tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/bourke-st-35164/articlesBourke St – The Conversation2020-10-15T19:07:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1337512020-10-15T19:07:40Z2020-10-15T19:07:40ZDo criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352081/original/file-20200811-14-112xwwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5447%2C3448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Social media algorithms, artificial intelligence, and our own genetics are among the factors influencing us beyond our awareness. This raises an ancient question: do we have control over our own lives? This article is part of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/the-science-of-free-will-88888">series on the science of free will</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Are criminals responsible for their actions? It’s a question philosophers, criminologists and jurisprudence experts have grappled with for centuries.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNqjR33gGNU">philosophers</a> and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbqwjx/you-have-no-free-will">scientists</a> argue no-one has free will and no-one is ever responsible for any crime, no matter how serious. They suggest the impact of genes and formative social environments on us mean there’s no room left for free will.</p>
<p>This radical view, however, is not held by the majority of philosophers working on free will, nor is it held by the courts.</p>
<p>The criminal justice system presupposes people generally are free to decide whether or not to engage in criminal behaviour. If they do choose to commit a crime, it is presumed that they are responsible for what they’ve done.</p>
<p>However, the courts acknowledge not everyone has free will. For example, those who are very <a href="https://ngm.com.au/doli-incapax-child-arrested-charged">young</a>, or <a href="https://www.gotocourt.com.au/criminal-law/vic/automatism/">sleepwalking</a>, or severely <a href="https://www.gotocourt.com.au/criminal-law/vic/mental-impairment/">mentally ill</a> may not be held responsible for an offence. You might think of these people as lacking free will because they are unable to reason properly about what to do.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/my-brain-made-me-do-it-will-neuroscience-change-the-way-we-punish-criminals-57571">My brain made me do it: will neuroscience change the way we punish criminals?</a>
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<h2>Fit to stand trial?</h2>
<p>But even before getting to the question of whether a defendant in a criminal proceeding deserves to be punished for an offence, there can be doubt about whether they are sufficiently rational to be tried at all.</p>
<p>Though the law sees most defendants as able to properly participate in their trial, it recognises others <a href="https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/content/4-unfitness-stand-trial">cannot</a>.</p>
<p>A defendant’s mental condition may deprive them of the free will needed to properly instruct their lawyers, present their version of events, or follow court proceedings.</p>
<p>This was one of the issues in relation to James Gargasoulas, who is currently serving at least 46 years in prison for killing six people and injuring 27 others in Melbourne’s 2017 Bourke Street massacre.</p>
<p>Gargasoulas’ actions in driving a car into a busy mall, and his conduct in the run-up to the trial, raised significant questions about his <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1402093/Jimmy-Gargasoulas-inside-church-two-days-Bourke-St-rampage.html">mental health</a>.</p>
<p>Expert witnesses were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-29/james-gargasoulas-accused-bourke-street-driver-trial/10434246">reportedly</a> divided on whether Gargasoulas had the capacity to properly participate in his trial, despite suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and delusions.</p>
<p>A psychiatrist for the defence <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-23/accused-bourke-street-driver-james-gargasoulas-phone-calls/10419502">said</a> Gargasoulas’ delusional belief system “overwhelms him”; the psychiatrist expressed concern Gargasoulas was using the court process as a platform to voice his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/13/bourke-street-driver-dimitrious-gargasoulas-believes-he-is-messiah">belief</a> he is the messiah.</p>
<p>A second forensic psychiatrist <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bourke-st-accused-not-bothered-about-fitness-to-plead-court-told-20181024-p50bp9.html">agreed</a> Gargasoulas was “not able to rationally enter a plea”.</p>
<p>However, a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-29/james-gargasoulas-accused-bourke-street-driver-trial/10434246">psychologist for the prosecution</a> assessed him as fit and the prosecution argued there was evidence from recorded phone calls that he was capable of rational thought.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the opinion of the majority of expert witnesses, the jury found Gargasoulas was fit to stand trial, and later he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.</p>
<p>Working from media reports, it is difficult to be sure precisely what happened in court, and we cannot know why the jury favoured the evidence suggesting he was fit to stand trial. However, it is interesting to consider whether research into the psychology of blame and punishment can shed any light on their decision.</p>
<h2>Questions of consequence</h2>
<p>Some <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.376.970&rep=rep1&type=pdf">psychologists</a> argue judgements of blame are not always based on a balanced assessment of free will or rational control, as the law presumes. Sometimes we decide how much control or freedom a person possessed based upon our automatic negative responses to harmful consequences. </p>
<p>As the psychologist Mark Alicke <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1047840X.2014.902723">says</a>:</p>
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<p>we simply don’t want to excuse people who do horrible things, regardless of how disordered their cognitive states may be.</p>
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<p>When a person has done something very bad, we are motivated to look for evidence that supports blaming them and to downplay evidence that might excuse them by showing that they lacked free will.</p>
<p>Were the jurors who found Gargasoulas fit to stand trial influenced by how horrendous his actions were? Would their decision have been different had they not known what he’d been charged with?</p>
<p>We may never know. What is clear, though, is that questions about free will continue to challenge the criminal justice system — and will likely continue to do so in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The criminal justice system presupposes people generally are free to decide whether or not to engage in criminal behaviour. However, the courts acknowledge not everyone has free will.Jeanette Kennett, Professor of Philosophy, Macquarie UniversityAllan McCay, Lecturer in law, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1259322019-10-28T07:09:41Z2019-10-28T07:09:41ZVictorian police have ‘shoot to kill’ powers when cars are used as weapons: here’s why this matters<p>This week, the Victorian police announced a “<a href="https://www.police.vic.gov.au/new-policy-stop-hostile-vehicles">hostile vehicle</a>” policy, which supports officers to shoot a driver to stop a vehicle deemed to be hostile and a danger to the public. </p>
<p>The policy comes into the force before <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-given-shoot-to-kill-powers-under-new-pursuit-policy-20191027-p534n8.html">a coronial inquest</a> into the crimes of James Gargasoulas, who was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/22/james-gargasoulas-jailed-for-life-over-bourke-street-massacre">convicted of six murders</a> using his car in Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD in 2017. This policy doesn’t grant police new powers, but clarifies their responsibilities in facing a hostile driver.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-link-between-terrorism-and-mental-illness-is-complicated-and-vilifying-communities-doesnt-help-106778">The link between terrorism and mental illness is complicated, and vilifying communities doesn't help</a>
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<p>But what threat levels do these kind of attacks represent, and will the new approach be effective?</p>
<h2>The justification for the policy</h2>
<p>Victoria police have claimed the policy will:</p>
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<p>empower officers to take decisive action in the event of a hostile vehicle attack.</p>
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<p>It will allow police to use of a range of tactical options in response to a hostile vehicle attack, including the ability to ram offending vehicles, use roadblocks, box in a vehicle or, as a last resort, shoot the offender. </p>
