Young offenders face curfews

Young offenders could face curfews, strict limitations on their movements and controls on who they socialise with in an Australian-first program to be piloted in New South Wales.

Young people charged with low-level anti-social offences, who would usually be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act, can avoid serving time in a detention centre and will instead be placed on a conduct order for up to a year.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says the scheme is not a soft option and young offenders risk facing court if they break the terms of the order, which can include school attendance requirements.

"Offenders can also be asked to undergo intensive case management with their families, forcing them to confront issues like drug and alcohol dependence," he said.

"They can also be referred to mental health treatment for mental health problems and their families can be given extra help for family support and housing."

Youth Action And Policy Association executive officer Rae Reodica believes the laws will unfairly target young people.

"It's obvious from where similar programs have been trialed or implemented both overseas and in other places that these sort of laws are open to abuse," he said.

Mr Reodica says there must be a better option.

"There's a significant amount of research to show that a firm commitment to diverting young people away from the system through working at those underlying causes is something that's positive both for the young people and society in general," he said.

The $14 million trial will run for two years and starts from December in Armidale, in the state's north-west, and the Sydney suburbs of Campbelltown and Mount Druitt.

Officers failed overdosing man, inquest told

An inquest has heard police and ambulance officers failed in their duty of care for a man who died in police custody in November 2005.

Fifty-three-year-old Michael Llewellyn called Campbelltown Hospital to tell them he had taken an overdose of the prescription medications Colgout and Progout.

When police and ambulance officers arrived at his home, he was deemed fit to be taken into custody and was arrested and charged with public mischief.

The inquest has heard Mr Llewellyn repeatedly threatened self-harm and was a habitual caller of emergency services.

He was taken to hospital after a medical assessment in custody, but died the next day.

An investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Robert Tunks, said he did not believe Mr Llewellyn's arrest was appropriate, but he conceded the officers had acted in good faith.

Learner 'caught speeding at 160kph with dad'

Police say a learner driver has been caught speeding at 160 kilometres per hour in Sydney's south-west while driving with his father.

They say the 23-year-old man from the ACT was stopped last night in a 110 kph zone on the Hume Highway at Campbelltown.

The man's 52-year-old father was a passenger in the car.

The 23-year-old has been charged with speeding and not displaying his L-plates as required.

His father has been issued with an infringement for failing to prevent learner breach.

Rock throwers pelt police

Police were pelted with rocks and the riot squad was placed on alert after a brawl involving up to 30 people broke out in Sydney's south-west overnight.

Officers were first dispatched to suburban streets in Campbelltown following reports of rocks being thrown at buses about 4.15pm and again at 9.15pm.

"Shortly after the second rock attack, police attended MacBeth Way following reports of a brawl involving up to 30 people," NSW Police Force said in a statement today.

Police said the initial patrol did not come across any brawl but when officers later drove through MacBeth Way about 10pm, things had turned violent.

"The crowd had turned hostile," police said.

"A number of projectiles were thrown at officers, however, no one was injured.

"Extra police were deployed to the area to disperse the crowd."

Police conducted extra patrols of the area throughout the night.

"The Public Order and Riot Squad was put on standby during the incident but was not utilised," police said.

An investigation is underway to find those responsible for the rock attacks against the buses and police.

Related:

Nexus Policing: Binding Research to Practice. 26-28 May 2008

This conference brings police practitioners, police leaders and key stakeholders together with academic researchers. The aim is to explore how the future of policing policies and practices, both in Australia and internationally is increasingly being informed by research-generated knowledge. Through keynote speakers and panel presenters, a range of cutting edge research projects from Australia, South Africa, North America and the United Kingdom will be examined.

The following key themes will be addressed throughout the conference:

Police Governance - internal and external

Community engagement and the delivery of policing services

Professional police education and capability development

Each of the three days of the conference will feature keynote speakers, plenary sessions and parallel workshops. The keynote speakers will include:

Professor Martin Innes - Director of the Universities Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom .

Distinguished Professor David Bayley - School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Professor Clifford Shearing - Director of the Centre of Criminology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Professor Lorraine Mazzerole - Director ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS), Griffith University

Christine Nixon - Chief Commissioner, Victoria Police

Parallel workshops speakers will include:

Assoc. Professor Jennifer Wood - Temple University, USA

Dr. Monique Marks - University of Kwazula-Natal, South Africa

Ms. Julie Berg - University of Cape Town, Centre of Criminology, South Africa.

For more information please visit: www.nexuspolicing08.com.au