Immediate action
Stronger action against protection rackets
The upsurge in protection rackets requires much tougher action.
State governments need to have much stronger penalties against low-level criminals fire bombing businesses on behalf of overseas based criinals. This will need to include ‘adult time for adult crime’ type provisions.
Baning crypto may help with this problem.
Entrapment
We see entrapment as a key tool to neutralise mafia operations such as the recent spate of arson attacks.
Police forces should set up fake targets for home invasions, car theft and fire bombings and stake them out with armed officers.
Armed officers should also stake out actual targets where they are known.
Sub-lethal force
Police forces need indemnity to use sub-lethal force against mafia operatives actively conducting crime.
This would include children that are being used to fire-bomb stand-over targets.
Sub-lethal weapons could include pellet guns, rubber bullets and similar that generally would not cause death.
Life imprisonment for repeat offenders
“Secure towns” may be required to hold repeat offenders that cannot be rehabilitated. Prisoners would live and work in these towns but could not leave. Security would focus on preventing prisoners escape rather than inter-prisoner problems.
Longer-term solutions
The problem is not individual criminals, the problem is our society is structured to create criminals:
- Attempting to prohibit widely used recreational drugs
- Denying educational opportunities for some
- Having a patriarchal society that creates the impression men own their wives
- Lack of affordable housing
- Encouraging gambling additction.
Below are some ideas to reduce offending to more manageable levels.
| Cause | Crime | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal supply of drugs | Violence & corruption | Tightly regulated government supply to registered users of ‘clean’, lower-risk drugs. (Cannabis, MDMA, maybe others). Prescribed clean heroin for existing heroin addicts. Careful prescription of psychedelics where appropriate for mental illnesses such as PTSD.* |
| Criminal supply of tobacco 🔗 | Violence, Arson, Assaults. | Halve tobacco excise to curtail illegal trade. Cut Medicare benefits for citizens found to be using tobacco instead. |
| Inadequate gun controls | Terrorism. Homicide. | High taxes on ‘inappropriate’ guns and ammunition. Much tighter restriction on gun imports. Exemptions for registered livestock farmers, etc. Federal gun registration. |
| Religious and Racial Extremism | Terrorism. Homicide. | Fines for promoting extremist views (rather than martyr-creating imprisonment). Government should be strongly secular and not advocate for any “official” religion. Higher tax on unmoderated social media platforms and companies that advertise on them. |
| Perceived “ownership” of women. | Domestic violence, homicide and assault. | Women to keep their original birth surname on official documents (Passports, ATO, licences, etc.). Female children to take their mother’s surname.* |
| Gambling | Fraud, theft, domestic violence, money laundering. | Ban advertising of gambling. No cash or crypto. All bank cards to block gambling payments by default. Ban pokies?? |
| Lack of education | Street crime | Bonuses for at-risk kids for passing school assessments. No passports, TFN, Licences, etc. if no school results. Early release for prisoners who study. |
| Alcoholism | Street crime, domestic violence | Volumetric taxing of alcohol (federal). Higher licence fees for high-alcohol drinks (state). |
| Homelessness | Street crime | Expanded public housing.* |
| Poor sex and relationship education | Rape | Mandatory on-line relationship education with emphasis on how to enjoy consensual sex rather than just the mechanics. “Need to bypass ‘just say no’ religious schools. “Friendship first” approach might work (?) |
| Crypto | Money laundering, corruption, payment of ransoms | Ban the sale, purchase, promotion or advertising of crypto. Make it illegal to hold any crypto. All crypto to be seized by the ATO. |
| Cybercrime | Theft, extortion | Ban crypto. Ban all payment of ransoms. Mandate cybersecurity measures for businesses. Consider making ISP’s bundle internet access with approved anti-virus software. Ban companies considering illegally obtained material when hiring. |
| Failure to rehabilitate prisoners | All of the above | Strongly encourage participation in rehab for inmates with early release for progress or extra time for failure. Repeat offenders may have to be confined indefinitely in ‘secure towns’. |
(*Excluding Conservative Electorates – see One Country, Two Systems)
References
- Each prisoner costs $150,000 per annum (IPA)
- QLD police lockup conditions (Guardian)
- Support for cannabis legalisation at 80% (AIHW)
- The failure of drug prohibition and the future of drug law reform in Australia (PubMed)
- ‘War on drugs has failed, completely and utterly’: UN human rights chief
- Drug prohibition is fuelling the overdose crisis: Regulating drugs is the way out (Conversation)
- Patriarchy and power: how socialisation underpins abusive behaviour (Guardian)
- The Role of Patriarchy in Domestic Violence (Focus for Health)
- Strong link between gambling expenditure and crime, new study finds (Connections)