<p>It follows previous <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-21/terror-laws-victoria-shoot-to-kill-bail-changes/8966952">legislative changes in Victoria</a> that aimed to clarify laws on lethal use of force and give officers more confidence and protection when using them. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/what-government-doing-protect-victorian-community">laws aimed</a> to </p>
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<p>clarify police powers to use lethal force in response to a life-threatening act where it may be the last opportunity to safely and effectively intervene.</p>
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<p>Such moves to increase protections of police when they use lethal force also occurred after the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/20/sydney-siege-timeline-how-a-day-and-night-of-terror-unfolded-at-the-lindt-cafe">Lindt Cafe seige</a> in <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/your-government/the-premier/media-releases-from-the-premier/response-to-the-lindt-cafe-siege-inquest/">Sydney</a>. Then, the legal ability for police to use lethal force before any hostages were harmed was unclear.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298872/original/file-20191028-114011-ea89n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Situational use of force model that shows the various tactical options available to Queensland police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Police Service</span></span>
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<p>The tactical options police can use expand when the weapon being used is a vehicle. In this scenario, police are not only bound by use of force policies, but also by police pursuit policies. For instance, pursuit policies will govern the use of road spikes and pursuit intervention techniques, such as boxing in or heading off a vehicle.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-crime-reporting-we-should-ask-better-questions-about-the-relevance-of-religion-and-ethnicity-107421">In crime reporting, we should ask better questions about the relevance of religion and ethnicity</a>
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<p>In essence, every police service in Australia has the ability to use <a href="https://theconversation.com/shoot-to-kill-the-use-of-lethal-force-by-police-in-australia-34578">lethal force</a> where there is a reasonable threat the offender will inflict death or serious injury to the officer or a member of the public. </p>
<p>In response to perceived terrorist threats to the public, Australian police have increased general duty officers’ accessibility to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-should-be-wary-of-the-rise-of-the-warrior-cop-with-tools-to-match-94175">military style weaponry</a> in recent years.</p>
<h2>What is a hostile vehicle attack?</h2>
<p>The use of hostile vehicles has gained notoriety as a low-tech way to conduct a terrorist attack with mass casualties. </p>
<p>In its hostile vehicle guidelines, the <a href="https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and-publications/Publications/Documents/hostile-vehicle-guidelines-crowded-places.pdf">Australian and New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee </a> defines a hostile vehicle as:</p>
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<p>generally one whose driver is determined to access a restricted or unauthorised area or location in order to cause injury/death to people, disrupt business or effect publicity for a cause. </p>
<p>A hostile vehicle may be used to carry an explosive device or the vehicle itself, travelling at speed, may present the primary danger.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/barcelona-attack-a-long-war-against-islamic-terrorism-is-our-reality-82685">Barcelona attack: a long war against Islamic terrorism is our reality</a>
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<p>Using such a means to attack requires little training or preparation from the terrorist. And this lack of planning means it’s extremely difficult for authorities to preempt. Such attacks allow for lone wolf type terrorist operations.</p>
<p>But, as the Gargasoulas incident showed, the use of hostile vehicles is not limited to those committing terrorist acts – they can also be used in non-terrorist criminal events.</p>
<h2>Hostile vehicles are not new threats</h2>
<p>Ramming into crowds with vehicles is <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/terrorist-attacks-by-vehicle-fast-facts/index.html">not a new phenomenon</a>. Such terrorist attacks have occurred since 2006, but gained widespread attention in 2016 when a lone offender drove a truck into a large crowd celebrating Bastille day, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36801671">killing 86 people</a> in Nice, France.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38377428">truck attack in Berlin</a> killed 12 people a few months later.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/berlin-attack-security-intelligence-has-limits-in-preventing-truck-borne-terror-70643">Berlin attack: security intelligence has limits in preventing truck-borne terror</a>
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<p>As a method of attack in Islamist extremist incidents in Western countries, vehicles are <a href="https://www.controlrisks.com/-/media/3c6cfbc84397463bbe955f1c844cf78e.ashx">becoming more prevalent</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://info.publicintelligence.net/TSA-VehicleRamming.pdf">United States Transport Security Administration </a> termed these attacks as “vehicle ramming”. A 2017 report noted:</p>
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<p>from 2014 through 2017, terrorists carried out 17 known vehicle ramming attacks worldwide, resulting in 173 fatalities and 667 injuries.</p>
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<p>In terms of the <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/27745">threat to police</a>, one study showed between 1951 and 2007, the deliberate use of a vehicle killed four police in Australia, which is 1.4% of the 281 total police deaths for that period.</p>
<h2>Clearer policy for weaponised vehicles</h2>
<p>The Victoria Police policy has reinforced what other police services have had in place. Police have always been justified to shoot at a moving vehicle when it’s used as a weapon. The difference now is the policy has been clarified to reflect the changing times, when vehicles are more often used as weapons.</p>
<p>There are clearly risks in shooting at a moving vehicle. Unlike what happens in films, bullets generally do not stop moving trucks or cars. </p>
<p>Shooting the driver may stop the vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle may continue on as an unguided threat into bystanders.</p>
<p>For instance, Queensland’s <a href="https://www.police.qld.gov.au/queensland-police-service-corporate-documents/operational-policies/operational-procedures-manual">Operational Procedures Manual</a> states shooting at a moving vehicle comes with the risk the driver will lose control of the vehicle, putting the offenders, officers and the public in danger.</p>
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<p>Even if the driver or vehicle’s engine is immediately incapacitated, the vehicle will continue to travel until stopped by external means, usually a collision.</p>
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<p>However, the Queensland policy states police may fire at a vehicle if it’s being used as a weapon.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shoot-to-kill-the-use-of-lethal-force-by-police-in-australia-34578">Shoot to kill: the use of lethal force by police in Australia</a>
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<p>While much of the focus this week is on the use of force, the issues around the <a href="https://theconversation.com/police-pursuits-when-does-the-end-justify-the-means-71702">management of police pursuits</a> will come into focus in the coronial inquest into the actions of Victoria Police in the lead up to the events in Bourke Street.</p>
<p>Police will still need to conduct a thorough risk assessment before they shoot at a moving vehicle, and most likely such actions will only be justifiable in the most serious of scenarios.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In three years, 173 people died from 17 ramming vehicle attacks worldwide. This week, Victoria police announced a policy supporting officers to shoot drivers of weaponised cars.Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074212018-11-27T01:01:38Z2018-11-27T01:01:38ZIn crime reporting, we should ask better questions about the relevance of religion and ethnicity<p>Terrorism and crime played a huge part in the Victorian state election campaign leading up to polling day on November 24.</p>
