Bob Edlin writes – PoO is intrigued by the case of the nurse who says he is extremely sorry for stealing a disabled patient’s debit card to fund his gambling proclivities. NewstalkZB reports He stole the debit card four times in October 2024 and made nine withdrawals, pocketing more than $4000 in cash for the […]
Nurse is suspended for stealing from a patient – but is that more forgivable than a Treaty breach?
Nurse is suspended for stealing from a patient – but is that more forgivable than a Treaty breach?
05 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational regulation, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Bernard Keenan and Ewan Smith: Proscription, Proportion and Palestine Action – Part 2
04 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, Gaza Strip, law and order, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Introduction Part 1 of this post explained the central problem in the Ammori litigation. We summarized why the Divisional Court ([2026] EWHC 292 (Admin) thought the Home Secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was unlawful, and why the Court of Appeal ([2026] EWCA Civ 721) reversed that decision. We also highlighted how each court approached…
Bernard Keenan and Ewan Smith: Proscription, Proportion and Palestine Action – Part 2
The French Riots
31 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, France, law and order, regressive left
The French are revolting! France has once again become the scene of widespread civil unrest, with mass demonstrations degenerating into rioting, arson, looting and attacks on police. The disturbances, which began in September 2026 as protests over conditions in French schools, have expanded into a much broader expression of dissatisfaction with the government. Yet there […]
The French Riots
Crime and Politics
31 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, law and economics, economics of crime, Marxist economics Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
One of the most persistent differences between the political left and right concerns their attitudes towards crime and punishment. Broadly speaking, the right tends to emphasise personal responsibility, deterrence and punishment, while the left is more inclined to emphasise the social causes of crime, rehabilitation and the circumstances of offenders. These are generalisations, of course, […]
Crime and Politics
Not A Right to Silence Issue
20 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election, crime and punishment, law and order
How Politicians Misunderstand Highly Nuanced Legal Concepts David Harvey writes – The National Party announced a policy that proposes to remove the right to silence that can be invoked by adults who may (or may not) have information surrounding the cause of death of a child under 12. The term “right to silence” has a […]
Not A Right to Silence Issue
So sad for the woman
04 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The Herald reports: A protection order was supposed to keep a woman safe. Instead, a judge said it proved “no better than a piece of soiled toilet paper” as her partner hunted her down, beat her, threatened her life and raped her during a sustained attack that left her fearing she would die. Now the…
So sad for the woman
Not manifestly unjust
05 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The Herald reports: A woman who murdered her two children, stuffed their bodies into suitcases and abandoned them in a storage unit has had seven years taken off the time she must spend behind bars. Hakyung Lee is still subject to a life sentence, but her minimum non-parole period has been cut from 17 years…
Not manifestly unjust
Opportunity Party on when you’re a child
17 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election, crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The Opportunity Party policy is or was that any criminal offender aged under 25 should be sent to the Youth Court for a family group conference, rather than go to an adult court. They say this is because 24 year old brains are not fully developed, so they should not be held fully accountable for…
Opportunity Party on when you’re a child
Misuse of HDCA
24 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, free speech
Shayne Currie reports: One of New Zealand’s biggest news organisations is appealing a precedent-setting court decision, in which a man convicted of assaulting his partner convinced a judge that an online news article about him and the attack should be removed. The district court judge agreed the man, who did not receive name suppression at…
Misuse of HDCA
“Tough on crime” is good for young men
26 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Using data from hundreds of closely contested partisan elections from 2010 to 2019 and a vote share regression discontinuity design, we find that narrow election of a Republican prosecutor reduces all-cause mortality rates among young men ages 20 to 29 by 6.6%. This decline is driven predominantly by reductions in firearm-related deaths, including a large reduction in firearm…
“Tough on crime” is good for young men
Two killers who shouldn’t get parole
12 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, health economics, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment
The Herald reports on Scott Watson: That’s a pretty good sign that Watson shouldn’t be released. Unprovoked violence. And they also report on Clayton Weatherston: The reports referred to his diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder – specifically characterised as “gross narcissism”. They also mentioned “psychopathy” and categorised Weatherston as being a high risk of reoffending. …
Two killers who shouldn’t get parole
Police Thwart Alleged Assassination of OMB Director Russell Vought
08 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, regressive left
There is a chilling story out this morning that another assassination attempt may have been averted. This time, the target…
Police Thwart Alleged Assassination of OMB Director Russell Vought
Double murderer has been freed on parole – but would he have been jailed if the Maori Party had been running things 20 years ago?
07 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The New Zealand public learned today that Tauranga double murderer Anthony Doyle has been released on parole after serving 20 years. It turns out he was freed before the New Year. Doyle blasted a couple to death with a shotgun under a bridge near Tauranga in 2005 after a dispute over a drug debt. He […]
Double murderer has been freed on parole – but would he have been jailed if the Maori Party had been running things 20 years ago?
No wonder Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons when Māori make up most of the inmates
30 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, regressive left
Te Pāti Māori says it wants to abolish prisons by 2040.
No wonder Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons when Māori make up most of the inmates
New York Times Rewrites History Again With Nikole Hannah-Jones
31 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, regressive left, war against terror
Former New York Times reporter and Howard University professor Nikole Hannah-Jones has long been controversial as a writer who expressly…
New York Times Rewrites History Again With Nikole Hannah-Jones
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