Australia: Copwatch - pornographic emails

Copwatch -sexually explicit emails in Western Australia - Victoria cops ask for freedom to target Muslims - Former ASIO head says Victorian corruption now worse than ever - Coppers out of control in driving pursuits in NSW - Drink-driving copper 5 times over the limit in Tasmania - Fans of Ned Kelly fire 40 shots into a memorial plaque at Stringybark Creek.

ONE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S MOST SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS, Deputy Commissioner Tim Atherton, has resigned after sending sexually explicit emails to two junior female officers, said Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan and reported in the Northern Territory News 26 September 2005.

The reason for the resignation had been withheld from the public for over a week. The details of the payout that Mr Atherton received has not been disclosed to the public. The matter is going to be examined by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

In yet another case of coppers appearing to have too much time on their hands, a senior police office in Victoria has sent what was described as an offensive email with an attached photo to a victim's advocate and a councillor, according to the Sept 28 Herald-Sun.

The photo was of a very muscular 'scantily clad' woman. The email was titled 'Scary women .... BIG CANNONS.'

The police officer concerned had previously worked in the equity and diversity unit.

The matter is being investigated by the Police Integrity Commission.

AUSTRALIA'S 50,000 POLICE WANT LEGAL IMMUNITY TO RACIALLY PROFILE AND TARGET MUSLIMS, according to the September 27 edition of The Australian.

Despite John Howard assuring Muslims the day before that they would not be singled out under new so-called anti-terrorism laws, the Police Federation of Australia said it was "inevitable" that police would target Muslims.

Mr Howard promised he would listen to their concerns.

A FORMER HEAD OF ASIO and a royal commissioner has said that police corruption in Victoria is at its highest level ever, according to the October 4 Australian.

Sir Edward Woodward, a veteran of 17 Royal Commissions and Inquiries, has said in a recent book that when he was involved in a Royal Commission into off-course betting in 1958, he was convinced that 60 per cent of the police force were being bribed by bookmakers or they ignored illegal gaming.

Woodward said that "Unfortunately, now, I think that corruption is worse than ever, particularly because it is allied to the drug trade with great potential for large sums of money to change hands and police turning a blind eye or even becoming directly involved in activities in the drug trade."

He calls for the establishment of both a Victorian and national permanent police integrity commission to combat police corruption.

The book, One Brief Interval, has been published by Melbourne University Publishing.

INTERNAL NSW POLICE DOCUMENTS obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald reveal that NSW police lie about police car chases, ignored commands to stop and switched radio frequencies to dodge official supervision while taking part in chases, according to Oct 5 Sydney Morning Herald.

The documents were obtained under freedom of information laws.

The NSW police's own state pursuit management committee requests for explanations of seemingly out-of-control officers were ignored by some police Area Commanders. 62 deaths have been linked to police pursuits over the last 11 years in NSW.

COPWATCH HAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED on a drink-driving copper caught five times over the legal limit. Police Inspector Lee Phillip Renshaw, 49, has now pleaded guilty to the offence in Hobart Magistrates Court.

Renshaw was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 15 months, according to ABC News Online of October 6.

FINALLY, THE FEELINGS OF LOCALS TOWARDS COPPERS lasts for a long time at Stringybark Creek, about 40km from Mansfield, according to the Sept 27 Sun-Herald.

Stringybark Creek is where Ned Kelly had his last stand-off with police.

A monument to the three policemen who was shot by Ned Kelly and his gang has been vandalised on the eve of a commemoration of police killed on the job.

More than 40 bullets were fired into a plaque put up in memory to the 3 coppers.

By Cop Watcher 7 August 05

Related:

Police drivers sneer at the rules
NSW police involved in high-speed car pursuits have lied, ignored commands to stop and switched radio frequencies to dodge official supervision while taking part in chases, internal service documents reveal.

Australia: Cops on Drugs
An illicit drug culture exists within the ranks of the NSW Police Service with young cops found to be taking speed, cocaine and ecstasy.

Victorian cops the most corrupt in Australia
A weekly round up of news on the cops. Former Australian Crime Commission Chair says Victorian cops are the most corrupt in Australia -- so they are given extra powers -- and so Melburnians can be patrolled by the army -- and have business deals with McDonalds. Top cops in NSW cleared after investigation -- but another one charged with child slavery. Western Australian police officer leaves the force under secrecy -- and Canberra hospital nurse tells the Federal Police to bugger off.

