Saturday, March 31, 2007
Former detective named in sex scandal
Former detective named in sex scandal - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
Police image is getting a serious drubbing in the press over the public release of yet more evidence of use of batons and handcuffs as sex toys in group sex sessions. We do not believe the practise to be widespread but the paper reports fearlessly that it was happening as recent as 2002 (as though offences in the 1980s should be forgotten, as everyone wants to forget the 1980s, its hairdos, weird suburban sex parties, et al).
It is outrageous enough that this practice existed at all, but for them to make videos of it has added a Abu Griab dimension to the sordid affair.
"It has always been private business. There's no criminality. There's no story in it."
"It's nothing that doesn't happen in 500 houses, and probably your one." protested the officer in an attempt to deflect the attention." said the former detective sergeant who appeared in the video.
The idea that in 500 houses, police are conducting group sex sessions with their batons is a much more serious contention by this officer, but let's disagree. The idea that police may using weapons issued for law enforcement as a fetish may not be that suprising, but for them to make video of it can only bring the force into disrepute.
Publicising the video is the action of a woman who may have felt powerless for years in the circumstances that probably broke her marriage, and perhaps now, she is able to fight back?
It is worth a proper investigation.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tinnie-house raiders vow to keep up fight
Tinnie-house raiders vow to keep up fight - 31 Mar 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
Police are determined to clean up Otara "tinnie houses" where a legal secretary and her child were amoung those caught buying small quanities of cannabis. The price of a foil wrapped "tinnie" seems to be $20 but the real price to this woman was more obvious when she said that she did not want her picture taken by a newspaper photographer. She was speaking of her rights. The police told her she should not have been buying drugs if she wanted her rights respected.
The woman was one of forty people caught buying cannabis in Otara, during the past few weeks. Police say they will continue targeting drug buyers and sellers in Otara until the town is "off the map as a tinnie house destination".
One may assume, if they are addicted to cannabis that they would find another source, maybe it's out of Otara, and maybe it's not. We do not question the police enforcing the law. We question the public strategy.
P use is rife in South Auckland. P is a harmful drug that kills people and ruins lives. Cannnabis has a national organisation dedicated to its normalisation within the law because its use is widespread. The police action is not rational. Why target users and a tinnie house (carrying a stock of $460 worth of tinnies, and a hammer) with police resources that are famously overstretched, while only skimming the surface of a billion dollar P industry of evil dealers and heartless manufacturers, to target disobedient civilians?
It is not just wasteful of precious police resources, but pits 25% of the population who would prefer cannabis to be as legal as a glass of red wine over dinner against the forces of law and order. The police need the citizenry to never be afraid to report a suspected P dealer or P factory. P is a crime that occurs in the community and damages lives within a few short months of excess.
What evil is being conquered here? Driving potential informants underground is a terrible strategy. Perhaps the police think this s good PR for their image shot all to pieces by allegations of sexual humiliation (at best) or what most people perceive as pack rape at the hands of out-of-control power-happy police.
It is not just a waste of police resources. It damaging public loyalty to the forces that are there to protect them.
These facts together spell a PR disaster for the police.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Sports star's name suppression not backed by police
Sports star's name suppression not backed - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
It turns out that the police do not support name suppression for the sports star who is accused of rape.
A court official in Hamilton revealed that the intent of name suppression was to hide the sport the man played. But the Waikato Times published which team he played for, thus reducing the name suppression to no effect.
It seems like a murky case of contempt of court. Name suppression has its reasons; the presumption of innocence is more important to protect than naming anyone at all that is accused of crimes by anybody at all. The reputation of any man accused of rape is going to be tarnished.
It may also weaken the police case. Letting guilty rapists get away with it is an even worse outcome.
Swift justice for one and all - is the answer. It is not always helped by media speculation.
The media is there to report on the case after due process has occurred, not before.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Name Suppression, in name only
All Black in court on assault charge - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
Just how many current internationally playing All Blacks come from Hamilton then?
Like the "Celebrity drug trails" last year, name supression becomes a legal state of anonimity where the media pretend to hide identity. In this case, details of the case are just a little specific.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Rickard's right to Justice
It may not be fashionable to come to the defense of New Zealand's most senior police casuality. A forensic need to pursue historic cases that has arisen as the ability to examine ancient evidence acclerated lightyears ahead of where it was.
