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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Shooting death by police 'preventable': Coroner
By Guyon Espiner of RNZ Police tactics in the fatal shooting of Shargin Stephens showed a disregard for the right to life, according to a scathing coroner's report. A probationary officer in "a heightened emotional state" pushed his way past experienced officers and got "unnecessarily and dangerously close" to Stephens, who was holding a slasher after smashing up a police car, and shot him twice with an M4 rifle. Coroner Michael Robb ruled the death, in July 2016, was preventable and his 207-page report painted a picture of police chaos on the day, including a lack of leadership and a failure to de-escalate the situation. He said frontline officers were inclined to treat safety of their own and the public as the exclusive considerations, and that "concern for the individual they are dealing with and their right to life is at best muted in the New Zealand police risk assessment process". The coroner said that, a decade on, it appeared police have learned little from the shooting, and the officers involved were defensive when questioned and still don't believe they did anything wrong. Police, though, say many of the changes recommended by Robb have already been implemented. Robb, the third coroner to deal with the case, referred his findings back to the police and the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), saying it was up to those agencies, if they wished to take further action. Stephens - a 35-year-old Māori man with a string of convictions, but no history of violence - had been on electronic bail in Rotorua for about six weeks, with no identified breach of his conditions. Despite knowing where he was, police bail-checked him 70 times in the 38 days before the shooting, waking him up with late-night door knocks. "Mr Stephens was polite and compliant, but significantly frustrated by the police actions," the coroner said, and "felt that the police were deliberately playing games with him". One morning, he snapped and smashed up a police car with a garden slasher, but never presented a physical threat to officers or the public, the coroner said. The case had a long and turbulent history. The IPCA initially said the police shooting was justified, and the late-night bail checks were "reasonable" and played no role in his death. But in 2021, RNZ obtained documents detailing the police investigation into the homicide, and found multiple inconsistencies between what officers told the IPCA and what they had told their own investigating officers. In an unprecedented move, the IPCA re-opened its investigation after RNZ's reporting and its second report, in 2022, said the bail checks were "oppressive" and may have been a factor in the killing. Now the coroner has ruled that Stephens did not need to die that day. "I have concluded that Mr Stephens' death was preventable," his finding said. "The officers in attendance did not have a mindset or adequate training to enable them to slow and de-escalate the incident in a way that could have prevented the police taking Mr Stephens' life." Police officer's 'consistently inaccurate' statements The coroner found that the officer who shot him - who had several years in the army, but just one year with police - was an unreliable witness, who claimed to have seen multiple things that did not happen. The officer, who has permanent name suppression and is referred to by his codename L05, was sharply censured in the coroner's report. "L05's original pre-prepared statement, his police interview statement, the statement he filed in the Coroners Court in advance of the inquest, and the evidence he gave before me at inquest was not consistent with the events." The coroner dismantled the officer's entire rationale for arming up with a Bushmaster M4 rifle and shooting Stephens, saying his evidence was "consistently inaccurate" and that he "alleged matters that did not happen". Relying on witness accounts, CCTV and taser footage, the coroner found there were "multiple matters alleged by L05 that simply did not occur". These included wrongly claiming that he had witnessed two police attempts to taser Stephens before he was shot and falsely claiming that Stephens was advancing on another officer to hack him with the slasher. "His account incorporated a detailed narrative of actions carried out by Mr Stephens that he claimed he watched from close proximity, which he said was the reason he went to the boot of his vehicle, and loaded and armed himself with an M4 rifle," the coroner said. "I have found that he did not see Mr Stephens act in the way he described." He said it was possible L05's "concern over his own situation" led him to search for a narrative that could support a claim of self-defence under section 48 of the Crimes Act. The coroner said that, during the inquest, L05 maintained he had calmly played a support role in the confrontation, but that wasn't true. "Through his arming