I live near Bathurst jail. I used to live across the corner from it, but now we've moved about 10 minutes away.
While we lived across the corner I'd often see people released from the jail and start the 50 minute walk down to the station as they were just dumped back into society with less and less assistance or support in place. I'd often pop out the front door and ask of they wanted a lift, a number of times they'd say yes and I'd drive them down to the station (and once to Lithgow because he missed the train). People who do their time at Bathurst have been shipped in from all over the state, and are expected to just be able to get home again.
They also all carry their belongings in a clear plastic baggie the jail has given them, and everyone here knows if someone is carrying that bag they've just been released.. and a lot of people treat them like shit.
I started keeping a reusable shopping bag in my car to give them instead of using the clear baggie. Then I started stocking the bag with some essentials (masks, soap, socks, deodorant, snacks, drink, water, crossword book, pen, etc), so they might have a bit of comfort on their journey home.
Today I drove past the jail after dropping my housemate to work, and there was a guy standing at the bus stop with a clear baggie, so I asked if he wanted a lift to the station and gave him my jail bag.
He's excited to get home and see his dog after 16 months.
"Amazon’s Ring has announced that it will no longer facilitate police's warrantless requests for footage from Ring users... Despite this victory, the fight for privacy and to end Ring’s historic ill-effects on society aren’t over. The mass existence of doorbell cameras, whether subsidized and organized into registries by cities or connected and centralized through technologies like Fusus, will continue to threaten civil liberties and exacerbate racial discrimination."
In response to the recent incident of police violence against a young person of color in Seaside, the community will be marching to this week's City Council meeting demanding an end to police violence and the defunding of the Seaside police department, as well as a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where young people also face unrelenting state violence. Please share if you are local to the area.
The governor of a women’s prison where senior correctional officer Wayne Astill raped a number of inmates extended his tenure in the role even after she was made aware of “serious allegations” by inmates that she said she believed.
"The data, released to the Redfern Legal Centre (RLS), also revealed 56 children aged under 18 were strip-searched over the past financial year, including 25 underage girls, three of whom were 12"
I saw a tiktok earlier today talking about how the kubotan is illegal to carry in Australia without a "valid reason", and how "self defence" isn't seen by the police as a valid reason.
I shared in the comments how I carry one, and tell the cops that it's not a weapon, it's a tool for smashing a car window if I get into an accident and need to climb out of my car.
The sheer number of responses that I've gotten to the comment that say something along the lines of "the cops aren't stupid, they know it's not for a car window".
I take classes with policing students. Trust me, they are not clever, not competent, and they are lazy.
New South Wales police are looking to replace a program designed to provide “person-centred, trauma-informed care” to people with severe mental health challenges despite the police minister describing it as “so successful”.
Under the Police, Ambulance, Clinical, Early, Response (Pacer) program, mental health clinicians employed by NSW Health are stationed with police to ensure police powers are only used when necessary in responding to mental health crises.
While the police minister, Yasmin Catley, has lauded the program, the force has disclosed it is looking at alternatives to the scheme in its response to a landmark Law Enforcement Conduct Commission report.
The LECC’s report found almost half of the people involved in critical incidents with NSW police over the past five years were experiencing a mental health crisis. Critical incidents were defined as those resulting in serious injury or death.