Running thread: does the law fairly balance the rights of the suspect against the community?
Police detect crime and keep the peace. Every power they hold is a limit on someone's liberty, so powers are defined and capped by statute.
The core statute — stop/search/detain, entry, arrest, warrants, and detention & questioning (Part 9).
The threshold for most searches — more than a hunch. The main check on police discretion.
Exam update: name the LECC, not the old PIC/Ombudsman, for current police complaints.
LEPRA lets police direct a person to move on from a public place. Amendments have broadened these powers (e.g. a continued intoxicated-and-disorderly offence).
More flexibility to keep public order and prevent escalation.
Applied disproportionately to youth, First Nations people and the homeless → equality concern.
Themes: discretion + balancing individual rights against the community.
National, community-based, anonymous reporting by phone/online — encourages people who fear reprisals to come forward.
Fear/reprisal · trauma · distrust of police · shame · relationship with offender · "too minor".
≈ 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men have experienced intimate-partner/family violence since age 15 (ABS). Heavy under-reporting distorts statistics and hampers the response.
Gather evidence quickly and document it in situ to preserve integrity. Three types: physical, documentary, witness testimony (incl. expert witnesses).
Sets when evidence is admissible — it must be relevant and lawfully obtained. Improperly obtained evidence can be excluded — a safeguard linking investigation to trial.
DNA, databases, CCTV, phone data & body-worn cameras solve crimes and re-open cold cases — and can exonerate the innocent. But a match shows contact, not guilt, and samples can be contaminated.
Convicted of rape on a single, contaminated DNA sample despite an alibi and no other evidence. Conviction quashed. A warning against the "CSI effect" of over-valuing forensic evidence.
Stop/search on reasonable suspicion; seize drugs, weapons, stolen goods. Strip searches = strictest limits. Trades privacy for safety.
Independent judicial officer authorises a search/arrest in advance — caps police discretion (rights-protecting).
Rolled out from ~2015. Contemporaneous evidence + accountability on both sides.
Grounds to arrest without warrant — the person is:
Must state you're under arrest and why; only reasonable force. Key Arrest is a last resort.
At the end of the investigation period → charge or release. If charged: fingerprints/photos, then before a court "as soon as practicable" for bail.
Court Attendance Notice starts proceedings without arrest (replaces "summons"). Subpoena compels a witness.
The CAN is what makes "arrest as a last resort" workable.
Bail = conditional release before trial. Remand = held in custody. The accused is still legally innocent — so this is the presumption-of-innocence vs community-safety balance.
1. Show cause (serious offences): accused must show why detention is not justified. 2. Unacceptable risk (all offences): refuse bail if risk of flight, reoffending, danger, or interfering with witnesses can't be managed by conditions. Show-cause added by the 2014 amendment.
Monis carried out the fatal Lindt Café siege (Dec 2014) while on bail — charged as an accessory to his ex-wife's murder and with sexual assaults (not terrorism). The coronial inquest (findings May 2017) scrutinised his bail.
A driver of tougher NSW bail law — weigh community safety against the presumption of innocence & a rising remand population.
Time-outs (lawyer/interpreter, meals, medical, sobering up, transport) pause the clock — so real time can be much longer. Part 9 LEPRA.
Right to silence; police must caution before questioning. Silence ≠ guilt.
Contact a friend/lawyer; support person for vulnerable suspects (children, impaired); interpreter.
Serious admissions must be electronically recorded to be admissible — guards against "verballing".
Breach → evidence can be ruled inadmissible (Evidence Act). Rights protect reliability, not just the accused.