<p>The Liberal-National opposition has been campaigning on it all year, helped along by its colleagues in the federal government. At one point, federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said people in Melbourne were so terrified of the crime wave that they were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/03/peter-dutton-says-victorians-scared-to-go-out-because-of-african-gang-violence">frightened to go out to dinner</a>. </p>
<p>His targets were gangs of young men, singled out as African.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-media-are-playing-a-dangerous-game-using-racism-as-currency-101190">Australian media are playing a dangerous game using racism as currency</a>
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<p>Then three events occurred during the election campaign itself that gave impetus to the law and order issue.</p>
<p>On November 9, a widely loved café owner, Sisto Malaspina, was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/bourke-st-attack-victim-sisto-malaspina-mourners-farewell/10512494">stabbed to death</a> in Bourke Street and two other men received serious knife injuries before police shot their assailant, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali.</p>
<p>On November 13, James Gargasoulas <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-13/james-gargasoulas-found-guilty-of-murder/10491490">was convicted</a> on six counts of murder arising from his running down pedestrians by driving a stolen car along the footpath in Bourke Street in January 2017.</p>
<p>And on November 20, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/three-men-charged-with-planning-a-terrorist-act-in-melbourne/10513328">three men were arrested and later charged</a> with planning a terrorist attack in Melbourne, after widely publicised police raids across the city’s northern and western suburbs.</p>
<p>Media reporting on all these incidents raises a difficult question: in what circumstances is it ethically justifiable to include information about a perpetrator’s ethnicity or religion?</p>
<p>Australia’s only national code of ethics for journalists is <a href="https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/">that promulgated by</a> the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). Clause 2 of that code says:</p>
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<p>Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.</p>
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<p>The key word, of course, is “unnecessary”. This raises the question: What constitutes necessity?</p>
<p>The standard ethical answer is based on a test of relevance: How relevant to the story is someone’s personal characteristics?</p>
<p>The rationale is that unnecessary references to these personal attributes can incite unjustified prejudice against whole groups of people, as well as individuals.</p>
<p>In the three high-profile cases mentioned here, much was made of Shire Ali’s ethnicity and religion, and of the ethnicity of the three men arrested on terrorism charges. By contrast, very little was made of the ethnicity or religion of Gargasoulas.</p>
<p>Yet all committed – or were alleged to be preparing for – acts of extreme violence against innocent people. Material on the ethnicity of all of them was available to the media. So were the proclaimed religious beliefs of Shire Ali and Gargasoulas.</p>
<p>Gargasoulas <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-19/bourke-st-dimitrious-gargasoulas-tells-court-i-am-the-saviour/8454290">had claimed to be “the saviour”</a> and in one of his early court hearings spoke about the Bible and the Koran, yelling that Aboriginal law was identical to Muslim law.</p>
<p>It was reported that he had posted on Facebook a series of rantings about God, Satan, heaven and hell, and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4140510/Melbourne-car-attacker-Gargasoulas-online-dating-profiles.html">claimed to be</a> “Greek Islamic Kurdish”. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bourke-street-mall-driver-identified-as-james-jimmy-gargasoulas-20170120-gtvs2m.html">media characterisations</a> of him centred on his history of drug abuse, violence and psychological instability. </p>
<p>By contrast, the characterisation of Shire Ali centred on his religion and ethnicity. For example, The Weekend Australian’s report of the Bourke Street attacks stated that police would investigate whether Shire Ali had links to Islamic extremism and radicalised members of the Somali community.</p>
<p>Without waiting for the outcome of that investigation, however, the newspaper put a <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/national-security/violent-islam-terror-attack-strikes-melbournes-bourke-st/news-story/b890662662c9c5a1e85c176f583d2493">headline on the story</a> saying it was an attack by “violent Islam”. </p>
<p>A week later, The Weekend Australian also <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/national-security/bourke-street-attacker-hassan-khalif-shire-ali-was-on-bail-before-rampage/news-story/9ce60c0be5315690ac0ce8401563c903">carried an interview</a> with Shire Ali’s father-in-law, who said he would never have allowed his daughter to marry a jihadist. He was quoted as saying: </p>
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<p>We hate extremists. Islam is not about terrorism and killing people. </p>
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<p>Other reports described Shire Ali as Somalia-born. On what we know about his family’s history, he would have arrived in Australia somewhere between the ages of two and 11, and he was an Australian citizen.</p>
<p>Further reports referred to his “delusional” mental state and the fact that his wife had recently left him. Yet the characterisation of him <a href="https://www.news.com.au/news/national/melbourne-stabbing-attack-was-terrorism-incident-police-say-as-islamic-state-claims-it/news-story/95ad6cca7af9e87528d814a6b96f693e">remained fixed</a> on his ethnicity and religion. </p>
<p>The three men arrested on November 20 were reported to be Australians of Turkish descent whose passports had been cancelled earlier this year. Hanifi Halis and brothers Samed and Ertunc Eriklioglu are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/20/arrested-planning-terrorist-act-police-raid-houses-melbourne">alleged to have been</a> engaged in a terrorism plot inspired, but not directed, by Islamic State. </p>
<p>What the media report about major crimes is almost entirely dependent on the information provided by the authorities – mainly police and intelligence services.</p>
<p>How the media frame these events tends to follow closely the way that authorities frame those events.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/manchester-and-the-media-what-coverage-of-the-terrorist-attack-tells-us-about-ourselves-78388">Manchester and the media: what coverage of the terrorist attack tells us about ourselves</a>
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<p>The pattern that emerges from the three cases described here is that where the authorities frame an atrocity as a crime, ethnicity and religion play little, if any, part in the way the perpetrator is characterised.</p>
<p>But where the atrocity is framed as terrorism, ethnicity and religion play a large part in the way the perpetrator is characterised.</p>
<p>Yet the relevance of ethnicity and religion to a story about terrorism is not always obvious.</p>
<p>There was strong evidence that Shire Ali was severely mentally ill and that whatever his record suggested about terrorism being his motive – including an abortive attempt to go to Syria in 2015 – it may well have been a consequence of his disordered mind.</p>
<p>In the case of the three men arrested on November 20, it is not clear yet what the relevance of their Turkish ethnicity might be.</p>
<p>It is unfair to blame the media for reporting what the authorities say in the immediate aftermath of big breaking news stories. At that point, who knows what is relevant and what is not?</p>
<p>At the same time, the media have an ethical obligation to at least question the authorities about the relevance of statements about ethnicity, religion or other personal attributes.</p>
<p>It might elicit more newsworthy information, and it would certainly help the media make fairer decisions about how to characterise perpetrators.</p>
<p>Fairer decisions would not only ensure that the public was better informed, but would also reduce the risk of inciting prejudice, provide an antidote to the political exploitation that often follows a shocking crime and, where mental illness is clearly implicated, shift political attention to that issue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As recent events show, we might get better media reporting if journalists questioned authorities more closely on the relevance of ethnicity and religion in crime reporting.Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067782018-11-13T06:48:42Z2018-11-13T06:48:42ZThe link between terrorism and mental illness is complicated, and vilifying communities doesn’t help<p>Following another act of fatal violence in Melbourne’s CBD last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed claims the perpetrator, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, had a mental illness. He said this was a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-12/morrison-mental-health-excuse-bourke-street-radicalisation/10487460">lame excuse</a>”, saying he wanted imams and the Muslim community to pay greater attention to people at risk of radicalisation.</p>