himself with the M4 rifle and his physical actions, he seemed to have taken it upon himself, despite being the most junior officer, to take control of the police engagement with Mr Stephens." L05 advanced on Stephens - moving from about 15-20 metres away to just 6-7 metres in the final seconds of the confrontation - a distance the coroner described as "unnecessarily and inappropriately" close. The coroner said L05's risk assessment was flawed, because he claimed Stephens was moving with purpose towards a Rotorua shopping centre, when in fact he was disorientated and wandering aimlessly. Critically, in the 12 seconds L05 advanced on Stephens, there was no person in imminent danger. "Stephens was not advancing towards anyone, he was not heading towards the shopping centre, he had stopped and was facing towards L05 throughout the time L05 continued to advance on him with the rifle." He said L05's actions reflected his limited experience and "a level of panic", but also revealed the police attitude to the use of lethal force. The inquiry found police were wrong to claim Stephens was high on meth and a danger to the public. "When interviewed, officers characterised Mr Stephens' behaviour as being high on methamphetamine and violent, with descriptors of him including that he was a goal-driven individual," the coroner said. "My review of the evidence has led me to conclude that he was not 'goal driven', he was not high on methamphetamine and, through to the moment he was shot, he was not physically violent towards any person, nor was this his intention or goal on the day he was shot." Family's message to officer who fired In a statement, the Stephens whānau thanked the coroner, their legal team and supporters, including the Wallace family, who lost their son Steven to a police shooting in 2000. The whānau made a "call for accountability and human dignity in police conduct", and also reached out to the shooter, L05. "We send you and your whānau compassion and peace," the whānau said. "We are now enmeshed as two peoples, forever connected by the loss of two lives - one lost in innocence, the other in death. "We hope your path to healing becomes gentler, and that this tragedy may serve as a threshold toward a future filled with possibility and healthy growth." Police defensive, unwilling to learn Although the shooting was nearly a decade ago, the coroner's report was damning for the police today, because it said they had not learned from it. The coroner highlighted flaws in the police approach, including a failure to cordon and contain Stephens, and a lack of leadership and control, which allowed the most junior officer to take the lead role. "He took it upon himself to immediately try to engage directly with Mr Stephens, pushing his way in front of other officers," the coroner said. "He was in an overly elevated emotional state to the point where he was perceiving the events in a significantly inaccurate way. He received no directive, guidance or leadership from any senior officer either at that time." The coroner found "a defensiveness by officers giving evidence, an unwillingness to accept any criticism of their actions" and "limited willingness to reflect on anything that could have been done differently now". He is particularly critical of the shooter L05, who - when giving evidence eight years after the shooting - gave "no indication that he had reflected on anything that he might have done differently". Coroner Robb said police still had the attitude that, if they could claim an offender presented a threat, then that justified shooting them. "It further highlights my concern that the current New Zealand police risk assessment encourages a justification approach, whereby being able to articulate a possible anticipated risk can be relied on to then justify a lethal force action." When conducting their own homicide investigation into the shooting, police waited a month before interviewing L05. There was none of the scrutiny that would normally occur in a homicide investigation, where evidence such as CCTV and taser footage would be analysed, and inconsistencies in witness accounts challenged. "There was no challenge of L05's account at any juncture," he said. "There was no indication of any 'heavy debrief' of his or any other officer's risk assessments within the police review processes." In a statement, Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said inquiries had found the officer involved was legally justified in shooting Stephens in self-defence to protect both himself and members of the public. "We acknowledge these events have a profound effect, not only on families, but also on our staff," Anderson said. "There has been significant scrutiny of this event over a period of nearly 10 years and we will always take any opportunity to improve how we respond, to keep people safe. Shooting people is an absolute last resort decision that our staff constantly hope they never have to make. "I want to commend the professionalism of our staff who responded to this incident. "Police