Exactly - I spent 30 years of my working life as a Peace Officer & the problem is exactly in the 'court's hands, ie; politics, courts & judiceries ARE the problem, at least here, they are.

For expample - when a proposal was made by the RCMPolice Commission for ammendments to the gun bill to make it workable and have some effect on crime, the Attorney General of Canada stated that: crime prevention and having more criminals doing extended time was not the 'drive' of the legislation. That, my friends is pretty much a quote.

Good point Daryl as a former Police officer I wholeheartedly agree, the inability(unwillingness?) of the courts to meet out proper deterrents is largely the cause of much of what we see in terms of unchecked criminality and the disenchantment of law enforcement officers.

Bail in this state is seen as a "comply if you like" option with many offenders in a revolving
door of breach and new bail, breach and new bail. This was not the case 20yrs ago. Non payment of fines and costs warrants are a thing of the past.

Marrakai is right Australia is a lucky country....but, and it is a big but, most Aussies do not know how lucky they are. Because they live in an unarguably safe society they find it hard to grasp the concept of one that is less so. It is very hard for them to understand the volatile dynamics of
much of the rest of the world.I do not say this in anyway to belittle or put down my adopted country
merely to explain to others how it is here.

A simple example: when I first came to this country(late 80s) I went for a walk during my first week down Rundle Mall a pleasant pedestrian shopping street in Adelaide. Outside various shops catering to teenage fashion were piled school bags and backpacks, this was because I later found out these shops were concerned with theft by schoolkids so made them leave bags outside.
Having been living in the UK and Middle East where an unattended bag was (and is) a cause for
concern it struck me most very strongly how lucky and safe Australia was (and still in world terms
is).

Sadly even here violent crime is rising. Shootings involving illegal handguns even in Adelaide (a city not noted as being particularly "hardboiled")are markedly increased. During my time as a copper
the number of knives used in assaults and found in possesion of undesirables in city night spots etc rose dramaticaly.

There is a definite need for a new look at the whole crime and criminality issue. Building super max
jails isn't the answer and nor is the current slap on the wrist and a chat with the psych and the social worker.

Having lived and worked in countries where I had to carry a personal defence handgun I am quite glad I don't have to here. Having said that if I lived in RSA or certain parts of the US etc would I do so again? You bet I would.