Story Archive

Think of the Children

An aboriginal family in New South Wales, Australia, woke up to an armed police raid on their home. “[They used] shields, helmets, assault rifles, the mother and father taken from their beds, shaken from their beds, handcuffed,” said David Shoebridge, a Member of the Legislative Council in New South Wales, adding that then, the family’s children were “marched out at gunpoint.” The children, ranging in age from one to 13, were placed in foster care. “NSW police provide critical protection in often very complex and difficult child protection matters,” the Department of Family and Community Services said in a statement. “Police only attend a child protection issue after a stringent risk assessment.” The children were later returned to the parents. (MS/Gladstone Observer) ...Obviously, the risk assessment was very thorough.