smell of corruption

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, May 16th, 2012 - 32 comments

The Jackal raised the issue of corruption in relation to John Banks in a comment here and has written more about it on his blog. It appears on the evidence of DotCom’s lieutenant that  when he was a Member of Parliament Banks was offering to accept a financial consideration in respect of any act to be done by him in his capacity as a member of Parliament. This makes Philip Field look like a Good Samaritan. Banks has to go.

The zero growth agenda

Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, May 14th, 2012 - 68 comments

I chuckled to read Fran O’Shillivan on Sunday: “John Key has made a strategic decision to burn some political capital and front-foot major Government decisions” – yeah, all those major decisions: $1m for contraception, ‘tackling cyber-bullying’, a petty pokies for convention centre deal, even their centrepiece policy – asset sales – won’t benefit the economy a jot.

Not with a bang but a whimper

Written By: - Date published: 7:14 pm, March 20th, 2012 - 86 comments

So, from a 300 police raid and headlines screaming ‘Police foil paramilitary plot’ to, 5 years later, 4 people convicted of half a dozen firearms possession charges each. I’ll admit, the SIS and Police carved a compelling narrative from their video footage but the evidence just wasn’t there and clearly the jury, like the public, just don’t trust the SIS given its track record.

Trial? Why would you bother with that?

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, March 1st, 2012 - 16 comments

No-one wants to see people who are likely to hurt people released on bail. That’s why successive governments have tightened bail rules. Now Sensible [sic] Sentencing wants every charged with a crime bearing 2 or more years locked up without bail. Not the first organisation with those initials to favour guilt upon accusation and punishment without trial. Michael Bott takes up the story.

Disconnect in Urewera case

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, February 16th, 2012 - 128 comments

If the evidence against the Urewera 4 is so strong and what they were planning to do so serious, how come they’ve only been charged with a handful of minor offences? And how come the others had the charges dropped? Where are the treason and conspiracy charges? After 4 years of delays, lies, secrecy, and official fuck-ups, do we trust the cops’ evidence?

Armed police storm Key mansion

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 10th, 2012 - 25 comments

Armed Police assisted by the Eagle helicopter, the counter-terrorism unit, customs officials, and the police launch towed on its trailer have raided Prime Minister John Key’s Parnell mansion, executing warrants relating to the illegal ‘DJ Key’ election ad. Simultaneously, a joint Police-SAS taskforce has stormed RadioLive, deploying teargas and tasering all present.

Dotcom

Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 82 comments

There’s a few interesting threads to the Kim Dotcom saga. Should merely providing a tool that can be used for piracy be a crime? Did the alleged offences justify a 70-strong armed police raid or was this more heavy-handed showing off by the cops? And, if Dotcom really is such a bad guy, why did National let him come to live in New Zealand in the first place?

Citizens on the Internet

Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, February 3rd, 2012 - 5 comments

ImperatorFish: Police Defend Bloody Kindergarten Raid

Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, January 24th, 2012 - 1 comment

Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here

Police and Armed Offender units raided the Meriwether Community Kindergarten just after morning tea, but the raid turned violent when some of the children put up a fight.

What a riot.

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, December 17th, 2011 - 14 comments

A quick post on sentences handed down in the wake of riots in England.

Wasting Police time

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, October 20th, 2011 - 19 comments

Anyone noticed the sudden overbearing presence of Police at peaceful protests? Bugging Greenpeace and intimidating lawful activists. 25 Police at a 150-strong anti-deepsea drilling protest in Tauranga. 12 officers at a 60 worker picket at CMP Rangitikei. Are they just hyper because of the Cup or is it about shielding businesses from people exercising their democratic right to protest?

Key broke law on radio show

Written By: - Date published: 8:13 pm, October 3rd, 2011 - 75 comments

Prime Minister Moonbeam clearly broke the law on Friday on the radio show he chose to run instead of dealing with the downgrade crisis. The law is clear: Key wasn’t allowed to make political statements. He did. He made a promise on broadcasting policy and gave the Nats’ first cut spin-line on the downgrade.

ACT, the continuing implosion

Written By: - Date published: 6:27 am, September 27th, 2011 - 34 comments

On Sunday, Don Brash decided to muse on decriminalising cannabis. It’s not ACT policy, we’re meant to understand, it’s just the Party Leader making a speech and saying ‘this would be a good idea’. In classic Brash style, he hadn’t told John Banks, who gave Brash a public smacking on the idea. Now the question is: why would the people of Epsom vote for these two?

Banks’ Epsom chances up in smoke?

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, September 26th, 2011 - 66 comments

Decriminalising marijuana just makes sense. 400,000 people are regular users. Prohibition costs half a billion a year, is ineffective, and fuels the gangs. So good on Brash for raising the issue. It’s totally consistent with ACT’s values. Problem is, John Banks and Don Nicolson don’t share those values. Gonna be fun to watch Banks on this issue in Epsom.

Why’s Boscawen really quitting?

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 am, September 25th, 2011 - 43 comments

Out of the blue, John Boscawen has announced he is withdrawing from ACT’s list. It’s an odd departure from an odd man. ‘Family reasons’ is the line. Not exactly creative. Is the real reason National’s ‘fixit’ Bill? Boscawen is a true believer in ACT’s libertarian principles and doesn’t do compromise. Was being asked to sign a retrospective blank cheque the final straw?

‘Fixit’ law worse than expected

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, September 22nd, 2011 - 79 comments

Labour looks almost certain to oppose the Nats’ ‘fixit’ bill. The draft goes far further than previously thought. It doesn’t just try to suspend the effect of a specific Supreme Court decision in a violation of the separation of powers, it gives Police the power to spy on you without a warrant. Chris Finlayson should resign for even proposing such a heinous law.

Stand up for the rule of law

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, September 21st, 2011 - 44 comments

Your Police knowingly acted illegally to spy on your fellow citizens. No-one’s saying those being surveilled are angels. It’s not about them. It’s about whether the agents of the State, who are ultimately meant to be your agents, should be allowed to act illegally. Should the ends justify the means or do we believe in the rule of law as the only way to constrain those with power from abusing it?

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