<p>Media reports have stated Ali suffered <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/11/hassan-khalif-shire-ali-deluded-and-paranoid-before-bourke-street-attack-friends-say">delusions and substance abuse problems</a> in the lead-up to his attack and believed he was being chased by “unseen people with spears”. Ali’s family and religious teacher have also <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bourke-street-attacker-hassan-khalif-shire-ali-delusional-agitated-before-deadly-rampage-20181110-p50fa4.html">attested to him</a> being mentally ill.</p>
<p>To be sure, most Australians will find it hard to forget the horror of this incident where three people were stabbed. Regardless of our cultural and religious backgrounds, we stand united in grieving for restaurant owner Sisto Malaspina, who was killed in the attack. But we must also try to make sense of it by analysing the perpetrator’s actions and developing ways to prevent further acts of violence.</p>
<p>It is difficult to ignore similarities with an incident that occurred on the same street in 2017, when James Gargasoulas <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-13/james-gargasoulas-found-guilty-of-murder/10491490">drove his car</a> into a crowd of people, killing six and wounding 30. He too was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/13/james-gargasoulas-found-guilty-on-six-counts-of-in-bourke-street-massacre">said to be suffering</a> delusions, though, interestingly this was not labelled as an excuse.</p>
<p>If we blame Muslim communities or cultural minorities as responsible for acts of terrorism, we are likely to continue to alienate at-risk individuals and the communities that support them. This can, in itself, lead to mental health problems. While this doesn’t mean the result will be violence, it can increase the chances of young people dropping out of the social support system, which can lead to criminality, anti-social behaviour, self-harm or suicide. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/morrison-wants-muslim-leaders-to-do-more-to-prevent-terrorism-but-what-more-can-they-do-106776">Morrison wants Muslim leaders to do more to prevent terrorism, but what more can they do?</a>
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<h2>Terrorism and mental illness</h2>
<p>Research <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/content/70/3/223">consistently shows</a> there is no evidence people living with mental illness are more violent than anyone else. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence that other people. They are also more at risk of homicide, suicide and self-harm. </p>
<p>It is too early to make firm conclusions about the role of mental health problems and terrorism as few studies have examined this relationship. But from these, we can establish not all terrorist incidents have mental illness as a causal factor.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/violence-and-mental-illness-harsh-reality-demands-sensitive-answers-23460">Violence and mental illness: harsh reality demands sensitive answers</a>
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<p>A 2017 <a href="https://ctc.usma.edu/is-there-a-nexus-between-terrorist-involvement-and-mental-health-in-the-age-of-the-islamic-state/">study conducted</a> by the <a href="https://ctc.usma.edu/about/history/">Combating Terrorism Centre</a> (which was set up to understand terrorism after the September 11 attacks), analysed media reports of attackers who allegedly had a mental illness. </p>
<p>It found that out of 55 attacks in the West, where 76 individuals involved were possibly influenced by Islamic State, 27.6% had a history of psychological instability. This percentage is comparable to that found in the general population.</p>
<p>Almost half (45.5%) of Australians <a href="https://mhaustralia.org/sites/default/files/imported/component/rsfiles/factsheets/statistics_on_mental_health.pdf">experience a mental health disorder</a> at some point in the lifetime. And a 2017 survey found one in five, or 20% of the Australian population aged 16-85 years, were found to have experienced mental disorders in the previous 12 months.</p>
<p>The study also notes its results are not conclusive. This is because media reports are often marred by a “tendency to treat all mental health disorders equally” and a fetished way of reporting on mental illness.</p>
<p>Mental illness is a general term that refers to a group of disorders including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. It can significantly affect how a person feels, thinks, behaves, and interacts with other people. </p>
<p>Whether or not mental illness contributes to violent behaviour is likely to differ from case to case depending on an individual’s diagnosis, prior experiences, co-existence of other stressors and vulnerabilities, and lack of protective factors.</p>
<h2>Better support for marginalised communities</h2>
<p>In the public perception, mental illness and violence often <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/content/70/3/223">tend to be intertwined</a>. And much of the stigma associated with mental illness may be due to a tendency to conflate mental illness with the concept of dangerousness. </p>
<p>This is further augmented by the media, which sensationalises violent crimes committed by <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0011">people with mental illness</a>, particularly <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/appi.books.9781615371099">mass shootings</a>. The focus is often on mental illness in such reports and ignoring the fact most of the violence in society is caused by people without mental illness.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-act-of-terrorism-to-mental-health-symptom-were-shifting-blame-but-at-what-cost-63060">From act of terrorism to mental health symptom: we're shifting blame but at what cost?</a>
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<p>This bias contributes to the stigma faced by those with a psychiatric diagnosis, which in turn contributes to non-disclosure of the mental illness and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3698814/">decreased treatment seeking</a>.</p>
<p>We also know that people who are unemployed, marginalised, isolated, homeless or who have been incarcerated, have significantly <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/assets/documents/hilda-bibliography/other-publications/2013/Cruwys_etal_marginalised_Australians.pdf">higher levels of mental illness</a> than the general population. People living in socioeconomically less affluent areas have higher levels of mental illness, particularly depression.</p>
<p>We need culturally appropriate models of care to help with individual experiences of stigma, isolation, disengagement, and past experiences of torture and trauma. </p>
<p>It is not to diminish our grief and horror at last Friday’s incident to tread carefully in laying blame on culture, religion, or even mental health. We know there are many reasons for acts of terrorism or violent crime. But we can minimise them by ensuring communities of all backgrounds feel part of Australian society.</p>
<p>Sadly, my ongoing research shows there is currently limited capacity for culturally sensitive mental health services to respond to alerts from communities about impending or actual crises. Decreasing funding and support from governments means community services are not equipped to prevent incidents like the attacks in Melbourne or manage young people of concern. </p>
<p>Instead of pointing the finger, perhaps governments at both state and federal levels should ask how they themselves can better support communities in dealing with the causes of violent crime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clarke Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Not all terrorist incidents have mental illness as a causal factor, and most violent acts are committed by people without a mental illness.Clarke Jones, Research Fellow, Research School of Psychology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1052852018-11-12T19:02:57Z2018-11-12T19:02:57ZHow the use of emoji on Islamophobic Facebook pages amplifies racism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245016/original/file-20181112-83567-1v7w3c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Emoji can cloak microaggressions in humour and play.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/5otlbgWJlLs">Andre Hunter/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the aftermath of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/11/hassan-khalif-shire-ali-deluded-and-paranoid-before-bourke-street-attack-friends-say">fatal stabbing</a> in Melbourne’s Bourke Street on Friday, Facebook and other social media platforms were flooded with hateful messages towards Muslims and Islam. </p>