The Law is the Law - one of those trite sentiments that justifies the brute application of law. The law is not a "Natural Law" that is enforced by inevitability or tendancy. The Law is a set of agreements that are reached after five or ten years of sorting our leaders into government and opposition.
Historic accountability does present an interesting problem.
Political change follows cultural support for protest activity endorsed demographically. This was first made clear to Government in 1381 peasants revolt, and again in 1985 in the UK the invincible Thatcher Government lost its footing due to disobedience by 30% of the population not paying their Poll Tax. They still pay a council tax which amount to a similar thing, but the Labuour party eventually won power for an extended period. The same phenomena can be observed in the late 1960s America with the burning of draft cards. An act of deliberate criminal protest, that assumes democractic legality by the significant numbers participating.
There is a certain danger with these Police Sex trials, one after another. The weight of multiple accusations is not tried, as in New Zealand there are laws of supression that keeps the trials separable. Perhaps it would be for the public good to
It is is the encouragement and impetus it gives the population to be more bold in their protests. The last major confrontation between the puhlic and the police - the last large socially changing one - was in 1981 - when the racially selected Springbok Tour was in New Zealand.
The Rickards defense lawyer and Rickards challenge our perceptions by not showing minimal latent contrition for his deeds, which in the context they were committed may have been "consensual" but when spoken about 20 years on sound brutish and horrific to the majority who do not see something wrong with these men and their potential ability to recognise that they indeed have caused harm to people.
Justice may be blind. Rickards costs mount up, apparently about $500,000 (of $600,000 earned over three years of suspension). He is paid wages by the tax payer. Ultimately this is a tax payer funded political drama.
Internet forensics
We have been warned how to be cautious with online banking and how to deal with adriot manipulative phishing attempts to surrender information. The article in Stuff makes online banking sound as safe as a leaking submarine. It makes purchasing from websites apart from "name brands" sound more risky than handing over your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant.
It is a false and destructive impression. Yes there are threats. Of course there are criminals and terrorists who use the internet.
Safe payment systems exist that can be trusted, and using them is safer than using your EFTPOS card at your local dairy. Yes, you can be ripped off, if you are wise, you are unlike to be. Instead of a fuzzy video crime-watch mug shot, we have trails of validated digital evidence, enabling authorities to catch online thieves.
We must evolve technical proficiency second to none in the world and gain confidence with technology. The fact is that internet commerce, well implemented, keeps an audit trail of transactions. These include fraud. If our police forces kept up with the play technically they would be able to follow up 100% of internet crime leads.
The internet is less like the Wild West but a highly monitored and trackable environment that makes life far more risky for the techo-crook.
The Police should be able to reassure the citizenry that it is safe to enter the temple. Instead we are fed caution and fear, we are given responsibility for that we can not control and it will continue to retard progress.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Gagging for it
Rickards would 'find it hard' to regain support - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz - if convicted police rapists claim that their victims were "gagging for it" (and it means their police batton being used as a dildo during sex) are supported by Clint Rickards, it is no wonder if the public loses faith in him. Unlike his friends, Rickards may look the part as a sex athelete but to declare personal inferiority to his carved up and dented "instrument of enforcement by deliberate injury" - while he was at it, raises the question why a 16 year old was "gagging" for a truncheon? It is what the public will remember. And it gets worse.
If a suspect is seen by this enthusiast to be "gagging for it" one can imagine he would arrest them to "show them a lesson". Now can you imagine your teenaged son, or better yet, your virginal 15 year old daughter who lies about her age, is tumbled into a police van at a party, now looks pleadingly at arresting officer as he is about to close the cell door on her? Mr Rickards appears to collude in creating an unacceptable atmosphere of threat. This seems not so much an opinion, but a feeling of reaction.
Mr Rickards, all respect, sir... The public support your right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, beyond any reasonable doubt - but it was your deeds that betray you and reduce the confidence in you as a protector of the public good. Start work on Monday? Sure thing. Now, I would just like to know, if we are we going to be subjected to more taser attacks on the sense of decency and regard for humanity required of the guardians of public safety? The public used to trust the police. Now we risk being tasered and locked up by for your animalistic orgies? Not quite what we had in mind. We simply want to see the even application of justice.
Now, you see - we are "gagging for it".
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