Cop Watch - The threat of privatised state power
Cop Watch will stay silent on proposed anti-terrorist laws and the arrest of peace activist Scott Parkin as so many others are writing about it, but a moment needs to be spent on private security guards - the private army of the state.

Cop Watch - Tweed Heads Terrorism brings town to standstill
Another terror attack in Australia brings Tweeds Heads (NSW) to a standstill - police brake speed limit to get footy player to footy match - woman ends up dead because of police failure, according to coroner - corrupt corruption commissioner might end up in prison - 14 year old girl gets locked up by police unlawfully - ex-copper gets massive $650,000 pay-out.

A copper's lot may not be happy, but it is certainly well paid
NSW Police to set up full time riot squad following Forbes protests - no one wants to be Commissioner of Police in NSW - no one wants to be a copper in SA - another copper rapes a juvenile - more secrecy bungles in Victoria - more drugs for the cops on duty - Justice Wood (former Commissioner into Police Corruption) says little has changed in 10 years - cops on corruption charges get stressed out and get compo.

Cop Watch: When permanent head injuries ruled to be reasonable force Former copper kidnaps and rapes 10 year old (allegedly) - Commission rules that police violence that leads to serious and permanent head injuries is 'reasonable' - more police lies on the de Menezes killing in London by terrorist police officers - NSW Police Association criticise A30 Opera House cost of policing - Victorian Police stuff up traffic tickets (again).

Cop Watch: No. 4 Terrorism in Ballarat
Terrorism in Ballarat - former Sydney copper sues the police after becoming drug addict - Victorian Police unlawfully releases 'up to 20,000 pages' of confidential files.

Australia: Cop Watch No. 3
This round-up includes: disgraced officers may get reinstated with back pay - more confidential information gets released into the public domain by police - body searching at the Sydney Opera House - and Irish police pissed off over WA police poaching campaign in Ireland.

Australia: Copwatch No.2
A review of what the boys and girls in blue have been up to shows that their respective juices have been stimulated by their ability to demand greater and greater police powers.

Australia: Cop Watch
The roundup this week - dodgy riot gear, shooting French photographers, senior coppers being 4 times over the legal limit, dodgy promotions in NSW, more terrorism powers in WA and drug-dealing coppers in Melbourne (it is alleged).

Assaulted, intimidated or harassed in custody?
"Then make an Apprehended Violence Order application against the police, says assault victim Ms Teresa Kiernan.

NSW Police Force: 2 dead, $1 million dollars to catch a thief?
NSW police have expressed concern about their response to the Macquarie Fields riots in south-western Sydney after a police pursuit that killed two young youths Dylan Rayward 17, and Mathew Robertson, 19 that went horribly wrong.

OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Vic police chief moves to sack officers
The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, has moved to dismiss two police officers as part of a crackdown on corruption and says up to 20 more dismissals could follow.

Vic flop cop warns there's more corruption
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon, says Victorians should brace themselves for more evidence of police corruption.

Vic police corruption report tabled in Parliament
The Victorian Ombudsman's report on the Ceja Taskforce and drug related corruption in Victoria police has been tabled in State Parliament.

Bent police compromise Bulldogs gang-rape case
Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden could have compromised gang-rape investigation? Steve Mortimer resigned!

More NSW Police Corruption?
Line of fire? [Bullshit! Line of Lick Arse Noble Cause NSW Corrupt Cops] (clockwise from top left) Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden, Assistant Commissioner Peter Parsons, Superintendent Dave Swilkes, Assistant Commissioner Bob Waites and Superintendent Dave Owens.

NSW Cop suspect in murder?
A sacked Sydney police officer has finished giving testimony at a hearing into his corrupt activities over the past eight years. Christopher John Laycock was yesterday recalled to the witness stand at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

Corrupt NSW police officer sacked
New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has sacked an officer who confessed to being involved in corrupt activities over the past eight years.

Policeman draws blank on fake raids
A suspended Sydney policeman has told an inquiry that he has "little recollection" of the details of fake police raids he set up.

Officer planned to kidnap criminals
A senior Sydney police officer who has admitted taking money for tipping off a child porn suspect had also been planning to kidnap criminals and extort money from them, the Police Integrity Commission heard yesterday.

Police offer protection to family following gang rape allegations
The parents of a 14-year-old girl claim their daughter was gang-raped in Sydney earlier this year, and have raised concerns about corrupt policeman Detective Sergeant Christopher Laycock's review of the case.