officers are committed to protecting life and upholding the law. They are trained and prepared to respond to critical incidents, and our priority is to resolve an incident peacefully and without the need to use force by exhausting all reasonable, tactical alternatives. "When an officer uses force to protect themselves or others, it is a tactical decision made after risk-assessing the threat, the exposure to harm being faced, the necessity to act and the best response considering all those factors." What happens next Although Coroner Robb referred his report back to the IPCA and the police, he stopped short of saying that L05 should face prosecution. He said that, at the moment Stephens was shot, he had moved diagonally closer to L05, with the slasher raised in his right hand. "In that moment, L05 may have reasonably felt in danger," the coroner said, adding that would likely fall within a claim of self-defence under the Crimes Act. "For that reason, I do not consider it appropriate to refer that aspect of L05's actions back to the police for further investigation." Among the coroner's recommendations were that police wear body cameras. He also said probationary officers should be trained to "avoid asserting charge or control" over more senior officers, and should not access M4 rifles, except as a matter of last resort. He also recommended more training on de-escalation and what constitutes an imminent threat "to emphasise that preservation of life is a police responsibility", along with protection of their colleagues and the public. Anderson said police would consider the recommendations, but many of the them had already been implemented, after the two IPCA reports and internal reviews of the incident over the last nine years. Bail management practices were overhauled and all of the recommendations made by the IPCA in 2022 were implemented. "We also note the coroner's recommendation that police wear body-worn cameras (BWC), which our commissioner has signalled, as one of the few law-enforcement agencies without BWC, is a priority to deliver for frontline staff. "Work is under way to explore options to do this, while also considering the legal, privacy and operational issues this will raise."
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Coroner: Shooting of Shargin Stephens was ‘preventable', slams police actions
The shooting happened within five minutes of an officer first lodging a 10-10 priority call saying Stephens had smashed up a patrol car. The 35-year-old died of his injuries two weeks later in hospital. In findings released today the coroner said the actions of the probationary officer, the most junior at the scene, contributed to Stephens' death by rushing towards him, which escalated the situation. He added that the death was 'preventable,' and he listed 30 recommendations for the police. They included the wearing of body cameras, probationary officers not taking control of situations where senior staff are present, the proper use of M4 rifles, de-escalation training, use of police dogs, reviewing the police risk assessment process, reviewing bail checks and training in emergency code calls. Coroner Robb said he had received just one response from police regarding his recommendations, which related to their use of body cameras. He also directed that his findings be referred to the IPCA and police, but what, if any steps, they considered thereafter was a 'matter wholly at their discretion'. Coroner Robb also found the officer, a recent graduate or 'probationary officer', to be an inaccurate or unreliable witness, and was scathing of the evidence given by several other senior officers who were at the scene that day, including an AOS staffer. 'Without the benefit of CCTV footage, video footage taken by members of the public, it is highly likely the determinations that I have made in this inquiry would have been quite different if based solely on officers' accounts,' he said. 'The shooting' Stephens was on electronically-monitored bail, got a variation to allow him to work. By July 14, he had been on bail for 38 days without any breach, yet police had checked him 70 times, which included waking him up 'on numerous occasions'. Despite that, the coroner said Stephens was 'polite and compliant but significantly frustrated by the police actions' and felt they were playing games with him. The day before his death, he consumed 0.1g of meth, before sharing another two 0.1g with his partner that night. Police surround Shargin Stephens. Photo / Supplied The morning of his death, his partner didn't consider him greatly affected by the meth, apart from having limited sleep. He was agitated after having a confrontation with an associate about work, and then ripped off his electronically monitored bracelet before noticing a patrol car drive past his Vaughan Rd home. Stephens threw a gym weight at the car before walking up to it and smashing it multiple times with a slasher. The officer who had been driving the car called in a 10-10 coded emergency about 12.45pm, and