Police in New South Wales (NSW) have begun an investigation after an elderly dementia sufferer was tasered at an aged care home. The 95-year-old woman, Clare Nowland, was allegedly tasered by officers in the chest and back after being found with a knife while using her walker at Yallambee Lodge aged care in Cooma. Andrew Thaler, a family spokesperson, said that Nowland has life-threatening injuries including a fractured skull and cranial bleeding. The family requested to know “how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman?” Police have confirmed that the officers involved are the subject of a critical incident probe.
Australian police are investigating the alleged Taser use on a 95-year-old woman, who is now clinging to life in hospital after an altercation with police in a regional aged care facility in New South Wales. The elderly woman, who reportedly suffers from dementia, was discovered with a knife while using her walker on Wednesday. The Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which operates the facility, issued a statement confirming the incident. NSW police issued its own statement, but provided little detail about the event, though they did confirm a critical incident investigation into the officers' response to the incident has been launched.
Two men have been charged with sexual offences after women reported a series of frightening incidents along the Merri Creek trail in Melbourne’s north over several months. A police spokeswoman confirmed a 40-year-old Brunswick man was charged over two alleged incidents of sexual exposure in a public place on March 20 and April 4. Separately, police from the sexual offences unit charged a 30-year-old Preston man on February 5 with nine offences, including directing sexual activity at a person, stalking and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
Philadelphia’s likely next mayor could offer model for how Democrats talk about crime
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 04:07
Cherelle Parker, who won Philadelphia's mayoral primary this week, called for increased police numbers and search policies as part of a tough law enforcement approach to counter a rise in the city's crime rate. These measures are viewed as being at odds with Philadelphia's progressive standing, and Parker's win highlights the difficulties that Democrats face in deciding how to approach violent crime. Parker claimed that investing in police and addressing wider societal problems was not “either/or", and that along with her backing for increased police numbers, there must be resources for fixing street lighting and investing in programs for at-risk youth.
Cherelle Parker, who is likely to become the next mayor of Philadelphia, wants to increase the number of police on the street and supports local law enforcement being able to stop and search individuals they have reasonable cause to suspect. While this may seem out of step with Philadelphia being a liberal city, Parker ran on a platform of strengthening law enforcement and won a comfortable victory in last week's mayoral primary. Many cities run by Democrats have seen an increase in crime during the pandemic. Democratic politicians in these cities have been divided over how to handle the increase, with some calling for fewer police and others calling for more. However, Parker argues that it isn't either/or: increased funding can be provided to both police systems and broader societal problems. Biden has been walking a tightrope on this issue. While he has acknowledged the need for policing reform, he has also said that police need better training and resources. Earlier this year, Democrats joined Republicans to reject D.C. measures aimed at improving police accountability.
Politicians in Queensland, Australia, are accused of playing into fears over crime and violence in order to gain political popularity. Analysis of government figures over five years, tackled by Brisbane Times, shows that levels of juvenile crime have remained relatively steady in the state. However, media reports have portrayed an apparent crisis, while Queensland's Palaszczuk government has switched from an evidence-based approach to one based on the “toughest youth justice laws in the nation”.
Singapore has hanged a 36-year-old man who was convicted of possessing less than 3.5 pounds of marijuana, marking the country's second execution in three weeks for the crime. Singapore mandates the death penalty for people convicted of drug trafficking since 1975 and in most cases, the penalty is given for trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis. Human rights groups have condemned the punishment, which they consider grossly excessive, but opposition to Singapore's drug policy has not gained much traction as the public is still largely pro-death penalty.
Michael Lista has collated ten true crimes from his writings in Toronto Life and The Walrus. The updated collection, called “The Human Scale,” deals with murder, arson and con artists. Lista's work provides an honest recounting of people's lives, including rarely discussed aspects of finance or sex; particularly when considering the taboo of money and its impact on the cost of human life. True crime has attracted increased focus from writers, documentary makers and now podcasts, with readers being particularly drawn to the insights provided into otherwise closed communities. Lista suggests that true crime also helps people prepare for, and avoid, evil in their own lives, therefore learning how not to become a monster by standing next to one. However, the "weakness" in his approach is that while the figures in his stories are trapped by imperfect systems, it is their actions, actively exploiting those systems, that make them vulnerable.
The only holdout juror in the Lori Vallow murder trial has revealed why he changed his mind to convict the mother last week. Saul Hernandez said that when the jury began deliberating, he was the only one unconvinced that the prosecution had proved its case. But over the course of just seven hours, it became clear to him that Vallow is guilty. During the trial, Hernandez found it “hard to look at” Vallow as gruelling evidence emerged. Mr Hernandez said he was ‘disgusted’ by photos of Vallow and Mr Daybell smiling through their beach wedding just weeks after the children were killed. Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and of conspiracy to murder Tammy Daybell, her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife.
Western Australian police have released footage of a police chase after a man allegedly threatened convenience store employees with a knife, attacked a woman and stole her car keys. The man proceeded to drive dangerously on the wrong side of major roads, before his car was stopped in Middle Swan. The man has been charged with a range of charges, including aggravated burglary with intent, aggravated armed robbery and reckless driving to escape pursuit.