NSW police prosecutor charged with child porn possession
A New South Wales police prosecutor has been charged with the possession of child pornography.

Police, teachers charged in child porn bust
One-hundred-and-fifty people, including police officers and teachers, have been arrested in what the Federal Police (AFP) describe as Australia's biggest Internet child pornography bust.

A corrupt way to treat the community?
I seen the police bleeding on Nine's Sunday program arguing that promotion should depend on how many crimes police have solved and not how many brains they have and that was coming from police commissioner Ken Moroney and Police Minister John Watkins?

Judges Blood Sample: After the fact of the fact of a hangover?
Lawyers say New South Wales Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw should not give police his own sample of blood taken after he crashed his car near his Sydney home last month.

NSW police drug amnesty under review
A drug amnesty for the New South Wales police force is under review, Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has said.

Police to uphold law not decide mental health
A diagnosis of mental illness could be made over the phone instead of in person, and involuntary psychiatric patients could lose the right to have their case reviewed by a magistrate, under proposed changes to NSW mental health laws.

Redfern police need education not weapons
According to the description of one senior police officer, the ACLO called out on the afternoon before the Redfern violence escalated was "hopeless, intoxicated and had no driver's licence."

Bulldogs simply not the best!
SIMPLY NOT THE BEST AND DEFINITELY NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE, ANYONE I'VE MET.

Clive Small, NSW Inspector Gadget
NSW Police has revived controversial plans for a specialist discriminative squad to tackle the wave of violent crime that has plagued Sydney's south-west for more than a decade.

2,500, crooked detectives? Or a corrupt Government?
The Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Where did the police learn their trade skills? Led by example perhaps?

Australia's Political Underworld...And their enforcers
The promotion of law and order means money to big business. Profits from insurance, security fixtures, patrol services and the like can only continue to grow if the perceived threat of uncontrollable crime wave escalates. In the past few months there have been many examples of the true nature of our blood thirsty politicians and their sinister attempts to spoon-feed a not so gullible public with their repetitious rhetoric.

Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerouse senior police but fails to name them or have them sacked. Rather Priest resigns as if he had no powers. Could that mean what he was saying is that the Governments are also corrupt?

Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.

Partners in crime - history!
Roger Rogerson, the old hero, who never faced a result in the Lanfranchy, or Huckstepp murders, was let off in my opinion when the New South Wales Government rolled the legal system (deciding what evidence to give the police prosecutor) to have the jury believe the illusion they (the Government wanted to create).Similarly, Peter Ryan facing the Police Integrity Commission for questions about his involvement in the demise of the dysfunctional reform unit. Chess in the court (rolling the legal system).

Police Chronology 1994-2001
View events in the NSW Police Force since the Wood Royal Commission began in 1994. 1994 May Justice James Wood is appointed Commissioner of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service ('WRC').

Federal Police

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Ad shames gamblers:that's a shame for pokie owners

An advertising campaign showing a woman leaving her partner because he is a problem gambler has upset poker machine operators, even though it has caused gamblers to flood a helpline.

The television ads are "flat-out disgraceful", according to Penrith Panthers Leagues Club's general manager, John Wilson.

"[Making a link between] quietly playing the poker machines to having no food on the table is a gross exaggeration and a gross distraction to what is a serious problem out there," Mr Wilson said.

But each poker machine has the capacity of earning $72 thousand dollars a year from a problem gamblers family and their communities a spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Pissed And Broke said.

"What is required is more entertainment, live bands, singing and dancing. Perhaps where the whole family can join in and community groups can meet to have some fun without going home pissed and broke." He said

The TV and radio campaign featured the woman taking her children and leaving her partner after discovering she could not pay for groceries because their credit card had been cancelled. The five-month campaign, which ended in March, also included print advertisements suggesting family and financial distress.

The Gaming Minister, Grant McBride, said more than 6000 people called the Government's G-line counselling service during the campaign - 30 per cent more than the year before.

Some callers, most of whom were gambling on poker machines, said they had only called because the ads had convinced them it was time to act, Mr McBride said. One woman called to find out when the ad would next be aired "because my husband needs to see it".

But industry sources said gaming operators disliked the ad and some blamed it for a loss of revenue during the early part of the campaign. Sources said Star City Casino, which funded the ads through the casino levy, was also upset about them - a claim denied by a casino spokesman. He said it always supported ads promoting counselling.

John Thorpe, re-elected president of the Australian Hotels Association on Tuesday, said the ads had caused controversy because experts believed they were the wrong approach to harm-minimisation.

