This post went on a journey to many different destinations - medieval history, law and university's purpose. I loved it. I only have comments via an anecdote for the last bit on "the mainstream media is not highlighting the issues with this Bill." I recently was watching a youtuber who, after his release from prison, said that he got arrested under section 527C of the Crimes Act in Sydney while buying milk. He got out of prison, tried leading a normal life, was buying milk one day after his gym sesh, police see him and ask where he found the ipod he was using, and he said his mom bought it and gave it to him. Police demanded him to produce a receipt. He could not produce one. His mom also did not have one. Off he was in the system again. Legal aid lawyer said you need a receipt. It made me wonder how we are not talking about this. So, I went on a bit of a search. I checked a recent award-winning PhD thesis from UNSW on racial profiling by police in Australia assuming surely this must be relevant - no mention of it. No mention/criticism in media via articles. Guess who mentions 527C as problematic? Criminal defense lawyers. 'Sydney Criminal Lawyers' say on their website that "One of the most common offences that we regularly see before the courts is “goods in custody." My suspicion is that the mainstream media does not highlight the plight of those arrested under this section OR of the excesses of this provision because the demographic that is affected is often from the underclass of our society.
I think that this is unfortunate on first principles and doubtlessly harms some innocent people hence doubly so.
I also think that it is a state of affairs that exists because we tend to make it too hard to arrest people for being a criminal when that really is the single most relevant fact for predicting if a given person has committed (other!) crimes or will do so.
So if one "fixes" that one should pay attention to all three issues: the principles, the harm being done to innocents by the law and the harm being done to innocents if we make it harder to arrest criminals. Which makes a complex affair indeed!
This post went on a journey to many different destinations - medieval history, law and university's purpose. I loved it. I only have comments via an anecdote for the last bit on "the mainstream media is not highlighting the issues with this Bill." I recently was watching a youtuber who, after his release from prison, said that he got arrested under section 527C of the Crimes Act in Sydney while buying milk. He got out of prison, tried leading a normal life, was buying milk one day after his gym sesh, police see him and ask where he found the ipod he was using, and he said his mom bought it and gave it to him. Police demanded him to produce a receipt. He could not produce one. His mom also did not have one. Off he was in the system again. Legal aid lawyer said you need a receipt. It made me wonder how we are not talking about this. So, I went on a bit of a search. I checked a recent award-winning PhD thesis from UNSW on racial profiling by police in Australia assuming surely this must be relevant - no mention of it. No mention/criticism in media via articles. Guess who mentions 527C as problematic? Criminal defense lawyers. 'Sydney Criminal Lawyers' say on their website that "One of the most common offences that we regularly see before the courts is “goods in custody." My suspicion is that the mainstream media does not highlight the plight of those arrested under this section OR of the excesses of this provision because the demographic that is affected is often from the underclass of our society.
I do agree with that. (I don’t know where the receipt for things might be but I am a nice middle class law professor…)
I think that this is unfortunate on first principles and doubtlessly harms some innocent people hence doubly so.
I also think that it is a state of affairs that exists because we tend to make it too hard to arrest people for being a criminal when that really is the single most relevant fact for predicting if a given person has committed (other!) crimes or will do so.
So if one "fixes" that one should pay attention to all three issues: the principles, the harm being done to innocents by the law and the harm being done to innocents if we make it harder to arrest criminals. Which makes a complex affair indeed!
Frightening and Orwellian legislation.
Joan.