Round-robins of 'tough on crime' legislation go from state to state, nation to nation. Here, noted Manchester QC Mark George analyses the cumulative effect of years of repressive laws in the UK, which have whittled away the traditional protections of the… more »

An Australian computer scientist has declared CCTV camera systems meet the definition of being 'legally blind' when it comes to precise identification of criminals. Billions of dollars have been spent worldwide on systems that should come with a sign sho… more »

How well are Australia's prisons serving the community? One major Royal Commission recommendation was that the community constantly keep watch on what is happening in prisons. Here, CLA's Keith McEwan does just that, for the Victorian prison system.… more »

In a surprise decision, the EU Court of Human Rights has overturned a House of Lords judgement and told Britain that its police stop-and-search powers are invalid. The government must now reframe the laws to abide by human rights.Controversial stop-a… more »

CLA is campaigning against the draconian provisions of draft legislation on 'Serious and Organised Crime', which is now (Feb 2010) being considered by federal parliament. Here is proof, from WA, of how the state can abuse similar legislation, and inflict… more »

A trans-Atlantic group of 41 scientists want access to the 7m DNA records on the US national database to test whether DNA matching statistics are accurate, or overstated. There are indications that probability numbers need re-thinking, the scientists say… more »

The comment below results from this article: http://www.news.com.au/national/dna-tags-forqueenslands-future-child-criminals/story-e6frfkvr-1225817732108 Message: Bill Rowlings' comment on DNA tagging for kids suggests to me that he's not suitable for a… more »

I write to you regarding the recent tragic loss of the life of a 2yo girl during a police pursuit in Sydney. Once again the civil libertarians blame the police for this tragedy instead of the perpetrators (the armed robbers). It is about time the do-go… more »

Editor, The West Australian: Sir, I respond to your report 'Overcrowding to blame for jail assaults' TWA 16 Dec 09 p18. It goes without saying that overcrowded prisons where prisoners are forced to share a cell with other prisoners will always be open t… more »

The Labor Government's internet filtering plan is seriously flawed, says electronics engineer Arved Von Brasch. Even above technical problems, the reach of the existing 'Refused Classification' extends beyond child porn, and there's enormous scope fo… more »

Tasmanian Police Commisioner Jack Johnston, recently cleared by the High Court of a serious charge, for 16 months suffered the ignominy of being strip searched, swabbed for DNA, the subject of possible listening devices and liable for phone-tapping. CLA… more »

You'd think, from all the posturing by Law & Order (LO) politicians through Australia, that crime was up, but it is down. But what's really up is the prison population, by 36% (or 7759) from 21,358 to 29,317 over the past 10 years. At nearly $100,000… more »

A new research paper from the Australian Institute of Criminology highlights how crime in Australia and in western nations is down over the past decade, and declining. The paper indicates how wrong and self-servingly tendentious are the caterwauling… more »

Deciding what goes into our bodies is a basic human right: why then do politicians interfere selectively in our freedom to choose? Regulation and education could take supply of drugs away from criminals, and let adults make their own, educated decisions… more »

The stock police/security answer to proliferation of CCTVs is: "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about". But Vancouver Sun columnist Pete McMartin points out that governments now use 'incalculable risks' as a measure for bee… more »