Stephens was chased from Vaughan Rd through a mechanics workshop on Marino Rd to Te Ngae Rd. By that point, one officer had tasered him twice, including once in the face, another pepper-sprayed him, and another was prepared to hit Stephens with his patrol car. Despite that, he continued to try to evade officers, who by this point numbered 12, along with three police dogs. Stephens made his way over the first two lanes of Te Ngae Rd and was surrounded by police in the middle of the road. As the officers surrounded him, the probationary officer had been sprinting to catch up with Stephens. The officer then walked through the group as he pointed his rifle at Stephens, getting within 6 to 7 metres. Taser audio captured the words 'put it down' being yelled over a matter of seconds. As an officer yelled, 'put it down, you idiot', and as Stephens made a slight movement towards the officer, he was shot. Emergency services help Shargin Stephens after he was shot by a police officer in Rotorua on July 14, 2016. The coroner noted that multiple officers yelling at the same time 'had little if any prospect of bringing about engagement with Mr Stephens'. 'It was possible he could have survived' In his findings, numbering 209 pages, Coroner Robb agreed with a whānau submission that had Stephens only been shot once, there was a possibility his chances of survival would have increased. The coroner lambasted numerous officers for their actions, or lack of, and poor recall of events that happened right in front of them. 'There was no need for the officer who shot Mr Stephens to advance on Mr Stephens as close as he did, and in the manner he did. 'He positioned himself unnecessarily and dangerously close to Mr Stephens ... [and] led to, rather than prevented, Mr Stephens reacting. 'The actions of the officer accelerated, rather than ...de-escalated the incident.' He said there was also a failure by senior officers to stop the probationary officer from taking charge of the police response. Police on Te Ngae Rd after the shooting of Shargin Stephens in 2016. Photo / File He agreed with an earlier IPCA conclusion that the police's incessant bail checking of Stephens was 'oppressive'. 'He never intended to harm anyone' The coroner found that Stephens never intended to inflict physical harm on anyone when he left his property that day, 'or thereafter'. His actions, holding the slasher above his head before he was shot, were to 'keep officers away from him'. The only time his actions 'could have' been interpreted as 'attempting to strike' was when he stepped toward the probationary officer, after he had advanced within six to seven metres. Coroner Robb found Stephens was 'not under the influence of methamphetamine or suffering from any kind of methamphetamine induced psychotic episode' at the time he was shot. After his interaction with his work colleague that morning, he was already feeling agitated, and agitated 'spontaneously' when the police car drove past on Vaughan Rd. Shargin Atarea Stephens was 35 when he died after being shot by police. 'What was happening ...was likely a combination of sleep deprivation ... frustration, and anger at not being taken to work, frustration and anger at police in part due to the number and manner of their bail checks on him.' His taking of the slasher and wrench was 'unusual behaviour', and he also had a knife in his pocket, but never presented it, and it was only discovered after he'd been shot. 'His behaviour was consistent with angry defiance rather than physical assault.' However, the coroner added that he was behaving aggressively, which required a police response. 'I find his evidence troubling' The coroner took issue with a lot of the evidence given by attending officers, including a trained AOS officer, who couldn't recall the probationary officer moving around in front of him while armed with the rifle at the Birchall and Maunder workshop. 'As a trained and senior AOS officer, being unaware of this probationary officer being in front of him with the rifle and consequently the potential dangers when this was occurring in a business premises ... in his capacity, and with his experience, I find that troubling.' He also noted that none of the 12 officers felt that being armed with an M4 rifle was appropriate for the situation. As for why the probationary officer took it upon himself to grab the rifle, then effectively take charge, and rush in front of all the other officers on Te Ngae Rd was because he 'got himself into an overly elevated state'. Coroner Robb said that despite the myriad of issues borne out of the second phase of the inquest, police held their original position that there was 'essentially nothing that the police had done on the day that could be faulted or ought to have been done differently'. 'Accountability and human dignity' In a statement, Stephens' whānau said they wanted thank the coroners and legal team involved in the process, saying the inquest gave voice to 'the human story behind the headlines'. They also wanted to acknowledge the probationary officer. 