Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Police to use under-18s to tackle alcohol crime

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Police to use under-18s to tackle alcohol crime

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Court 'cannot rule on legality of war'

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Court 'cannot rule on legality of war'

New Zealand News - NZ - Letter of sorrow gives little comfort to grieving family

Immigrants and Crime

There is a tendency to deny our new citizens the right to justice as we accept their crimes are without responsibility by making racially based judgements. In this article from the NZ Herald , New Zealand First law and order spokesperson, Ron Mark, accuses the Government if being indifferent to immigrant crime and called for immediate deportation of criminal overstayers.

In his version of the world, there are two classes of people. Real New Zealanders who deserve the services of the Department of Justice, and people who can be sent home, perhaps to escape responsibility for their actions. To class immigrants as improper citizens is to give them a conditional status insofar as responsibility is assigned. To deport criminals without proper inspection and decisive action may have been sensible once, but now we have to be more able to detain real criminals as processed by our justice system and release those without responsibility.

If language is a barrier, then deportation may well be an option of the Justice system but it is important for immigrant crime to be examined by a local jurisdiction.

Rules that naturally shove a "terrorist" back to their country of origin, contradict any "war on terror". Murder suspects and terrorists have more in common than immigrant status or nationality bestows insofar as a basis for National rejection.

Ron Mark has a limited view of Justice and is burying his head in the sand. If a criminal wants to go out and kill people by irresponsible use of a vehicle, it is not a crime against New Zealand. It is a crime against humanity and it is our responsibility to deliver proper justice, be that prison or freedom, to offenders.

To force the problem to be exported is to lose the war on terror as criminals are returned to freedom and creates an impossible environment that forgives criminal actions proven as such by our quite expensive legal system.

More expensive than our politicians, the New Zealand First party founded on suspiciously racially motivated fundamentals. That, we, as New Zealanders should put ourselves ahead of immigrants. In a country populated only by immigrants, it is a little silly and self-important.

Ron Mark's use of the perjorative, "these people", is an instance of lumping together all immigrants as potentially instantly deportable. Good one, Ron. The trick is to bring criminals under jurisdiction and make friends with other Governments in the process.

Not give them the expensive problem of expedient Justice. Our legal system is the only tool that separates terrorists and criminals from the rest of us. That form of segregation protects its clients with a legal system to ensure that the innocent are not jailed. If you release the innocents, you will jail a greater percentage of the guilty, but when you start confusing the innocent with the guilty then justice has lost its way.

Newsday.com

Stateless Persons

Prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba are being held outside of the protection of justice in a "lawless enclave". Over 600 men from 44 countries are being held without charge or access to American Courts.

Attorney John Gibbons said "it's been plain for 215 years" that people in federal detention may file petitions in U.S. courts.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist noted that the detainees are not on American soil, and asked how a judge in Washington is to deal with a case from Cuba.

Without U.S. judges overseeing due process, there would be no checks and balances on the president's power at Guatanamo, Justice Stephen Breyer commented. This open the way for Solicitor General Theodore Olson to claim it would be "remarkable" for the judiciary to start deciding where the U.S. could assert temporary control over foreign terroritory, such as military bases.

Should the President be empowered to conduct war outside of the agreed conventions of war? Actions that are external to the protection of law are properly deemed criminal. Leaving 600 people in this kind of confinement could not happen on U.S. soil and stopping this kind of executive justice is a justification for toppling dictators like Saddam Hussein.

Spacey 'sorry' over mugging claim - People - www.theage.com.au

Mugging?

Kevin Spacey runs into a London police station all cuts and bruises and said "I have been mugged!" and they take him to a hospital to be fixed up, but not before a London newspaper ran the story. Hollywood star mugged in London park at 4:30am.

In fact, Mr Spacey fell after chasing a kid who stole his mobile phone in a con. The Old Vic director got front page publicity and ended up with a spot on BBC radio to apologise publically "for lying" about being mugged.

Mr Spacey need not apologise. That a kid steals his mobile phone is a criminal act upon his person. That Mr Spacey was walking his dog at 4:30am in Central London may be asking for it, and his reaction may have more to do with his victimisation than the little criminal who has probably already kicked himself for selling the celebrity's phone for twenty quid. Lord knows, a tabloid newspaper would have given him thousands for it.

bu

Resignation

3rd Major Court Win For Ahmed Zaoui Inspector-General Resigns

Two High Court Judges have ruled that the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (SIS) displayed apparent bias against Ahmed Zaoui and is disqualified from reviewing the refugees case.

Justices Salmon and Harrison said factors in the apparent bias case have led them to conclude that the inspector general, Laurie Greig, should stand aside from the review of Ahmed Zaouis case.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said today that following the High Court judgment issued today, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Laurie Greig, has given written notice of his resignation to the Governor-General.

See the FreeZaoui.org.nz for more information about this landmark New Zealand case.

New Zealand News - NZ - Police to quiz 50 boys over CYF abuse claim

CYF Abuse Claims

Headlines about abuses in a CYF home have attracted police attention and investigation, as they must. CYF homes sometimes represent the taste of what is to come for the wayward young people who seek a career in crime.

The kids involved may be violent or extremely troublesome themselves. Controlling or teaching them real world values is an extraordinarily difficult task in a world that seems to reward wealth before effort, that seems to reward those who have versus those who admire those who have big flashy cars or sport the latest fashion trends in game boy expertise. Today's badge of honour costs a lot of money, and to fit in, children from low income homes are increasingly exposed to the dilemmas of life at an increasingly earlier age.

Does our society have a problem? Yes. Is this problem being addressed? CYFs was created to address these kinds of problems. Is it effective? Have we ever read of a success story of a child or family that CYFS has helped?

No, we read of the queue of 6,000 children waiting for CYFS services or intervention. 6,000 criminal debutantes in waiting or kids in abusive situations?

We read of CYFS failures. We read of the adminstration failures. We read about Coral Burrows. Her murder, but a coldhearted drug addicted step father highlighted a failure by CYFS. But it also highlighted a failure of police to control methamphetamine distribution. It also highlighted a failure inherent in our modern families where justice means violence and rights mean a right to abuse.

CYFS is not an evil organisation. How many case workers are superb or achieve in this unrewarding occupation of dealing with wayward children or "parents" who have no business being any where near children?

Future govenments in New Zealand will have to create a stronger CYFS regime with more talented staff. And address the problems that are creating a class of children who seem to reject social values at increasingly early ages.

A lack of moral consequence is the problem. Beating up children is not a moral consequence but a symptom of an over pressured social service hiring the wrong individuals. That it reflects on the entire department is devastating and very unfortunate.

New Zealand News - NZ - Police to quiz 50 boys over CYF abuse claim