A gambling psychologist, Alex Blaszczynski, from Sydney University, said the TV ad raised awareness but also stigmatised gamblers.

It seemed to give the message that partners should leave problem gamblers, Professor Blaszczynski said. "[This] doesn't seem to be pretty darn sensible therapeutically."

Mr McBride's spokesman rejected the criticism, saying the ads clearly showed a problem gambler, not "an ordinary punter". Mr McBride said he would also review funding for counselling services to ensure the extra demand could be met.

By Shamed And Broke 10 April 03

THE PUBLICAN: One more dollar for the road? Doesn't matter what happens when they get home does it?

THE COMMUNITY: Good will matters if you want to run any business including a pub and club. If pubs and clubs are serving a community people will have good stories and meet regularly to socialise. What you do is what you get. Get off the table WILSON the monies for the beer.

Related:

Fears for poor if Social Services take a social slide?
About 350 clubs and pubs have applied for permission to install about 2300 extra poker machines in their venues in a process that could see machines move from richer to poorer suburbs.

Club expects more problem punters
The Tigers' plan for a super club with 450 poker machines at the SuperDome could create almost 100 new problem gamblers in the five kilometres around the site, according to the Balmain club's application submitted to licensing authorities.

Fears for poor if Social Services take a social slide?

About 350 clubs and pubs have applied for permission to install about 2300 extra poker machines in their venues in a process that could see machines move from richer to poorer suburbs.

The applications are the first under new rules requiring the applicants to weigh up the adverse social impact against economic benefits of their plans.These social impact assessments reveal information about the gambling spending in the suburbs concerned, for the first time since the Government stopped making the data cheaply available more than two years ago.

The data shows gamblers in poorer council areas, such as Auburn and Burwood, spend up to $1700 per adult per year - or about four times as much on the pokies as those in the richer ones such as Willoughby, Hornsby and Baulkham Hills.

The suburbs with lower average incomes also contain up to four times the number of poker machines per adult resident as those on the North Shore, according to information obtained by the Herald from more than two dozen social impact assessments.

The biggest application comes from the Balmain Tigers Club SuperDome project, which has applied for an extra 450 machines. Others include the Castle Hill RSL, which wants 150 new machines, the Western Suburbs Leagues Club in Leumeah (85) and the Illawarra Catholic Club in Menai (80).

A spokesman for the Gaming Minister, Richard Face, said approval would be "very hard to get".

If approved, the applicant must buy licences to operate the pokies from an existing operator, creating the opportunity for machines to be shifted from less profitable richer suburbs to poorer ones.

In Burwood, operators make an average of $71,755 profit per machine per year - nearly twice the NSW average, and more than double the $31,927 a year per machine in Goulburn.

Licences for pokies in hotels cost between $150,000 and $200,000 after forfeiting one in every three bought under a law designed to reduce the number of machines in operation. Licences for machines in clubs - which make less profit per machine - are understood to cost about $30,000 each.

According to the assessments, the proposals to move the machines would boost gambling spending in the new location and could increase problem gambling.

The director of the NSW Council for Social Service, Alan Kirkland, said it was very difficult to balance the impact of problem gambling against the broader community benefits.

The manager of Wesley Gambling Counselling Services, Rev Chester Carter, said problem gamblers would spend any money they had and pawn anything they could get their hands on.

Sydney City has the highest gambling expenditure per resident, because it is an entertainment centre with relatively few residents. There 28 hotels have applied for a total of 164 additional machines. Overall about 40 clubs and more than 300 hotels have applied to the Liquor Administration Board for extra machines.

Only those applying for more than four machines have to conduct the social impact assessment. Operators wanting to move machines from one venue to another more than one kilometre away also have to conduct such an assessment. The information obtained from these assessments is the latest available, although some date back to 2001.

By Pissed And Broke Jan 28 03

THE GOOSE: Money for Social Services may save more money. Perhaps, a bird in the hand saves two gamblers in the Pub/Club?

Related:

Club expects more problem punters
The Tigers' plan for a super club with 450 poker machines at the SuperDome could create almost 100 new problem gamblers in the five kilometres around the site, according to the Balmain club's application submitted to licensing authorities.

Club expects more problem punters

The Tigers' plan for a super club with 450 poker machines at the SuperDome could create almost 100 new problem gamblers in the five kilometres around the site, according to the Balmain club's application submitted to licensing authorities.

By Roary Lions 28 Jan 03

THE LIONS: Tigers for tea anyone?