<p>Over the weekend, I browsed several Islamophobic Facebook pages, such as “No sharia law – Never ever give up Australia” and “Reclaim Australia”. These groups were using the incident to dehumanise Muslims by sharing mocking memes, GIFs, decontextualised information, and blatantly racist comments. </p>
<p>I noted the “angry” reaction button being widely used in response to posts, while comments on posts were often accompanied by other emoji that emphasised states of rage towards Muslims: <a href="https://emojipedia.org/angry-face/">angry face</a>, <a href="https://emojipedia.org/pouting-face/">pouting face</a>, <a href="https://emojipedia.org/serious-face-with-symbols-covering-mouth/">swearing face</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244960/original/file-20181111-34102-bhvzxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facebook emoji reactions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screengrabbed by author, November 2018</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>This kind of emoji use involves overt racist language and practices, but emoji can also be used to cloak everyday microaggressions in humour and play. For example, previous research has found how online harassers often use cues such as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51719933_Hurtful_Cyber-Teasing_and_Violence_Who's_Laughing_Out_Loud">smiley emoticons</a> to mitigate their abuse.</p>
<p>Racism on social media is structural too. A larger body of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1293130?journalCode=rics20">evidence</a> shows that it can be <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-advertising-discrimination-housing-race-sex-national-origin">built into</a>, and <a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=commpub">normalised</a> by, social media platforms, which also have the power to curb it by instituting responsible policies and processes. </p>
<h2>Using emoji to amplify Islamophobia</h2>
<p>Facebook introduced “<a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/02/reactions-now-available-globally/">reactions</a>” in early 2016. Beyond just a simple “like”, this function allowed users to interact with posts and comments by clicking on emoji-like buttons to signify emotions: love, laughter, surprise, sadness and anger. </p>
<p>Since then, hate groups and other users have appropriated this technical feature to spread anger towards specific targets. One way of doing this involves overlaying a question on an image or video and encouraging users to respond by choosing between two reactions, with the “angry” reaction typically being one of the options.</p>
<p>In the below example, taken from a Belgian far-right political party’s Facebook page, users are asked to respond to the question of whether the school year should be adapted to accommodate Islamic traditions.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244998/original/file-20181112-39548-4avopp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facebook images posted by Flemish far-right political party Vlaams Belang incite its audience to express anger against Muslims.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screengrabbed by author, September 2017</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this way, “reactions” facilitate the performance of rage and antagonism towards other groups by allowing users to click on an angry-faced emoji. </p>
<p>The way Facebook uses this information can have problematic consequences. According to a 2016 blog post, Facebook’s algorithms <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/02/news-feed-fyi-what-the-reactions-launch-means-for-news-feed/">interpret</a> the clicking of the “angry” reaction on a post as an indication that users want to see more content related to those posts. Islamophobic content that attracts high numbers of “angry” reactions therefore has the potential to become even more visible and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312498929_Diversifying_Likes_-_Relating_Reactions_to_Commenting_and_Sharing_on_Newspaper_Facebook_Pages">shareable</a>. </p>
<p>Facebook also uses these emotional responses to posts to create user profiles to sell to advertisers. The creation of automated categories based on user behaviour has involved Facebook in several public scandals. For example, in the past, Facebook has reportedly allowed advertisers to target “<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-enabled-advertisers-to-reach-jew-haters">jew haters</a>” and people interested in “<a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/11/facebook-offered-advertisers-white-genocide-option/">white genocide conspiracy theory</a>” – a useful tool for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/opinion/mark-zuckerberg-facebook.html">people who wish to spread hate</a>.</p>
<h2>How emoji can reproduce cultural stereotypes</h2>
<p>In general, emoji are benign and funny digital images. But their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/07/emoji-diversity-texting-emojicon-san-francisco">design</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-45258361">use</a> can reproduce long-running racist stereotypes. </p>
<p>The US body responsible for the emoji set, the Unicode Consortium, decides what ends up being represented as emoji. At times, these decisions have caused controversies around <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/05/27/call-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-flag-emojis-goes-viral-0">cultural diversity</a> and <a href="http://bluestockingsmag.com/2015/05/12/the-burden-of-representation-a-post-structural-analysis-of-the-emoji-update/">race</a>. For example, Apple’s family emojis originally excluded depictions of same-sex couples.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244959/original/file-20181111-36763-1pozcw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sticker categories for comments offered by Facebook by default (left), Facebook’s Meep Stickers (centre) and emoji’s facial expressions (right)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screengrabbed by author, September 2017</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Racist stereotypes can be further entrenched by the way emoji are used. In <a href="https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/9405/7571">my study</a> of the use of Facebook reactions by Belgian far-right political party, Vlaams Belang, I examined how emoji were used to spread anger. I found that users often responded to posts by posting more emoji and <a href="https://techably.com/facebook-meep-stickers-moods/11647/">Meep stickers</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244958/original/file-20181111-37973-v9ykl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facebook’s vomit Meep sticker.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The vomit sticker surfaced as a popular and recurrent choice to express disgust towards Muslims. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244992/original/file-20181112-116820-4we57f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pig sticker is posted in response to a questions asking if policewomen should be able to wear their headscarves.‘</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screengrabbed by author, May 2017</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This aligns with other <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137552952_22">exploitations of the act of vomiting</a> as a cultural trope to convey xenophobia. </p>
<p>For example, the British television series Little Britain used hyperbolic humour to <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137552952_22">ridicule</a> the racism of Maggie Blackamoor, one of its characters, by having her vomit every time she ate food made by a non-white person, or met people from different ethnicities.</p>
<p>People also used pig emoji, and various stickers, to show opposition to Muslims. According to Islamic law, eating pork is forbidden, and, historically, Western Islamophobia has <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/yvewxb/pork-hate-crimes-muslims-islamophobia">used pork to attack Muslims</a>. </p>
<p>The practice of posting pig emoji on the comments of Islamophobic posts draws on this long tradition, contributing to the weaponising of pork to antagonise Muslims. </p>
<h2>The challenge of moderating social media content</h2>
<p>The fact that racist discourse proliferates through emoji and stickers on Facebook suggests a need for new ways to moderate content. </p>