'We are now enmeshed as two peoples, forever connected by the loss of two lives: one lost in innocence, the other in death. We hope your path to healing becomes gentler, and that this tragedy may serve as a threshold toward a future filled with possibility and healthy growth.' Stephen's whānau said they wanted 'accountability and human dignity' in police conduct across all avenues of their work. 'We trust that with those pillars to tether to, the tragedy that unfolded for us - and for all the police involved - will serve and assist as a template for true change.' Read the whānau's full statement here: 'Shooting people is an absolute last resort' Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said Stephens was shot after he threatened officers and members of the public. He said the death has been investigated by police and twice by the IPCA, which found the officer involved was legally justified in shooting Stephens in self-defence to protect both himself and members of the public. Anderson said police acknowledged the coroner's findings and recommendations regarding police policy, practice, and training. 'Police will consider these recommendations but notes that many of the changes recommended had already been implemented following two IPCA reports and internal reviews of the incident over the last nine years. 'There has been significant scrutiny of this event over a period of nearly 10 years, and we will always take any opportunity to improve how we respond, to keep people safe.' Anderson said these kinds of events have a profound effect not only on families, but also police. 'Shooting people is an absolute last resort decision that our staff constantly hope they never have to make. I want to commend the professionalism of our staff who responded to this incident.' He said police officers are committed to protecting life and upholding the law. 'When an officer uses force to protect themselves or others, it is a tactical decision made after risk assessing the threat, the exposure to harm being faced, the necessity to act, and the best response considering all those factors.' Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
An Extremely Rare First Edition of ‘The Hobbit' Goes up for Auction
You'll need more than a few silver coins to snag this literary treasure. An extremely rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary 1937 work The Hobbit has just hit the block via U.K. house Auctioneum, with the current highest bid at $25,000 (£19,000). The tome was discovered unexpectedly during a routine visit in Bristol, where Auctioneum's book specialist Caitlin Riley was called in to appraise the collection of the home's deceased owner. More from Robb Report This Barely Driven Lexus LFA Could Fetch $1 Million at Auction Azimut's New 98-Foot Yacht Has an Infinity Pool Perched on the Upper Deck 'Emily in Paris' Star Lily Collins Just Sold Her Pasadena Case Study House for $6 Million The novel was hidden away in a bookcase filled with otherwise unremarkable works and is one of only 1,500 copies initially printed upon the book's release almost 90 years ago. 'Nobody knew it was there,' Riley said in a statement on Auctioneum's website. 'I couldn't believe my eyes! There are a few key details to look out for when spotting one of the first editions, and as I looked into each one, they were all there. When I realized what it was, my heart began pounding. It's an unimaginably rare find!' The copy hails from the family library of Hubert Priestley, a famous botanist in the 1930s who had strong connections to the University of Oxford, where Tolkien was a professor for 34 years and a Fellow at Pembroke and Merton Colleges. Both shared mutual correspondence with The Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis, and it's likely the pair knew each other. Of those 1,500 first editions, only a few hundred are believed to remain. This particular copy is bound in light green cloth and features black and white illustrations by Tolkien—the only printing to do so, as later editions colorized them. The price has already exceeded pre-auction estimates of around $13,000 to $15,000 (£10,000 to £12,000), and bidding is set to close on Wednesday evening. Other first editions of The Hobbit have fetched steep prices at past auctions. An inscribed copy, given by Tolkien to a student, sold in 2015 for around $182,000 (£137,000). The sale more than doubled the previous world record for a copy of the author's first novel, which was set in 2008 at £60,000—equal to around $122,000 at the time. Few are in as pristine condition as the recently recovered copy, which London rare bookstore owner Oliver Bayliss thinks could fetch over $67,000 (£50,000), The New York Times reported. 'The popularity of The Hobbit has only grown since its first publication,' Riley said. 'The subsequent Hobbit film series in the mid-2000's only further cemented its appeal . . . We're expecting world-wide demand for this rare first edition.' Click here to read the full article.