Jade Jagger, daughter of Mick Jagger, has been arrested in Ibiza after scratching a female police officer outside a restaurant. The 51-year-old jewellery designer is believed to have been defending a man involved in an altercation when the incident occurred. Jagger, who has been resident on the Spanish island since the 1990s, remained in police custody overnight. Further details will be released as they emerge.
Lesotho imposes nationwide curfew in attempt to curb violent crime
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 13:53
Lesotho has imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew in an attempt to tackle violent crime, after the killing of journalist Ralikonelo Joki. Joki was shot seven times as he left work at a radio station. Authorities later imposed the 10pm-4am curfew in order to prevent "harm to public safety," according to Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli. The nighttime restriction has drawn criticism from the Lesotho Law Society and business representatives who labelled it "draconian," as it forces most companies to shut their operations during the curfew. With 2.1 million inhabitants, high crime rates and a rise in COVID-19 cases, Lesotho is facing a crisis.
Banks should collaborate on data to improve their fight against financial crime by enabling financial institutions to share information from within and outside their networks, according to the CEO of Nasdaq, Adena Friedman. Speaking in the Financial Times, she said the increase in financial crime was partly due to regulations that limited banks’ use of data and technology. Friedman spoke of the benefits of the New York exchange's own approach to combating financial crime, in which data from over 2,400 banks was used in conjunction with advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. Regulators should also allow banks to use data sets in order to combat crime and employ cloud-based AI and machine learning to tackle the problem.
A 16-year old boy has been fatally stabbed near Sunshine train station in Melbourne. The Royal Melbourne Hospital reported a 234% rise in knife-related assault admissions in the past three years, with a hospital spokesperson reporting, “We have definitely seen an increase in knife related injuries”. According to police, the attacks are unrelated to Isis terrorism. A recent six month campaign, Operation Tense, saw almost double the number of knives seized than in the previous six months, and involved police targeting knife possession and gang crime. The practice of strip searching is also reportedly increasing in the region to combat knife crime.
Andrew Miller, a transgender butcher known locally as Amy, has admitted to abducting a primary schoolgirl, dressed as a woman, and subjecting her to sexual assaults at his house. The case is expected to cause unease over the gender self-ID proposals, a legislation that poses to allow Scots to change their legal sex merely by signing a declaration. Some of the opponents debate that this action will make it easier for male predators, similarly to Miller, to access women-only spaces. The suspect presented as a woman while luring the girl into his vehicle.
Toronto's Jewish, LGBTQ2S+ and Black communities were the most frequent targets of hate-motivated crimes in 2022, despite a slight drop in total reported hate incidents, according to Toronto police’s Annual Hate Crime Statistical Report. In particular, LGBTQ2S+ communities were the most frequently victimised by physical assaults, and the report highlighted the Jewish and Black communities as the most frequently victimised group for instances of hate-motivated mischief to property. Reports of hate crimes against East and Southeast Asian victims dropped to 15 total cases from 41 last year but the rate of hate crimes targeting Asian communities remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Paparazzi photographers have said they were not responsible for a “near catastrophic car chase” involving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in New York. Freelance photographers who were covering the couple’s visit said the couple had not been at any point “in immediate danger”. They suggested the vehicles used by the Sussexes’ security escort may have driven dangerously, potentially “blocking off streets”. Backgrid USA, a celebrity news service, is investigating allegations that the couple’s safety was put at risk by paparazzi. Photographers from the company denied that they had been involved in any near misses, stating that the duchess had been photographed smiling in the back of a taxi following an award ceremony. Meanwhile, the UK Treasury has revealed that the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II cost the government an estimated £161.7m. The event, which took place at London’s Westminster Abbey in September 2022, was preceded by an 11-day period of national mourning.
Journalist Graham Johnson claims Mirror Group Newspapers was an "organised crime group" that committed "systematic crimes" for over a decade. Johnson, editor-in-chief of Detectives UK and a former journalist for MGN’s Sunday People, gave evidence in the civil trial of the group for alleged hacking and adding to the ongoing phone-hacking scandal in the UK. Johnson was jailed for his role in hacking the phone of soap star John Anderson in 2006 and for perverting the course of justice in 2014. Another former detective, Steve Whittamore, confirmed allegations at the trial on Friday that reporters from Mirror papers paid him thousands of pounds over many years for private information obtained through illegal means, including hacking into voicemails. One of Johnson's allegations is that the group placed journalists outside celebrities' houses to keep track of comings and goings, which could mean that 17 people including Hugh Grant, are entitled to sue the group for breach of privacy.
A Co-op supervisor has been given a restraining order after being found guilty at Chester Magistrates' Court of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. Laura Dolman had hired a private detective to place a tracker on store manager Marc Klaver's car after he spurned her advances and asked for a transfer from the Haslington, Cheshire branch. After the manager moved to a new job, Dolman sent hundreds of messages, some explicit, some including graphic pornographic images and others that claimed she was involved in life-threatening incidents. She was found to have sent love letters to Klaver and messaged his ex-wife.
Toronto Police have reported a 29.2% increase in car thefts since the start of the year, with 4,186 incidents reported since January 1. Reports of vehicle thefts rose in the York district, with ten out of 255 reported citywide between May 11-17 occurring in that area.