<p>It is not currently possible to switch off the use of emoji and stickers in comments. That means that people can <a href="https://www.tecmundo.com.br/governo/111878-governo-quer-facebook-proiba-comentarios-vomito-paginas-oficiais.htm">flood</a> Facebook public pages with problematic emoji, without the platform having an easy solution to it. While Facebook has automated filters to moderate certain words and textual expressions, there isn’t yet a filter to ban emoji, even though they are <a href="https://unicode.org/emoji/charts/full-emoji-list.html">standardised characters</a>.</p>
<p>Reporting emoji and other stickers as hate speech can be difficult, if not impossible. Whether a cute pig emoji signifies Islamophobia depends on the context in which it was posted, and Facebook’s <a href="http://culturedigitally.org/2014/08/kate-crawford-and-tarleton-gillespie-on-social-media-reporting-tools-and-the-vocabulary-of-complaints/">flagging mechanism</a> doesn’t allow users to explain why certain content might be hateful. </p>
<p>As a result, the practice of weaponising emoji to spread racist discourse is likely to continue. </p>
<p>Failing to provide options to report or minimise certain uses of emoji reflects an assumption that emoji and stickers can’t be used for hateful purposes. But it’s clear that user practices on social media, and the way platforms mediate that use, can contribute to structural racism and other forms of oppression, and make them appear normal, mundane and acceptable. </p>
<p>We all have an interest in ensuring that social media companies take <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300173130/custodians-internet">proper responsibility</a> to prevent the content that appears on their platforms from being used to spread hate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105285/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Emoji can be used on social media to spread racism in ways that make it seem normal, mundane and acceptable.Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, Lecturer in Digital Media at the School of Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/760132017-04-12T20:16:06Z2017-04-12T20:16:06ZExplainer: why some acts are classified as terrorism but others aren’t<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164763/original/image-20170411-31898-1khb2kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A terrorist attack in London in March left six people dead, including the perpetrator.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Hannah Mckay</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent attacks in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-23/london-terrorist-attack-on-uk-parliament-westminster-bridge/8378392">Westminster</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/truck-driven-into-people-on-crowded-street-in-stockholm-20170407-gvgkgy.html">Stockholm</a>, following attacks last year in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-15/nice-truck-attack-loaded-with-grenades-scores-die/7631392">Nice</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-20/truck-ploughs-into-crowded-christmas-market-in-berlin/8133952">Berlin</a>, have shown the world a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/stockholm-truck-attack/511364/">terrifying terrorist tactic</a>. Attackers have driven vehicles into crowds of people, killing and injuring many.</p>
<p>In Australia, the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-30/sixth-person-dies-following-bourke-street-attack/8225072">Bourke Street Mall attack</a> also showed the devastation that can be caused when a vehicle is used as a weapon. Yet the events overseas have been clearly labelled as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-23/london-terrorist-attack-on-uk-parliament-westminster-bridge/8378392">terrorism</a>, whereas the Melbourne incident is considered a “<a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/anger-at-police-builds-over-bourke-st-massacre-could-the-bloodshed-have-been-prevented/news-story/824dabf8d778fff91ff8332481689be0">massacre</a>”, “<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/blackburn-south-woman-dies-in-hospital-after-bourke-st-rampage/news-story/80819d24ec868a4b14f35c2bb6df7ebe">rampage</a>”, and “<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bourke-street-tragedy-witnesses-still-grappling-with-trauma-three-weeks-later-20170209-gu9csu.html">tragedy</a>”. The accused has been charged with <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bourke-street-attack-sixth-murder-charge-for-dimitrious-jimmy-gargasoulas-20170331-gvapxd.html">six counts of murder</a>, but not any terror-related offences.</p>
<p>Last week, three people were seriously assaulted and a service station employee was stabbed to death in Queanbeyan, near the ACT/NSW border. The two accused <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/two-teenagers-charged-with-queanbeyan-crime-rampage-refused-bail-20170409-gvgz9n.html">are facing</a> murder, robbery and serious assault charges. No terror charges have been laid, even though the crimes were <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-07/counter-terrorism-police-join-investigation-into-fatal-stabbing/8425580">investigated by counter-terrorism police</a> and one of the accused may have had terror links.</p>
<p>So, what makes some killings of innocent people acts of terrorism, and others not?</p>
<h2>Defining terrorism</h2>
<p>The international community has not agreed on a formal definition of terrorism. Efforts to draft a comprehensive international convention on terrorism have continually stalled. </p>
<p>However, Australia and most other countries do have their own definitions of terrorism in domestic law. In Australia, a “terrorist act” is <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/cca1995115/sch1.html">defined as</a> an action or threat that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a) is intended to advance a political, religious or ideological cause; and</p>
<p>b) is intended to coerce or influence a government by intimidation, or intimidate a section of the public; and</p>
<p>c) causes one in a list of specified harms, including death, serious injury, or serious property damage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many criminal offences, including preparing terrorist acts and possessing “things” connected with terrorist acts, rely on this definition. </p>
<p>The first requirement – the intention to advance a political, religious or ideological cause – is commonly referred to as a “motive” requirement. This is key to distinguishing some attacks, like that in Bourke Street, from terrorism. The prosecution would not likely be able to prove a religious, political or ideological motive behind that attack.</p>
<p>In addition, while that attack certainly intimidated the public, the prosecution may not have been able to prove this was its intended effect.</p>
<h2>Decisions to prosecute</h2>
<p>In other cases, charges for terrorism, murder or serious assault may all be viable. The police and prosecution will decide which charges to pursue in court. This decision will depend heavily on which charges present the greatest chance for a successful conviction.</p>
<p>Murder and assault charges may be preferred because the terrorism laws contain extra hurdles. The offence of murder has the same maximum penalty as many terrorism offences: life imprisonment. But it does not require the prosecution to prove the offender had a special motive or intention. </p>
<p>At the same time, the police and prosecution can lose some advantages in choosing not to pursue terrorism charges. Terrorism offences provide longer periods of <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca191482/">pre-charge detention</a>, and they allow <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nsiacpa2004575/">classified information</a> to be admitted in summary or redacted form as evidence in court.</p>
<p>Media reporting will be influenced by these decisions and the information provided by police. Media outlets will be careful not to report on something as a “terrorist act” if it is not to be treated as such in court. There may not be a fair trial if a jury sees media reports and unfairly associates a defendant with terrorism. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164765/original/image-20170411-31902-1oh1p4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bourke Street Mall attack showed the devastation that can be caused when a vehicle is used as a weapon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Luke Costin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connection to terror groups</h2>
<p>Another key factor is whether the attacker has a direct connection to a terrorist group like Islamic State (IS). </p>
<p>If the attacker has fought with, recruited for or funded IS, many terrorism offences will be available and easier to prosecute. This is because IS is a <a href="https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx">listed terrorist organisation</a>, and is clearly engaged in terrorism overseas. </p>
