The MacDoctor gets somewhat irritated by the furore generated by three-strike warnings, especially when they are blatantly misrepresented – like the nonsense being generated about the 21-year-old recidivist, Elijah Akeem Whaanga (I like the way my spellchecker offers me the alternative spelling of “whinge” for his surname). He is represented as having a third strike warning issued [...]

The man who was arrested after he flew into a rage when Wendy’s staff got his burger order wrong, insists he is not a violent man: He described the incident as a “communication breakdown kind of thing” that escalated out of control. The furniture removal worker, who said he was not an aggressive person, said yesterday [...]

Today the police have blithely announced that 12 children were killed through abuse (9 murders 3 manslaughters) over the past two years (June 2007 – June 2009). This is unchanged from previous years with an average of five children a year dying from abuse and 45 seriously injured. My immediate reaction to this was: The [...]

There is a very sad story in the Timaru Herald today. A man was sent to prison for his fourth assault on his children. This was not a man in the category of the murderers of Nia Glassie. This was a man who clearly loved his children, but found it hard to differentiate between discipline and punishment. [...]

Yet another study linking media violence with violent behaviour in teenagers. This must make it at least thirty studies in the last ten years that come to the same conclusion. And those are only the studies I have read or heard about. The actual total number is probably nearing three figures. I wonder how much [...]

While watching the news report on the Nia Glassie trial last night, I was struck by the look in the eyes of the people accused. Instead of the nervous, downcast look you would have expected in that situation, they were sullen, suspicious and clearly angry. I have seen that look before – I see it [...]

I recently blogged about the sudden cry for the death penalty on the release of National’s Law and Order Policy. Today I see an editorial in the Herald criticising that same policy. The editorial likens Key’s policy to the harsh, even draconian, suggestion of Don Brash. This is very unfair as Key’s policy is, in [...]