Irish Examiner
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
'Better, tighter, and more urgent': Oasis experts hail the return of the band for unfinished business
When Oasis fans were recently criticised by Edinburgh Council in relation to the upcoming three concerts at Murrayfield Stadium in August, Liam Gallagher famously leapt to the defence of those planning on going along to the gigs. Cultural commentator John Robb is in total agreement with the frontman's sentiments. "I think it's snobbery,' says Robb, also a musician and journalist who recently published a new book Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis. 'If they can't cope with the Oasis concerts because of the Fringe, as they suggested, maybe they should have let it go to Glasgow. With them having Irish blood and coming from Manchester, they've always connected with rebel cities like Glasgow.' The Gallagher brothers' parentage is well-known, and Robb stresses that the band's connections to Ireland aren't just something to be wheeled out when they play in this country. Noel Gallagher and John Robb. 'The Irish part was super important,' says Robb. 'There's a quote from John Savage in the book where he talks about Oasis being slightly on the outside. Being Irish you are a natural rebel operating outside the British culture, a lot the attitude comes from there, and the art. It's so mixed in with the Irish blood, it's been good for us English to have that Celtic mix." Tim Abbot is another associate of Oasis who is well aware of their Irish links. The label manager at the band's label Creation Records during their rise, one of his fondest memories of his time with the group was travelling over to Ireland for two shows in Dublin back in March 1996. 'My mum and Peggy [Gallagher, mother of Liam and Noel] got on well, my mum was a teacher. We all went to Dublin for the Point gigs with all the mums and dads.' Abbot is currently touring his film, The Lost Tapes: Oasis Like Never Before, and has just released an updated version of his Oasis: Definitely book, including unseen pictures of the band that he began to shoot and film in 1993. "I shot twenty hours of footage, and I'd say 20% of the Supersonic film is my material,' he recalls. 'It's all hand-held stuff that includes Noel playing an early version of Don't Look Back In Anger and there's footage of them working on Champagne Supernova. It's the early story of the band surpassing everyone and their life on the road. I'm the man in the middle of it all with a video camera." Tim Abbot with Liam Gallagher and Oasis producer Owen Coyle. Abbot also recalls his first time hearing of Oasis, via a late-night phonecall from Creation Records boss Alan McGee. 'He actually called me the night he signed Oasis when he was in Glasgow at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut [venue]. Alan had the band's demo and he said: 'I've just signed this amazing band, you have to have a listen'. I was like 'Dude, it's 2am'.' What was it like to be in the eye of the storm during the band's rise? "It wasn't chaos," suggests Abbot. "If it was, then we managed to control it, we kind of harnessed it... we were all holding on for grim life. In truth, we were a functioning team." Things did get out of control for Abbot when the band mistakenly consumed crystal meth, mistaking it for cocaine before an infamous show at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, leading to Noel quitting the band for two weeks. "I did have to go and find Noel and bring him back into the flock,' says Abbot reflectively. It was while taking some time out in San Francisco that Noel wrote one of the band's most loved B-sides, Talk Tonight. "It's almost like two different bands," adds John Robb, "Noel was doing demos a few years before, and that's almost like his style, these more introspective acoustic songs which appeared on the B-sides along with the more raucous tabloid band, it was like two different groups. "It shows how different they are, vocals by Noel tend to be more melancholic and introspective, while Liam's are the opposite, not always, but often. They are almost split personalities in terms of how they do the vocals." When Oasis regrouped after the Whiskey-A-Go-Go debacle, the next big gig in their itinerary was the Glasgow Barrowlands in December 1994, a performance attended by this writer. The gig was seen as a major turning point for the band. "You had to prove it at the Barrowlands; it was one of those gigs," explains Robb, "Oasis were seen as an overnight success but they had two years of being ignored. Most bands have to take baby steps doing three support tours, but with Oasis, after that it was really quick." The Glasgow show didn't run smoothly with Liam Gallagher walking off stage with some throat problems. It was left to Noel Gallagher to perform an acoustic set, playing many of those plaintive Oasis B-sides while promising to return with Liam two weeks later, the promise was fulfilled but there was something special about the first night despite Liam's absence. Both Robb and Abbot agree that The Rain, basically Oasis minus Noel that first formed in 1991, deserve more credit. "Some of that attitude was put down in the early Boardwalk rehearsal days,' says Abbot. "Tony McCarroll was a great drummer and some people coat him off but he was important because the Oasis DNA was Definitely Maybe pre-Alan White coming in on drums." A new generation have discovered early unreleased Oasis tracks such as Take Me. Such was the strength of Noel's songwriting, the band disregarded anything he hadn't written when it came to recording. "Noel had wanted to record Take Me but the band said 'no', they only wanted to do his songs," confirms Robb. Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, the man who helped create the Oasis wall of sound on rhythm guitar, is said to be one of the writers of the song. He will join Noel and Liam in Dublin as the only other original member of the band. Ahead of the much-anticipated tour, Noel was asked about the potential for a fall-out. 'We're too old to give a shit now, so there won't be any fallouts, there won't be any fighting. It's a lap of honour for the band,' he said. So far so good. As John Robb suggests, Oasis have captured yet another cultural moment, defining the summer of 2025 as much as they did in the mid-1990s. "Heaton Park was the most visceral, thrilling Oasis show I've seen,' says Robb of the recent Manchester leg of the tour. 'The band has never sounded better, tighter, and more urgent as they breathed life into decades-old songs that are all cemented deep into the psyche of a generation. They could have just collected the money and run, but they also had something to prove, and it has driven the gigs to a new level." Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis, by John Robb, is available now Tim Abbot is currently touring The Lost Tapes: Oasis Like Never Before. For more info on dates and a new version of his book Oasis Definitely , visit
Euronews
23-07-2025
- Euronews
Here's how experts suggest protecting children from AI companions
More than 70 per cent of American teenagers use artificial intelligence (AI) companions, according to a new study. US non-profit Common Sense Media asked 1,060 teens from April to May 2025 about how often they use AI companion platforms such as Nomi, and Replika. AI companion platforms are presented as "virtual friends, confidants, and even therapists" that engage with the user like a person, the report found. The use of these companions worries experts, who told the Associated Press that the booming AI industry is largely unregulated and that many parents have no idea how their kids are using AI tools or the extent of personal information they are sharing with chatbots. Here are some suggestions on how to keep children safe when engaging with these profiles online. Recognise that AI is agreeable One way to gauge whether a child is using AI companions is to just start a conversation "without judgement," according to Michael Robb, head researcher at Common Sense Media. To start the conversation, he said parents can approach a child or teenager with questions like "Have you heard of AI companions?" or "Do you use apps that talk to you like a friend?" "Listen and understand what appeals to your teen before being dismissive or saying you're worried about it," Robb said. Mitch Prinstein, chief of psychology at the American Psychological Association (APA), said that one of the first things parents should do once they know a child uses AI companions is to teach them that they are programmed to be "agreeable and validating." Prinstein said it's important for children to know that that's not how real relationships work and that real friends can help them navigate difficult situations in ways that AI can't. 'We need to teach kids that this is a form of entertainment," Prinstein said. "It's not real, and it's really important they distinguish it from reality and [they] should not have it replace relationships in [their] actual life.' Watch for signs of unhealthy relationships While AI companions may feel supportive, children need to know that these tools are not equipped to handle a real crisis or provide genuine support, the experts said. Robb said some of the signs for these unhealthy relationships would be a preference by the child for AI interactions over real relationships, spending hours talking to their AI, or showing patterns of "emotional distress" when separated from the platforms. "Those are patterns that suggest AI companions might be replacing rather than complementing human connection,' Robb said. If kids are struggling with depression, anxiety, loneliness, an eating disorder, or other mental health challenges, they need human support — whether it is family, friends or a mental health professional. Parents can also set rules about AI use, just like they do for screen time and social media, experts said. For example, they can set rules about how long the companion could be used and in what contexts. Another way to counteract these relationships is to get involved and know as much about AI as possible. 'I don't think people quite get what AI can do, how many teens are using it, and why it's starting to get a little scary,' says Prinstein, one of many experts calling for regulations to ensure safety guardrails for children. 'A lot of us throw our hands up and say, 'I don't know what this is!' This sounds crazy!' Unfortunately, that tells kids if you have a problem with this, don't come to me because I am going to diminish it and belittle it".