<p>In the attack’s aftermath, it is frequently uncertain whether an attacker is connected with IS, or if IS is simply making a post-hoc claim for responsibility. This creates difficulties in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-26/experts-divided-over-sydney-siege-as-terrorism-or-mental-illness/6726772">how to categorise an attack</a>, and can continue for some time after the event. </p>
<h2>Community needs</h2>
<p>Finally, there are good reasons why the media, government and general public may prefer to call an attack a “murder” rather than “terrorism” – or an attacker a “gunman”, rather than a “terrorist”.</p>
<p>These less-emotive labels can reduce the possible media hype associated with terrorism, and avoid turning an attacker into a martyr for their cause. It is as if the community responds by saying: “You are just an ordinary criminal – not a terrorist – and we will go about our daily lives without fear”.</p>
<p>This resilient attitude may help communities reduce the psychological impact of terrorism. But does it encourage too great a focus on ourselves in the aftermath of an attack, and an insufficient focus on the victims of crime?</p>
<p>Following an attack, we will naturally look to the police for an answer to the question: “Are we safe?”. If it turns out the attack was not terrorism but “just” murder, we may feel a sense of relief that there is no ongoing threat. </p>
<p>The psychological impact of terrorism is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472253/">real and significant</a>. But all killing of innocent people is worthy of the strictest condemnation, whatever its underlying motive. Decisions by the police and prosecution to charge murder or other crimes instead of terrorism should not let us forget this important fact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keiran Hardy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Terrorism laws contain extra hurdles to secure a conviction, so prosecutors and police may prefer to charge offenders with murder or assault in some cases.Keiran Hardy, Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/717022017-01-24T00:11:48Z2017-01-24T00:11:48ZPolice pursuits: when does the end justify the means?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153985/original/image-20170123-8075-5g3l96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police pursuits are among the most challenging operational situations facing officers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Joel Carrett</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The carnage in Melbourne’s CBD on Friday, in which <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/threemonthold-dead-after-cbd-rampage/news-story/3fd7c801bdaa5d3d277d1121dddb1655">five pedestrians died</a> after being hit by a vehicle driven by a wanted offender, has again highlighted the issue of police pursuits. </p>
<p>Any policy governing police pursuits must balance the need to apprehend offenders with community safety. So what is the appropriate balance? And have Australian jurisdictions got it right?</p>
<h2>The inherent problem with police pursuits</h2>
<p>Police pursuits are among the most challenging operational situations facing officers. These decisions involve life-and-death outcomes and must be made quickly, under stressful conditions. </p>
<p>Such decisions will often be dissected later in great detail, and with the benefit of hindsight. As a <a href="https://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?a=internetBridgingPage&Media_ID=80877">Victoria Police report</a> on pursuits said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The fallout public opinion and media commentary that follows a pursuit indicates it truly is the case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no standard definition of a police pursuit in Australia. But an <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi452.html">Australian Institute of Criminology study</a> applied the following definition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A police pursuit is an active attempt by a law enforcement officer operating a motor vehicle with emergency equipment to apprehend a suspected law violator in a motor vehicle, when the driver of the vehicle attempts to avoid apprehension.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How common are pursuits and deaths?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi452.html">An Australian Institute of Criminology study</a> identified that in 2009 there were 3,806 pursuits, in 2010 there were 3,865 pursuits, and in 2011 there were 4,175 pursuits across Australia. The study noted that less than 1% of pursuits resulted in a fatal crash.</p>
<p>It identified that between 2000 and 2011 there were 218 deaths in 185 crashes. Of those killed 38% were bystanders, while the other 62% of deaths involved the driver or passenger of the pursued vehicle. </p>
<p>Traffic matters and stolen motor vehicles were the most-common offences prior to a fatal pursuit being commenced.</p>
<hr>
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<p><a href="https://www.police.qld.gov.au/corporatedocs/reportsPublications/statisticalReview/2015-2016.htm">In Queensland</a> there were 148 pursuits in 2014-15 and 135 in 2015-16. Only 3% of these were for matters concerning imminent threat to life, or homicide. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/30/police-pursuits-fatal-injuries/30187827/">Estimates in the US</a> suggest one person dies every day as a result of a police pursuit. One <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/30/police-pursuits-fatal-injuries/30187827/">news source</a> claimed that between 1979 and 2013 there were 11,506 pursuit-related deaths in the US. Of those deaths approximately 1% were police, 55% were suspects and 44% were bystanders. </p>
<h2>Pursuit policies</h2>
<p>In general, police pursuit policies could be described as those that are liberal – in that they allow officers a large degree of autonomous responsibility in deciding to continue or stop the pursuit – and those that are restrictive, which impose strict criteria that need to be satisfied before engaging in a pursuit.</p>
<p>In the UK, police services rely on the <a href="https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/road-policing-2/police-pursuits/#national-decision-model">National Decision Model</a> risk management tool to decide whether a pursuit is justified. This type of policy has the advantage of providing a simple, robust and consistent policy tool for police to use in a variety of situations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153826/original/image-20170123-8093-1cgvy82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">National Decision Model, United Kingdom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite impressions to the contrary in the media, the US has <a href="http://www.nccpsafety.org/assets/files/library/Police_Pursuits.pdf">moved toward</a> more restrictive policies.</p>
<p>In Australia, there has been a general movement toward more <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/police-pursuit-policy-unexamined-for-years/7086408">restrictive pursuit policies</a> as police services seek to reduce their exposure to risk. </p>
<p>In 2016, as a result of a <a href="https://www.police.act.gov.au/sites/default/files/PDF/Review%20of%20police%20pursuits%20conducted%20by%20ACT%20Policing%20in%20the%20Australian%20Capital%20Territory.pdf">report into police pursuits</a>, the Australian Capital Territory <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/canberra-changing-the-rules-for-police-pursuits/7180158">restricted pursuits</a> to when there is a serious risk to public safety, or in relation to a major crime involving the injury or death of a person.</p>
<h2>Do restrictive policies work?</h2>
<p>To complement the more restrictive pursuit policies, there are moves to create offences or increase penalties for those who seek to evade police. </p>
<p>In simple terms, the theory is to let offenders flee and catch them later. This policy is only effective if you actually charge the offender with the offence at a later date. </p>
<p>In Queensland in 2016 there were <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-police-figures-show-2838-cases-of-evading-police-not-cleared-20170111-gtpl4h.html">5,018 incidents of evading police</a>. But just 43%, or 2,180 cases, resulted in someone being charged. Of more concern was that the number of incidents of evading police increased by 36%, up from 3,695 in 2015. It could be argued that offenders are learning that, by not stopping for police, they will never be brought to account.</p>
<p>In 2012, Western Australia <a href="https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/evade-police-get-six-months-in-pursuit-crackdown-ng-b88362756z">introduced tough new laws</a> for those who evade police, with mandatory sentences. But despite this, pursuits have increased. </p>
