I've written before about social media and how it makes us all publishers.
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Applications like Facebook have made it very easy for people to give their opinion, something I see generally as a good thing. But I wrote that the ease with which people can make comments on social media have led to many stepping over the line and saying things they would not say in real life.
I was thinking particularly of the various "vent pages" that exist on Facebook and I spoke of the need for a greater understanding of the laws of defamation.
The tendency for these pages towards vigilantism is also concerning, with people warning of groups of people, usually people who are young and black, walking the street - something those people have every right to do. These warnings, however well intentioned, are counter-productive and lead only to suspicion, fear and racism in the community. Let the police do their job - it's difficult enough without people taking the law into their own hands.
I saw someone share our story on a vent page about police warning people to lock up as we head towards the event season.
The person who shared it was angry that it did not address the cause of robbery and that's understandable. But all too often forgetful people make it easy for opportunistic crime to occur and that was the point of the police's latest warning.
Queensland Police Service know full well these messages do not address root causes and they are just one agency among dozens of others that must deal with the social consequences of crime.
The courts too understand the issues, balancing the need to punish with the knowledge that additional prison time is highly unlikely to cure recidivism - they usually come out of "correctional facilities" as more hardened criminals than when they go in. But I can tell you what else doesn't address root causes - veiled threats to beat up offenders or worse.
The causes are wrapped up deeply in long-seated institutional disadvantage and that can not be unravelled overnight.
The ongoing inquiry into imprisonment is throwing up some great ideas that need to be explored further. People need to be patient and occasionally think of the consequences - to themselves and others - before they hit the "enter" button.