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Violent rats in police ranks

 

ABC News, 19 October 2020:

Domestic violence workers say they come in “waves” — women who, three or four at a time, step forward for help escaping a special class of abuser experts deem particularly high risk: police officers.

Often they’ll call from out of town. A woman living in a rural community in one of Australia’s eastern states recently got in touch with a domestic violence service in a busy city, hundreds of kilometres away. She told support workers her husband — a cop with specialist training and connections — had assaulted her in front of his colleagues, enlisted friends and relatives to help stop her leaving, and warned her that if she ever tried to run, he’d track her down, kill her and bury her some place her body would never be found.

She believed him.

At one point in the elaborate escape plan the service devised, the woman put her phone on a truck heading north, climbed into a car booked under a fake name, and sped off in the opposite direction. “Hers was a particularly tricky case,” one of the staff involved explained, “because of how isolated she was.”

But the abuse she experienced — and the powerlessness to leave she felt — is similar to what other women in violent relationships with police say they endure. Where do you turn when your abuser is part of the system meant to protect you?

An ABC News investigation has found police in Australia are too often failing to take action against domestic violence perpetrators in their ranks, fuelling a culture of impunity in law enforcement agencies across the country and putting victims’ safety at risk.

In public, senior police have consistently claimed they hold serving officers to higher standards and even “more accountable” for committing domestic violence. But behind closed doors, police concede they’re treating badged abusers differently to offenders in the broader community.

National data on the number of police officers charged with domestic violence — the first time such a snapshot has been compiled — shows state police forces have taken criminal action against relatively few officers. Documents obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information reveal at least 55 police officers around Australia were charged with domestic violence-related offences in 2019, with charges ranging from breaching protection orders, assault with a weapon and reckless wounding, to strangulation, stalking, sexual assault and making threats to kill.

The rank of officers charged ranged from probationary constable to inspector and the majority were male; of 41 cases in which the officer’s gender is known, four were women. (In most cases the information obtained does not identify how many were found guilty of their charges or had convictions recorded.).

With evidence suggesting police are at least as likely to perpetrate domestic violence as the general population, experts say the figures are likely to be just “the tip of the iceberg”, and highlight how difficult it can be not only for victims to report abusers in police ranks, but to get police to take action against their own. In the year ending June 2019, for instance, there were roughly 37 domestic and family violence offenders per 10,000 persons in NSW. Yet of more than 17,000 officers employed by NSW Police, last year just 11 were charged.

“The number of police officers charged is strikingly low given the extent and severity of the [alleged] violence and what we, even as a small project, hear from the people we support who experience this kind of abuse,” said Lauren Caulfield, coordinator of the Policing Family Violence project in Melbourne.

Because police do not publicly report information about employees involved in domestic violence matters, it’s difficult to get an accurate sense of the scale of the problem, Ms Caulfield said. Information about officers who were charged, for example, doesn’t include family violence callouts, police named as respondents on protection orders, or instances where victims have tried to report abuse and been discouraged or not taken seriously.

• Family and domestic violence support services:

• 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732

• Women’s Crisis Line (NSW): 1800 656 463

• Safe Steps Crisis Line (Vic): 1800 015 188

• Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491

• Mensline: 1300 789 978

• Lifeline (24-hour Crisis Line): 131 114

• Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277

Read the full article here.

ABC News, 21 October 2020:

Dozens of Victoria Police officers were charged with family violence offences in the five years to 2019 but only one was found guilty and none had convictions recorded. 

Documents obtained by ABC News under Freedom of Information show Victoria Police brought family violence charges against 82 officers between 2015 and 2019, with more than twice as many charged in 2019 than in 2015. 

The charges, against 68 male officers and 14 female officers, ranged from contravening family violence intervention orders and recklessly causing injury, to rape, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and making threats to kill. 

Of those 82 officers, 10 senior constables and senior sergeants went on to appear in court, nine of whom had their charges withdrawn and just one was found guilty, though no conviction was recorded. 

For context, 11 per cent of defendants finalised in Victoria's criminal courts in the year to June 2019 had their matters withdrawn by the prosecution, and 84 per cent of family and domestic violence defendants had their charges proven. 

Documents show some of the officers were subjected to internal disciplinary actions including performance monitoring, transferral to other duties, reduction in rank and suspension without pay, however none were sacked or dismissed......

Relatively few officers have been charged with family violence offences in recent years, a trend experts partly attribute to policing bias and conflicts of interest which can make it difficult for police to conduct impartial investigations into their colleagues. Now, the new data casts a harsh spotlight on how courts are responding to abusive police, whose service as officers may be shielding them from more severe punishment. 

"Given the severity of the violence [alleged] in these matters, the fact that no convictions have been recorded for police officers found guilty of family violence charges is staggering," said Lauren Caulfield, coordinator of the Policing Family Violence project in Melbourne. 

"These statistics really illuminate the pervasive and chilling culture of impunity that police officers operate within. Police know the system — they know how to do plea negotiations and consolidate and reduce charges, and at every step of the way concern for their role and reputation continues to protect them."......

Read the full article here.

Drought and water sustainability remain issues for the NSW Northern Rivers region in 2020

 

The Clarence Valley remains on Level 1 water restrictions. These restrictions are on top of the regions permanent water conservation measures imposed by Clarence Valley Council. 

Currently restrictions are:

• No outside watering between 9am and 4pm 
• No sprinklers or unattended hoses 
• Water efficient drip or spray systems – 15 minutes every 2 days* 
• Hand held hoses - 1 hour every 2 days* 
• No restriction on commercial/industrial use 

*If your house address is an even number you can water on even numbered days. If your house address is an odd number you can water on odd numbered days.