<p>There is also now a push by the WA opposition and the police union to allow police to ram fleeing vehicles.</p>
<h2>Consistency is key</h2>
<p>One of the problems with restrictive policies is that there must be consistency in how they are applied. </p>
<p>Recent examples in Queensland have highlighted this inconsistency. In one instance, an officer <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/speeding-sergeant-wont-be-sacked-20090902-f8t1.html">doing in excess of 200km/hr</a> in pursuit of an offender was stood down and disciplined. Yet in 2016, it was claimed that a police motorcyclist reached speeds of 200km/hr on a major highway <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/outrage-as-no-penalty-for-queensland-motorcycle-cop-who-allegedly-hit-200kmh-during-pursuit/news-story/26bb3b28c32b22a590bb16473371128d">during a pursuit</a>, but only received guidance. </p>
<p>There is also the case of two Queensland police officers <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-21/suspended-policeman-chris-hurley-charged-dangerous-driving/7866456">currently before the courts</a> on charges of dangerous driving for allegedly continuing to pursue offenders wanted for violent armed robberies, despite the pursuit being terminated by senior officers.</p>
<p>WA introduced new laws aimed at <a href="http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/police-pursuit-law-passes-20121129-2aiaf.html">protecting police from criminal charges</a> after an officer killed a bystander during a high-speed pursuit.</p>
<p>In contrast, in 2015 New South Wales police <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-06/nsw-police-criticise-qld-no-pursuit-policy/6075812">were angered</a> by the apparent failure of their counterparts in Queensland to stop a long-term pursuit of armed offenders entering their state due to policy restrictions.</p>
<h2>Future directions</h2>
<p>After reviewing its safe driving policy in the wake of pursuit-related deaths, NSW police <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/police-pursuit-policy-unexamined-for-years/7086408">were criticised</a> for not releasing the updated policy.</p>
<p>Victoria Police <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/victoria-police-refuse-publicly-release-revised-pursuit-policy/7496304">has been similarly criticised</a> in the wake of the Bourke St deaths for not releasing its pursuit policy. Its reasoning is it did not want to educate criminals on how to evade police. But such reasoning is infantile. There must be transparency on policies that have such an impact on life-and-death situations involving innocent members of the public. </p>
<p>While Victoria Police’s actions in last week’s events will be examined, the aim should not be to lay blame, but rather improve the tools police have at their disposal to deal with highly fluid and dangerous events. After all, policing is not an easy job.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71702/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Any policy governing police pursuits must balance the need to apprehend offenders with the safety of the community.Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716972017-01-23T04:32:59Z2017-01-23T04:32:59ZAfter Bourke St, Victoria should not rush in on bail reform<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153794/original/image-20170123-11257-pfai4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Daniel Andrews has announced reforms to Victoria's bail laws following the events in Melbourne's CBD last Friday.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Angus Livingston</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.9news.com.au/National/2017/01/21/11/45/Premier-Daniel-Andrews-joins-mourners-to-lay-floral-tributes-for-Bourke-Street-Mall-victims">horrifying event</a> of last Friday in Melbourne’s CBD was yet another episode where a person used a vehicle as a weapon of destruction. It left five people, including a baby boy, dead. Another 30 people were injured, many seriously.</p>
<p>The alleged perpetrator, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bourke-street-mall-driver-identified-as-james-jimmy-gargasoulas-20170120-gtvs2m.html">Dimitrious Gargasoulas</a>, was revealed to be on bail in relation to another alleged offence six days before the attack, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-21/melbourne-cbd-incident-victoria-police-chief-defends-officers/8200206">despite opposition</a> from Victoria Police prosecutors. A bail justice (an out-of-hours volunteer honorary justice, like a justice of the peace) had granted Gargasoulas bail on January 14.</p>
<p>In response, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-23/bourke-st-rampage-prompts-bail-law-review-in-victoria/8202300">has announced</a> that magistrates, rather than bail justices, will be exclusively deployed to hear bail applications in serious matters. Andrews has also directed the former director of public prosecutions, Paul Coghlan, to review Victoria’s bail system.</p>
<h2>Does the bail justice system work?</h2>
<p>Faced with cries to “do something” when a crisis erupts, governments, understandably, become risk-averse. So, it was quite predictable that the Andrews government’s first target in this case was the <a href="http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/utility/volunteering/bail+justice+position+description">bail justice system</a>. This uniquely Victorian initiative has <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/JCRPP-08-2015-0035">drawn praise</a> for more than two decades.</p>
<p>While one can sympathise with those who are calling for review and change, we need to exercise caution before overhauling the operation of bail laws on the basis of one, albeit horrendous and tragic, case.</p>
<p>The bail justice system is one of the reasons usually given to explain why Victorians continue to enjoy the lowest remand-in-custody rates in Australia.</p>
<p>There is no evidence that that achievement has compromised safety for Victorians generally. Moreover, police officers <a href="http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/Bail_Summary_web_version.pdf">actually make 90% of bail decisions</a>; magistrates or bail justices are only called in to adjudicate in the event of police denying bail.</p>
<p>There is also no reason to suspect that a magistrate would not have reached the same bail conclusion as the bail justice did in relation to Gargasoulas on January 14.</p>
<h2>Denying bail fills our prisons</h2>
<p>The denial of bail is also a <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-for-punishment-we-need-to-understand-bail-not-review-it-28651">significant factor</a> in the seemingly unstoppable rise in Australia’s prisoner numbers.</p>
<p>There was yet another significant rise in numbers last year. In the September quarter of 2016, the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4512.0">average number</a> of full-time prisoners was 38,998. Of these, 32% (12,332) were unsentenced – that is, denied bail. </p>
<p>This takes Australia, for the first time in its modern history, out of the 15-30% range – which includes, for example, the UK, the US, Canada, Russia, Israel, Poland, New Zealand and Germany – and puts it into the 30-50% range found in Brazil, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, France, Kenya and Mexico. </p>
<p>The number of unsentenced prisoners in Australia increased by 22% from 2015 to 2016. This followed a <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4517.0">21% increase</a> from 2014 to 2015. Over the last five years, unsentenced prisoner numbers in Australia have increased 81%. The trend is financially and socially irresponsible and unsustainable.</p>
<p>Australians need to be a <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-bail-causes-outrage-dont-just-blame-the-courts-46084">little more forgiving</a> regarding the decisions of bail authorities when their decisions turn out to be ill-fated. Thousands of accused persons are granted bail each year over police objections with few adverse consequences. </p>
<p>Australia needs to be very careful not to allow the bail system – whether it is overseen by magistrates or lay justices – to become a political scapegoat at the hands of commentators exercising 20/20 hindsight.</p>
<p>Finally, we must be very careful not to rush to judgement and pretend that by tightening certain justice processes the problem will go away. Simply putting (and keeping) behind bars for months at a time everyone whom someone has deemed to be a risk to their family’s safety, their own safety or public safety is not the answer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Sarre receives funding from the Criminology Research Council in relation to research into bail in Australia.</span></em></p>Australia needs to be very careful not to allow the bail system to become a political scapegoat at the hands of commentators exercising 20/20 hindsight.Rick Sarre, Professor of Law, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.