The aim of Level 1 water restrictions is to reduce water demand by 5-20%.

According to the NSW Dept. of Primary Industry rainfall in north-eastern New South Wales was below average for the six months up to end of September 2020 and, despite the improvements experienced since early autumn, follow-up rainfall is needed to maintain confidence of longer-term recovery.

As of 21 October roughly one-third of the Clarence Valley is drought affected or in drought and the situation is worse in other parts of the wider Norther Rivers region.

Shannon Creek Dam (a 30,000ML off-stream storage commissioned in mid-2009) is currently listed on Clarence Valley Council's website as at 89% capacity.

However roughly 9% of this current capacity appears to be what remains of local runoff from Shannon Creek's catchment and, as the dam license only allows water from the Nymboida River to fill the dam, this water must be returned to the creek as environmental flow.

The current season of dry weather has caused water levels in the Nymboida River to fall near or below levels where extraction is permitted and Clarence Valley communities are now relying solely on the water stored in Shannon Creek Dam to meet their water needs. 

Clarence Valley Council's Preliminary Drought Management Plan (September 2020) can be accessed at 

https://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/file.asp?g=RES-EWH-40-34-15.

An audit of the funding arrangements for the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found they threaten its "independent status"

 

ABC News, 20 October 2020:

An audit of the funding arrangements for the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found they threaten its "independent status" because the Premier can "restrict access" to the money it receives.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ordered a review into funding models of the ICAC along with other key agencies including the Electoral Commission, the Ombudsman and the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

The Auditor-General Margaret Crawford has handed down her findings, a week after Ms Berejiklian gave evidence to the ICAC which is investigating her former boyfriend and MP Daryl Maguire.

"The current approach to determining annual funding for the integrity agencies presents threats to their independent status," the report concluded.

"The report argues these risks are not mitigated sufficiently under the current financial arrangements."

The Auditor-General also found that the funding was not "transparent" and "there are no mechanisms for the agencies to question or challenge decisions made".

The ICAC, along with the other agencies, receives its revenue through the annual budget process.

But the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and the NSW Treasury have restricted its funding through "efficiency dividends" and budget-saving measures.

The report says the DPC and NSW Treasury have interpreted legislation so that the full funding approved by Parliament doesn't have to be provided.

"This interpretation leads to the view that a Premier can restrict access to appropriation funding that was approved by Parliament," the Auditor-General found.

The agencies can ask the DPC for additional money to conduct its investigations and the ICAC has made requests on several occasions, mostly to cover large scale public hearings.

The Auditor-General has raised concerns with this model, noting that it’s "the only mechanism available" and "it could be seeking additional funding to investigate a senior government official".

The report found there were no criteria or guidelines for seeking extra funding, so "very little transparency".

"The process available to ICAC to request additional funding outside the annual budget creates further risks to its independence," the Auditor-General said.

"Some of these proposals were rejected without reasons being provided."....

Vandals wreck the enjoyment of others and damage can lead to public park closures - as occurred in the Clarence Valley this month

What mindless vandalism removed from the Clarence Valley this month - two free camping sites.

The Daily Telegraph, 19 October 2020

Free camping at Copmanhurst and Lilydale will soon come to an end after multiple complaints were made to Crown Lands.

Residents have discovered several makeshift campsites with high volumes of rubbish left behind In recent months.

It’s understood some individuals and groups have also trespassed onto private property to set up campsites.

“The department has been made aware of complaints about inappropriate vehicle camping and other anti-social behaviour including littering and rubbish dumping at the reserve,” a Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Crown Lands representative said.

“We will work with Clarence Valley Council to undertake compliance action to deal with any unauthorised camping.” Illegal dumping has been an issue that has contributed to camping being banned at reserves at Lilydale and Copmanhurst.

In the meantime, Clarence Valley councillor Debrah Novak said in a social media post that Crown Lands “intend to decommission the camping reserve at Lilydale and Copmanhurst and return it back to a public recreation reserve”.

“They have identified they don’t have the available resources to monitor or enforce the compliance matters related to the toilets (no disability access) or the camping,” she said….

The Daily Telegraph, 15 October 2020:

A popularpiece of playground equipment at Grafton’s Jacaranda Park will be off limits for some time after an alleged vandalism attack.

Clarence Valley Council announced on Facebook that they’ve had to close the tower at Jacaranda Park.

“It’s really sad for everyone that a community playground that brings so much happiness and laughter – to so many local people – would be a target for this kind of mindless behaviour,” a council spokesman said.

“If anyone has any information please report it to Grafton Police on 6642 0222 or call Crime Stoppers NSW on 1800 333 000. “If you see something – say something.”

Australian Coal exports will continue at high levels, but the latest World Energy Outlook forecasts a big transition to renewables in the next two decades.

 

ABC News, 19 October 2020:

Demand for Australian thermal coal has peaked, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and renewables will deliver 80 per cent of the world's energy needs in the next few years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia has been saved by its mineral exports, especially iron ore and coal.

Exports are worth $70 billion and they have doubled in the past decade.

But the IEA's report said the global economic slump caused by the pandemic would cause a fall in demand for energy, with oil and coal the hardest hit.

Co-author of the report Tim Gould said while demand for energy was expected to rebound when the pandemic was brought under control, demand for coal was not expected to recover with it.

"Energy demand is set to fall by 5 per cent this year, the largest shock in 70 years," he said…..

In New South Wales mining corporations do not appear to accept the inevitability of King Coal's decline.

This is a snapshot of coal mining leases (red), coal assessment leases (yellow), coal exploration licenses (dark blue) and coal exploration applications (light blue), stretching from the Illawarra region in the south to the New England region in the north of the state as of 20 October 2020.

Image: MinView